Groundbreaking anchor Simpson honored at UNITY

By Talia Whyte

Originally published in the Bay State Banner

CHICAGO — Former television anchor Carole Simpson was honored last week by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) for her pioneering career and support of women journalists worldwide.

The ceremony was part of the annual UNITY: Journalists of Color convention. More than 6,000 journalists attended the convention to discuss ways to increase diversity in the newsroom.

Maureen Bunyan is a founding member of both the IWMF and the National Association of Black Journalists, one of the four associations that make up UNITY. She started her broadcast career in Boston at WGBH in 1970. She said she has been inspired over the years by Simpson’s work.

“She is the reason we are all here,” Bunyan said. “She has put herself on the line to fight for women in the newsroom.”

Simpson spent her broadcast career breaking down both racial and gender barriers in the industry. When she took over hosting duties on the Sunday edition of ABC’s “World News Tonight” in 1988, she became the first black woman to anchor a national news program.

During her time at ABC, Simpson co-anchored ABC’s live coverage of Nelson Mandela’s release from his 27-year imprisonment and moderated the second presidential debate between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush in 1992.

Today, she teaches journalism at Emerson College and also runs the Carole Simpson Leadership Institute at the African Women’s Media Center in Senegal. She created in the institute in 1998 to help African women journalists gain the necessary skills to stay competitive in the media world.

“I am so touched by the African women,” Simpson said after receiving her honor. “We talk about satellites here, but some of them don’t even have typewriters, and yet they do such incredible work.”

Simpson has also set up several high school and college scholarships for women and minorities pursuing careers in broadcast journalism.

Simpson’s career has opened doors for other well-known journalists of color, including CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien, who was also present at the ceremony.

O’Brien, a Harvard graduate who started her broadcast career as a news writer for WBZ-TV, said she works tirelessly to bring more diverse programming to the cable news network.

During a diversity workshop for CNN employees last year, O’Brien said she was disturbed that all the panelists were white men. After the workshop, she had many discussions with CNN executives about how to increase the network’s diversity, both in front of and behind the camera.

Those discussions led to the highly publicized four-hour documentary series “Black in America,” a look at multiple aspects of contemporary African American life that premiered last week. O’Brien said “Black in America” is the highest-rated documentary series in CNN’s history, and there is potential to produce more programs in the series.

“You have to have good grounding in this business,” O’Brien said. “We have to take every opportunity to make sure everyone’s voice is being represented.”

While many of the ceremony’s attendees were excited to talk to O’Brien about the series and her career, the focus remained on Simpson. Many said they were inspired by her call to help all women journalists, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

“We need to work for women all over the world,” Simpson said. “There is much more work to be done, and I am happy to lead women in the future.”

Civil Rights 2.0 is live and creates conflict

Description: The battle between old and new media made its way to Chicago last week at the Unity Convention, a gathering attended by over 6,000 journalists of color. The dramatic events surrounding the case of the Jena Six, the name referring to a group of six African American teenagers charged with beating a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana in 2006, culminated when an estimated 20,000 activists gathered in the small town in support of the six teens in September. By many the mass protest is now considered the largest demonstration in the post-civil rights era. The case highlighted the shift towards digital activism as a tool for African Americans in their continued struggle for civil rights in the United States.

Tools Discussed: Radio and Blogs

What Is The Debate: During a workshop examining Jena Six's legacy radio talk show host Tom Joyner said that black radio was used by civil rights leaders like Dr Martin Luther King to organize supporters of ending racial segregation. Joyner added that because he has an audience of eight million, he played a large role in mobilizing Jena 6 activists. However, blogger Jimi Izrael argued that the Afrosphere, a group of politically active black bloggers who feel left out of the mainstream media, was actually more influential in informing the world about the case.

Last November there was a contentious fight between black radio and the black blogosphere when radio talk show host Michael Baisden accused the internet activist group Color of Change of not appropriately distributing donated funds to help pay the legal fees for the Jena Six. However, when the organization proved its financial legitimacy, Baisden apologized. Color of Change continues to raises funds for the young men through its Jena Six Defense Fund online.

Unity '08: Final Notes

And, no, I didn't stay to see Barack Obama address the Unity Convention this morning.

Originally it was suppose to be a debate between McCain and Obama on Thursday evening. But because of Obama's decision to travel abroad, the speech was moved to this morning, and McCain declined to attend today. Of course, I purchased my airline tickets two months ago, and unless Unity or Obama himself were going to pay the fee to change to a later flight, I had to stick to my plan of getting home by Sunday afternoon. When I get a chance to watch his speech, I will give my full analysis here.

While many Unity attendees may think Obama's speech was the highlight of the week, for me, it was an opportunity to gain professional development through some of the best journalists of color. I left Chicago this morning feeling confident about the contacts for potential writing opportunities I made there. You might see my byline in a few more publications in the near future...Stay tuned.

I am also happy to see that I have gained quite a few more readers in the last two days from Senegal. I hope you all will continue to find this space to be of interest and want to participate in the conversation by leaving comments.

Unlike Senegal, I actually believe in free speech.

Speaking of which, Friday evening I took a cab back to my hotel. My taxi driver just so happened to be a Senegalese immigrant named Adele. Although it was only a five-minute drive, I ended up staying in the cab for 20 minutes, talking to the gentleman about that day's events regarding his country's president.

Adele was distressed about the human rights violations occurring under President Wade. However, he was even more disheartened that African Americans were embracing him.

"Nobody in Senegal likes Wade, but these black journalists in America invite him to this conference," he said. "I don't get it."

I'm not sure if I get it either. I was in the workshop where President Wade was presenting. Before Wade spoke NABJ President Barbara Ciara defended the organization's invitation.

From Unity News:

“Why did we invite President Bush? “ NABJ President Barbara Ciara. “Why did we invite (former Secretary of State) Colin Powell? Why did we invite (former National Security Adviser) Condoleezza Rice? Why do we invite any world leader?

While my knowledge of NABJ's relationship with the Wade administration is limited, I do know that attendees of this workshop, including myself, didn't feel good about what occurred. I am hoping that Friday's kerfuffle will persuade NABJ to re-evaluate it's relationship with him. Specifically, if Wade's "supporters" are brazen enough to attack an opponent in public - in the United States - one can only imagine what these same supporters would have done to this journalist in Senegal.

I realize that NABJ wants to build a deeper bond with the African Diaspora, but should it be at the expense of suppressing press freedom.

Black journalism is built on the legacy of advancing social justice. Heros like Marcus Garvey, Ida B Wells, Frederick Douglass and William Worthy led the way for future journalists. Thank goodness Roland Martin put President Wade in the hot seat, but who are the other journalists of color who are so brave today?

Unity'08: BET finally seeing the light?

Black Entertainment Television (BET) hosted a "lunch 'n' learn" session today at the Unity Convention. So here is the joke: the discussion for the session was about the media's role in violence in communities of color.

Talk about calling the kettle black...

Okay, so you all know how I feel about BET, as you might have read my many posts, including my most recent post. But just to sum up, BET supports criminal behavior through its programming, namely music videos.

Apparently, according to BET CEO Debra Lee, the network was invited by Chicago Mayor Richard M Daley, in light of recent street violence in that city as well as around the country.

Debra Lee is in denial.

"BET is committed to the anti-violence movement," Lee said during the lunch.

BET host Jeff Johnson (who is conveniently hosting a new show on BET next month) moderated a panel of community activists and journalists, who all seem to somehow discuss how the media influences youth of color without even addressing the elephant in the room.

Finally, when the discussion was opened up to the audience, one brave, young woman got up and put BET in there place. She too noticed the idiocy of BET hosting such a discussion. Thankfully, she got rousing applauds from the audience.

Jeff Johnson's response:

"As a network we are shifting our programming, but we are also trying to change our programming by doing more of these discussions... We are also working with the [National Association of Black Journalists] on this issue."

Johnson also indicated that it is up to the audience to view the new programming, as ratings determine what programming will stay on.

He is right that the media is driven by advertising dollars, but at what cost? I should say that I didn't stay for the whole lunch, as I had to run to another workshop, so I don't know if there was further discussion on BET's role. When the lunch was announced by Unity, I actually wrote an email to Unity, asking if some of the panelists were going to at least put BET on the hot seat.

I never got a response...

We will see if there are any changes at the network in the near future, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

Unity '08: Democracy in Senegal?

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade spoke today at the Unity Convention on the effects of climate change in Africa. However, his speech was disrupted by protesters who believed that he was suppressing press freedom in his own country.

One protester seated in the audience got up and shouted at Wade. Wade's security attacked the man and forced him out of the room. After the scuffle, all Wade could say was:

"I am accustomed to this in France and Senegal."

Following his speech, CNN contributor Roland Martin asked him about the complaints of human rights abuses against journalists in his country. Wade said that the people complaining about his rule are not "real journalists" including the Committee to Protect Journalists, one of Wade's most vocal opponents.

He went on to say that "I am a protector of journalists."

(Unless you criticize him, of course)

Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of Wade's security people hitting the protester, but I am sure someone else will have it. The above photo is of his "supporters," who were not asked to leave the room, although they made more of a ruckus than the protesters. But I think that says all you need to know about democracy in Senegal...

Unity '08: Senegalese Prez stirs it up

Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade is one of the high profile speakers at this year's Unity Convention, and it hasn't gone unnoticed.

Read this article about a group of Senegalese protesters angered by the lack of press freedom in their own country.

I will be attending his workshop, and will report on what he says. He is expected to discuss climate change, but I am hoping the moderator will at least force Wade to answer his critics.

Unity '08: Where's the Ethnic Media?

Buy-out, lay-off and stressed out are common words so far at the Unity Convention here in Chicago. Many came to the conference to regain confidence that they might keep their newsroom jobs. But the reality is that most of the media outlets showcasing at the convention are simply not hiring. I saw many booth representatives taking resumes without giving direct answers as to whether they actually have jobs to offer.

Job cuts in America's newsroom have affected all journalists, but particularly journalists of color, as you can read in a previous post.

"When money gets tight in the newsroom, diversity hiring and training are the first to go," said Barbara Ciara, President of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). "We have to continue to argue that diversity shouldn't be just a line item in the budget."

While I agree that lacking diversity in the newsroom is a problem, I also noticed another problem at Unity. For all the talk of dying racial and ethnic voices in the mainstream media, there is hardly any representation from another dying voice - ethnic media. I understand that a convention of this magnitude couldn't happen without the corporate money, but as journalists of color we are obligated to help sustain ethnic media. Buried under all the corporate sponsorships from major media outlets, various black, Latino, Native American and Asian media outlets were sparse. Geez, I was hoping to at least see a booth for the Chicago Defender...

Off to conventions this week...

Marjane and I will be attending the Blogging While Brown and Unity conventions respectively this week, and we will be reporting back to you on all the blood, sweat, tears, drama and triumphs of people of color working in both old and new media.