Thanks Anita for the information about this important debate.
I urge our members in the D.C. area to attend this session
and support Juan Gonzalez.
Also, we would appreciate tremendously if someone would volunteer to write
an analysis of the debate for publication in the spring issue
of MAC News.
Thanks
Ali.




>===== Original Message From Anita Fleming-Rife <[log in to unmask]> =====
>FYI,
>Anita
>>X-Really-To: <unknown>
>>User-Agent: Microsoft-Outlook-Express-Macintosh-Edition/5.02.2022
>>Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 20:05:43 -0500
>>Subject: Debate on Diversity in Journalism
>>From: David Honig <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: MMTC Board of Directors <[log in to unmask]>,
>>        MMTC Board of Advisors <[log in to unmask]>,
>>        MMTC Braintrust <[log in to unmask]>
>>
>>Dear Colleagues,
>>
>>The following debate on the impact of diversity initiatives in
>>journalism might be of interest.
>>
>>David Honig
>>Executive Director
>>Minority Media and
>> Telecommunications Council
>>3636 16th St. NW #BG-54
>>Washington, D.C.  20010
>>[log in to unmask]
>>202-332-7005
>>fax 202-332-7511
>>11/14/02
>>
>>
>>
>>The following is a National Press Club press release.
>>
>>
>>
>>NAHJ President and "Coloring the News" Author to Debate  Impact of
>>Journalism Diversity Efforts
>>
>>
>>Contact: John Aubuchon, 202-662-7517  or Melinda Cooke, 202-662-7516
>>
>>Event Information:  November 18, 2002 - 7:30 PM
>>National Press Club
>>Holeman Lounge
>>529 14th Street, NW
>>Washington, DC 20045
>>
>>The National Press Club will sponsor a debate November 18, 2002 over
>>one of the most difficult issues within journalism: the decades-old
>>effort to increase diversity in America's newsrooms.  The president
>>of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Juan
>>Gonzalez, will present the case for increasing diversity efforts,
>>while William McGowan, author of "Coloring the News," will discuss
>>his book's conclusion that over-eager diversity efforts have
>>distorted news coverage.
>>
>>Terence Smith, the veteran television and print correspondent who
>>leads the Media Unit of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, will moderate
>>the event.  Smith's work on the NewsHour earned him the Arthur C.
>>Rowse Award for Media Criticism from the National Press Club in
>>2002, 2000 and 1999.  He formerly reported for the New York Times
>>and CBS News.
>>
>>Mr. Gonzalez, a columnist with the New York Daily News, has led the
>>NAHJ to step up its pressure on media companies to recruit more
>>minorities.  A strategic initiative adopted by the organization's
>>board last month calls on the news industry to double the percentage
>>of Latinos employed by daily newspapers from the current 3.8 percent
>>to 7.8 percent and to boost the percentage of Latinos working for
>>local English-language television stations from the current 6.1
>>percent to 9.0 percent by 2008.
>>
>>Mr. McGowan contends in "Coloring the News" that diversity efforts
>>have resulted in excessive attention to numbers of minorities at the
>>cost to journalism's quality.  He further argues that this sometimes
>>extends to word and quote counts to ensure minority representation
>>in stories, distorting the essence of the editorial process.
>>
>>"The question is not whether diversity in the newsroom is good or
>>bad,"  said National Press Club President John Aubuchon.  "It's a
>>question of how we as journalists are doing and how our employers
>>are doing in trying to achieve it."  A resolution adopted by the
>>National Press Club's Board of Governors in July 2002 declared,
>>"Only by bringing journalists of color and other minorities fully
>>into our editorial process can we change the content of our
>>newspapers and broadcasts to reflect accurately our communities."
>>
>>But the National Press Club also honored the McGowan book with a
>>Rouse Award for Media Criticism that month, on grounds that his work
>>had stimulated debate within the journalism community over an
>>important issue.  That decision drew sharp protests from several
>>minority journalism organizations, including the NAHJ.  In a July
>>letter to Aubuchon, Gonzalez challenged the National Press Club to
>>sponsor a debate with McGowan --- a proposal Aubuchon quickly
>>translated into an invitation to McGowan, the NAHJ and the National
>>Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). McGowan and Gonzalez
>>quickly accepted; the NABJ declined to participate.
>>
>>The event is open for coverage. Admission is free and open to the
>>public, but space is limited, so reservations should be made by
>>calling the Press Club's reservation line at 662-7501 or emailing
>> [log in to unmask]
>
>Anita Fleming-Rife, Ph.D.
>Assistant Professor
>Media Studies Department
>223 Carnegie
>Penn State University
>University Park, PA. 16802
>(814) 865-8135
>Fax#: (814) 863-8161