Newsletter of the AEJMC Commission on the Status of Minorities

July 2008

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Dear members of CSM, We are meeting soon in Chicago for what may turn out to be one of the more important conventions of AEJMC. For over a year, and more intensively during the Winter Meeting, AEJMC has been crafting its Stra-tegic Plan. What will be important for us is the way in which issues of diversity are addressed in this plan, and what role CSM will play in the future. We will discuss these at the Convention. Here are some things to consider. 1. This issue of our newsletter includes the CSM Bylaws (See p. 2) The new strategic plan is an op-portunity to revisit the issue

Later this month, one of the largest gather-ings of journalists of color ever is expected as UNITY 2008 takes place July 23-28 (See p. 6).

Then when AEJMC convenes next month, the Commission on Status of Minorities will take up many of the same media diversity issues--but they will

relate specifically to journalism education. The CSM Members’ Meeting is Thursday, August 7 from 10:15 p.m.-11:45 p.m. See you in Chicago!

Welcome to THE STANDARD

This newsletter has had many looks and logos since its creation more than a decade ago.

CSM newsletter gets new name, begins new chapter

‘Windy City’ hosts two gatherings with media diversity on the agenda

VIEWS FROM

THE CHAIR

CSM Bylaws. . . 2

The Kerner Report: 40 Years Later. . .4-5

UNITY 2008. . . 6-7

Race, Class, Gender focus of JOBEM. 8

CNN, HBCU students team up ..8

Captured by Antonio Attini, this photo gives just a glipmse of Chicago as depicted in his book Chicago From the Air.

Hayg Oshagan

Strategizing for Diversity

See from the Chair p. 3

Nearly a year after the Commission on the Status of Minorities voted to change the name of its newsletter, we present THE STANDARD... Because Diversity Matters. Our predecessor, Curtis Lawrence, published his last issue under the name TWELVE in an electronic format only. In this first issue of THE STANDARD, we take things one step further by including live hyperlinks on which you can click to access information on the World Wide Web. For instance, clicking on Standard 3 above in our logo takes you to the actual Diversity Standard on the Accrediting Council on Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) Web site. This PDF-formatted newsletter is both printable and expandable in that it leads to more information on the critical media diversity issues at hand. Our new name not only reflects the change in the Diversity Standard from 12 to 3, but also re-affirms this commission’s commitment to being THE STANDARD when it comes to advocacy on behalf of diversity in journalism and mass communication education. ---- George L. Daniels & John Arnold, Co-editors

... because diversity matters

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Proposed BylawsCommission on the Status of MinoritiesAugust, 1992Article I - Name

The name of this autonomous organization shall be the Commis-sion on the Status of Minorities as designated by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Article II - Purpose

The purpose of the Commission shall be to advocate for the im-provement of the status of mi-norities in journalism and mass communication education, in the various professions of journal-ism and mass communication, and within the Association for Educa-tion in Journalism and Mass Com-munication (AEJMC).

Article III - Membership

Membership in the Commission shall be open to members in good standing of AEJMC (who are dues-paying members of the Commis-sion).

Article IV - Officers Section 1. The officers of the Commission shall be a Chair, Vice-chair and a Newsletter Edi-tor (Secretary-treasurer, Clerk). The officers shall perform duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the Constitution and Bylaws of AEJMC.

Section 2. Election of a News-letter Editor (Secretary-treasurer, Clerk) shall be conducted at the annual meeting. The Newsletter Editor (Secretary-treasurer, Clerk) shall serve for one year, term be-ginning on October 1 in accordance with the AEJMC Constitution. At the same time, the outgoing News-letter Editor (Secretary-treasurer, Clerk) shall become Vice-chair and the Vice-chair shall become Chair.

Article V - Executive Committee Section 1. The Executive Com-mittee of the Commission shall consist of the elected officers, plus Minorities and Communication Head and Vice-head. Section 2. The Executive Com-mittee shall have general responsi-bility for the conduct of affairs of the Commission between its annual business meetings, shall fix the time and place of meetings, make recommendations to the Commis-sion and perform such others duties as may be prescribed by the By-laws. Article VI - Duties of Officers Section 1. The Chair of the Commission shall be the executive officer of the Commission and shall administer its affairs in consultation with the Executive Committee. The Chair shall appoint a chair of any other committees and task forces deemed necessary. The Chair shall approve all Commission expendi-tures subject to AEJMC Constitu-tional guidelines. The Chair shall

serve as a member of the Executive Committee of AEJMC. Section 2. The Vice-chair shall assist the chair. Section 3. The newsletter editor (Secretary-treasurer, Clerk) shall be responsible for publication of a newsletter and keep records of meetings. The newsletter editor (Secretary-treasurer, Clerk) shall also be responsible for recordings, assets and expenditures.

Article VII – Meetings Section 1. The annual business meeting of the Commission shall be conducted during the annual meeting of AEJMC for the pur-pose of electing officers, receiving reports of officers and committees and any other business that may arise. Section 2. Special meetings of the Commission may be called by the Chair or the Executive Com-mittee and shall be called on the written request of ten members of the Commission. Article VIII - Amendments

These Bylaws can be amended at any regular meeting of the Com-mission by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting, provided that the proposed amendment has been mailed to all members of the Commission at least 30 days prior to the meeting.

--- Approved April, 1993, by mail.

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... because diversity matters

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of minorities and AEJMC, and to propose either a new version of CSM (with new Bylaws, responsibilities, etc.) or the cur-rent version (with the current Bylaws). So please take a look at the Bylaws with these concerns in mind, considering in particular the mission and objectives of CSM, and whether we have been able to address them with the structure we now have. 2. I have looked over the new Stra-tegic Plan and tried to assess the way in which issues of diversity are addressed. Overall, even though a few of us were part of the final round of discussions at the Winter meeting, and even though the general discussion saw diversity as an important concern, it does not appear that way in the full Strategic Plan. In the abridged version which is up on the web site, it hardly appears at all. Diversity is also not explicitly mentioned in “Strategic Directions,” in “AEJMC Needs” or “Emerging Themes.” While it may not be as centrally situ-ated as it could be, it is nevertheless there. Here are the mentions of diversity in the full Strategic Plan. a. Diversity is presented as part of the Core Value of Justice. There are 4 Core Values. Beyond that, there are 8 Practical Vision statements, and one of them is to strengthen Core Values. b. In the environmental scan of AEJMC, a Strength is commitment to diversity in graduate student enrollment, a Weakness is a lack of diversity, and an Op-portunity is available to enhance diversity. c. In concluding statements, reference is made to diversity as one of the issues AEJMC “must voice its concern on,” and that we are living in a century of growing diversity. The good news is that there is room for recommendations here, and changes can be added to the existing Plan. But we need a coherent proposal to be voted on, as an implementation of our concerns for diversity in AEJMC and more broadly. 3. As a point of discussion, here is the general outline of a new CSM which the CSM Board has approved and which

Commission on the Status of Minorities

Members’ Meeting

Thursday, August 7

10:15 p.m. - 11:45 p.m.

Chicago MarriottRoom 205

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From the Chair: Strategizing for Diversitywe have discussed to some extent at the last Convention. The final version should be approved by our members, and in all likelihood, also have the support of MAC, CSW, M&D and GLBT groups.

PROPOSAL CSM is the policy-making and over-sight body on diversity for AEJMC and for all divisions, and tasked with two general responsibilities: 1. CSM coordinates diversity ef-forts of AEJMC a. Keeps track of progress on diversity

b. Assesses the state of diversity (maybe get the data reported from all divi-sion heads to AEJMC on diversity each year -- e.g. the racial and ethnic makeup of convention panelists and moderators)

c. Coordinates conference-wide diversity initiatives

2. CSM gives more visibility to diversity efforts, promotes and cel-ebrates diversity in AEJMC

a. Might mean a plenary on the state of diversity (AEJMC would organize this) b. Might mean a diversity luncheon (AEJMC would fund it, CSM would organize it) c. A Diversity Report

Please consider these issues, taking into account our current Bylaws, history, potential and the emerging structure of AEJMC. I am looking forward to an important meeting of discussion and decision, and to moving forward with CSM. See you all in Chicago.

Hayg Oshagan Wayne State University CSM Chair

Continued from p. 1

Check out the AEJMC Chicago

ConventionDIVERSITY Related

PANELS & PROGRAMS

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

... because diversity matters

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The Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies at North Caro-lina Agricultural and Technical State University hosted its annual conference February 25-26, 2008, at the Memorial Student Union on campus. This year’s conference was titled, “Kerner Plus 40: Another Look at America’s Most Intractable Problem.” The institute took an in-depth look at the Kerner Commis-sion Report, a 1968 document of a federal government commission that investigated urban riots in the United States. The Kerner Report was released after seven months of investiga-tion by the National Advisory Commis-sion on Civil Disorders and took its name from the commis-sion chair-man, Illinois Governor Otto Kern-er. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the commission on July 28, 1967, while rioting was still underway in major cities. Johnson charged the commis-sion with analyzing the specific triggers for the riots, the deeper causes of the worsening racial climate of the time, and potential remedies.

The commission concluded that urban violence reflected the profound frustration of inner-city blacks and that racism was deeply embedded in American society. The report’s most famous passage warned that the United States was “moving toward two societies, one black, one white — sep-arate and unequal.” The report further recommended sweep-ing federal initiatives directed at improving educational and em-ployment opportunities, public services, and housing in black urban neighborhoods, which were largely ignored by the Richard Nixon Administration. After 40 years, the IFAJS sent journalists back to some of the cit-ies that were mentioned in the Kerner report to take a look at the cur-rent civil rights issues still affecting the minor-ity communities. The results were published in a book, Kerner Plus 40 Report: An assessment of the Nation’s Response to the Report of the National Advisory Commis-sion on Civil Disorder. The book was edited by DeWayne Wickham, director of the Institute for Ad-vanced Journalism Studies at North Carolina A & T State, and Tukufu Zuberi. The two-day workshops featured local and national panel-

ists including Pulitzer prize winner Les Payne, Newsday, Henry E. Frye, retired N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice, Dr. Julius Chambers, attorney, Bennett College President Julianne Maveaux and Rev. Nel-son Johnson, of Faith Community Center.

Workshop topics included “Black and White Together: A Shared Struggle or a Struggle to Share”, “The Kerner Report’s Impact on the Black Power Move-ment” and “Protest Music, Rap and the Civil Rights Struggle,” among others. For more information on he event, you can contact Samantha Hargrove at 336.256.0863.

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Kerner Report anniversary tops NC A&T symposiumby Linda Callahan CSM Vice-Chair

Wickham

... because diversity mattersTHE STANDARD

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ment officials and representatives from government organizations. To learn more about the con-ference or to participate, please call Dr. Tia C. M. Tyree at (202) 806-5119 or email: tiamatthews1@aol.com

Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communica-tions will hold a one-day con-ference on October 24, 2008 to commemorate the milestone anni-versary of the Kerner Commission. The event is entitled “Unfin-ished Business: Reflecting on 40 Years After the Kerner Commis-sion,” and its purpose is to observe the anniversary of the report’s release, reflect on the lessons of the report and discuss the report’s relevance in journalism today. The conference will focus on areas of educational outreach and development, media industry diversity, media policy reform, activism and me-dia ownership. By discussing these five focal points, the intent is to open a diverse dialogue between presenters and attendees that will not only reflect on how Americans and the American media system has changed over the last 40 years but to provide suggestions on ways to help transform the media indus-try to become more diverse in order to better achieve these five aspects in the journalism field. Participants will include stu-dents, academicians, pertinent me-dia industry representatives, includ-ing print and television reporters and executives, as well as govern-

‘Unfinished Business” of Kerner Commission Focus of Howard U. Gathering in October

Kerner Commission Report

Online

Resources

The Eisenhower Foundation: Updates of the Kerner Riot CommissionThe Commission has released 25 and 30-year updates of the Kerner Report. Those reports and the preliminary findings of the new report are online at the site. 40th Anniversary Hearings were held in Detroit on November 17, 2007 and in Newark on December 1, 2007.

Kerner Plus 40A video archive of presentations during the Feb 28th & 29th, 2008 forums at University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Africana Studies and The Annenberg School for Communication. Also included are video clips from the Feb 25 & 26th events sponsored by The Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies, North Carolina A&T State University..

Kerner Commission member meets in DetroitA brief history of the Kerner Commission and details on events in Detroit in late 2007 to mark this year’s anniversary

Bill Moyers on Kerner at 40Host of Bill Moyers’ Journal interviews one of the two surviving members of the Kerner Commission.

Lilly/Hughes ReportThe Kerner Commission wasn’t the only effort to examine civil disorders. NJ.com provides documents related to the Hughes Commission, which examined events in the Garden State.

compiled by John Arnold

... because diversity mattersTHE STANDARD

6 THE STANDARD

When AEJMC arrives in Chicago for its national convention Aug. 6-9, it will be on the heels of the UNITY: Journalists of Color Convention to be held in Chicago July 23-29. UNITY is an alliance of four journalists’ associations of color -- Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and Native American Journalists Association. The idea of UNITY started more than 16 years ago when a member of NABJ and NAHJ realized how much the journalist groups of color had in common. The goals and challenges were strikingly similar. The journalists took their idea of creating an alliance among the journalists groups of color to the respective groups. The groups eagerly embraced the idea and began plans for the first UNITY Convention which was held in Atlanta in 1994. It was a huge success.

The second UNITY Convention was held in Seattle in 1999. The third was held in Washington, DC in 2004. With more than 8,100 UNITY members in attendance at the Washington convention, it was held as the largest gathering of journalists in US history. The goals of UNITY are consistent with those of the AEJMC Commission on the Status of Minorities. Since journalism educators play a key role in feeding the pipeline of media professionals, journalism educators, and journalism administrators, it is critical that CSM calls attention to the vital role of journalism educators in helping the profession reflect the diversity of a diverse society. As defined by its Web site, UNITY is “a strategic alliance advocating fair and accurate news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging the industry to staff its organization at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity.”

Understanding UNITYJournalism alliance, CSM share similar goals, meeting location

Journalists, Inc.To raise awareness and •participation of the media industry in understanding the diverse cultures represented by the UNITY alliance members. To increase representation •of people of color at all levels in the nation’s newsrooms. To increase and broaden •news coverage focusing on people of color, and to dispel racial and ethnic stereotypes and myths. To become recognized •as the principal national alliance of journalism professionals advocating for diversity and multiculturalism in the news media. To create a self-sustaining •organization with a diversified financial base that complements, and does not compete with alliance partners.

UNITY

You can expect registration lines (left) and panels like the one below this year at UNITY 2008.

by Linda Callahan CSM Vice-Chair

... because diversity mattersTHE STANDARD

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When strategizing on ways to make sure journalists of color have a place in the evolving journalism landscape, it makes sense that efforts should start with those entering the profession. That’s the approach UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is taking as the strategic alliance of ethnic journalists holds its August convention in Chicago. UNITY is comprised of more than 10,000 journalists of color from four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association. The convention officially starts on July 23 and runs through July 27, but high school and college journalists will begin streaming into Chicago the previous week for a wide array of hands-on training opportunities. “It broadens their horizons on what they feel they can do and what they need to do,” said Ivan Roman, executive director for NAHJ. “It’s a very valuable experience in the sense that they become part of the networking that’s necessary to have a successful career.” Roman said UNITY is especially important for college students of color who may not see students who look like them on their campuses or in the media in

the communities where they attend school.“ For some, they are the only one of their ethnicity in their school,” Roman said. There are three major opportunities at UNITY for high school and college students.

J-Camp• , a multicultural journalism program for talent high school students, will be held from July 18 to July 23 at Loyola University. The six-day training camp brings together a multicultural group of high school students from across the country and immerses the students in interactive workshops, hands-on training and field trips, according to the Asian American Journalists Association web site.

The Converged Student •Media Project: Ninety-three students will be mentored by more than 70 professional journalists in this intensive one-week project at the Chicago convention. The students will create a web site which will be the focus on constant news, activities and information from the convention. Students working in the single, multi-media newsroom, similar to the structure evolving in newsrooms throughout the industry, will be assigned to eight areas including television, print, web, photography, copy editing, video, radio and design.

Unity Student Campus: •Approximately 40 college freshmen and sophomores will gather at Columbia College Chicago’s downtown newsroom and classrooms for four days of training organized by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Beginning on Sunday, July 20, the students will work with mentors from all areas of the journalism field while they learn the basics of covering stories, experience Chicago’s vast culture of communities of color, and get training on how to network and prepare for interviews with recruiters who will be attending the convention. The students will also stay on to attend the convention.

UNITY alliance takes on teaching role for young journalists by Curtis Lawrence CSM Secretary

More than 10,000 journalists are represented when the Native American Journalists, the Asian America Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists and National Associa-tion of Hispanic Journalists meet jointly every five years.

... because diversity matters

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Meet Your CSM Officers

ChairHayg OshaganWayne State UniversityPhone:’313-577-2945h.oshagan@wayne.edu

Vice ChairLinda Florence CallahanNC A&T State UniversityPhone: 336-334-7900 Ext. 3003lindac@ncat.edu

SecretaryCurtis LawrenceColumbia-College-ChicagoPhone: 312-369-8905clawrence@colum.edu

Newsletter Co-editorGeorge L. DanielsThe University of AlabamaPhone: 205-348-8618gdaniels@ua.edu

Newsletter Co-editorJohn ArnoldPhone: 313-585-8065johnrarnold@sbeglobal.net

DIVERSITY NEWS & NOTES

Howard U.’s Hilltop To Resume Daily Print Edition Starting August 28, The Hilltop , Howard University’s student newspaper will once again be the “Daily Student Voice” both online and in print. In May, the Hilltop Policy Board gave final OK to publish daily for the 2008-2009 academic year. The decision was made after two months without a print edition. Co-founded by Louis Eugene King and Zora Neale Hurston in 1924, The Hilltop became the first HBCU newspaper to publish daily in 2005.

JOBEM To Publish Special Issue on Race/Class/Gender

CNN, HBCU Students Focus On Being Black in America CNN’s latest installment in its documentary series, “Black in America” airs later this month in two-hour programs on July 23 and July 24 at 9 p.m. EDT. The first night will focus on “The Black Woman and Family” while the second night will address issues involving “The Black Man.” In April, the Atlanta-based cable network solicited citizen journalism reports from students at several historically black colleges and universities. Each student was asked to report on “What it Means to be Black in America.” Some of the HBCU students’ iReports are already posted on a special Web site.

The Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media will publish a special theme issue focusing on the scholarly work underway regarding the complex relationship between broadcasting and messages about race, class and gender. Rebecca Lind at University of Illinois at Chicago is the guest editor. Deadline for manuscripts

is October 1. For more details, see the full

Call for Papers.