Covering the Trayvon Martin story: Readers take sides; The Herald can’t

On stories like the death of Trayvon Martin, we must redouble our efforts to be neutral arbiters.

 BY AMINDA MARQUES GONZALEZ

AMARQUES@MIAMIHERALD.COM

Watching the reactions on social media to the unfolding aftermath of Trayvon Martin’s tragic death is a study of American life and attitudes.

As news gatherers — and an organization pursuing all aspects of this story — Miami Herald reporters and editors have witnessed this up close and personal.

When we revealed details of George Zimmerman’s penchant for police work and prolific calls to authorities, some in the Twitterverse cheered us for disclosing the information. Last week, when we reported details about Trayvon’s suspensions from Michael M. Krop High School, many responded angrily, suggesting that revealing the new details was an attempt to justify the death of the Miami Gardens teen.

When we are dealing with a topic that is sensitive and emotional, readers take sides. We cannot. Our role and responsibility is to provide as much information as possible — even those details that some would rather not hear — in an even-handed and nonsensational manner.

This is all the more important in what may be the first racially charged story to play out in the new media landscape where social media dominates, fueling the story nationally. Consider this: Twitter came online in early 2006, the same year that the Jena Six story broke, in which six black teenagers were charged in the beating of a white student amid escalating racial tensions.

Today, the shooting of the unarmed 17-year-old by a neighborhood crime watch captain has galvanized a national movement. When we in the media are dealing with a complex, nuanced story, our job as neutral arbiter is even more important.

There is an insatiable thirst for information and answers in a story with far too many holes. A story on Page 1 of this Sunday’s paper by Frances Robles attempts to fill those gaps, cataloguing what is known and what is not.

Meanwhile, the void of information is sometimes being filled with speculation and inaccuracies.

Since Trayvon Martin’s shooting on Feb. 26, The Miami Herald alone has reported dozens of elements to this story. Each new element adds another layer to help explain this tragedy — from Trayvon’s dream of a career in aviation to Zimmerman’s interest in criminal justice.

The full context is in the totality of our coverage. As new details emerge, we work hard not only to get the information right but to put it in the proper context of our overall coverage. Those discussions are taking place several times a day inside the newsroom — from which photos to use and with what stories, to where to place those stories online and in the newspaper.

For example, the day we learned details of Trayvon’s three suspensions, we played that story below a Page 1 story that examined how anger over handling of the case had spurred a new wave of political activism. When we used the photo of Trayvon in his hoodie, we did so alongside a story that explained the hoodie as a symbol.

There is still much we don’t know — and it will likely take some time before we understand all of the circumstances surrounding Trayvon’s death. Meanwhile, we will continue to press for answers on both sides over the coming days and weeks.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/31/2724660/covering-the-travon-martin-story.html#storylink=cpy

President Obama Appoints Hunter Professor Emeritus Kotelchuck to Key Post

President Obama has announced the appointment of Hunter College Professor Emeritus, Dr. David Kotelchuck, to the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health.

The Board, established in 2000 as part of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, advises the Secretary of Health and Human Services on guidelines for assessing whether an employee's cancer diagnosis can be traced to work performed at a Department of Energy or Atomic Weapons Employer facility. 

Kotelchuck, who is expected to be sworn in this month, was surprised to hear the President's announcement.  "I was not expecting to be nominated, much less appointed. I am absolutely honored," he said.

The founder and former director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at Hunter College, Kotelchuck was honored in 2008 with the Alice Hamilton Award from the American Public Health Association for his role in improving and advocating for worker health and safety.

Kotelchuck said that his work at Hunter, specifically his time as director of the Hazardous Substances Academic Training Program, prepared him well for his membership on the advisory board.  He also made particular mention of his time in the classroom, saying that, "For over 20 years I taught the graduate course Noise and Radiation Hazards and Controls, and through that I was able to keep up with what was going on in the field."  He added, "I would tell my classes that I had personally been exposed to radiation and appear to have escaped the bullet," referring to some of his earliest work as an experimentalist in high-energy physics, often in environments where radiation exposure was part of the job.

While at Hunter, Kotelchuck also served as the deputy director of the New York/New Jersey Education and Research Center and as an adjunct associate professor at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.  He received a BA in physics from Johns Hopkins University, a PhD in physics from Cornell, and an MPH in occupational health from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Josh Powell, 2 young sons, killed in house explosion

More Artists Join Dr. Cornel West, Jesse Jackson In Fight Against Grammys Over Eliminated Categories

by Roman Wolfe February 3rd, 2012 @ 3:50pm

(AllHipHop News) Educators/activists/rapper Dr. Cornel West and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are leading a group of artists and executives who are demanding cultural diversity from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).

NARAS is the organization that produces the annual Grammy Awards, which honors the top performing music artists, producers and engineers, in a variety of categories.

But The Grammys has been under fire for sweeping changes the organization has made to the categories.

Dr. West and Rev. Jesse Jackson are working with artists/organizations like Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Grammywatch.org and now, Presente.org, in the battle to restore diversity to The Grammys.

Presente.org, which is the largest online Latino advocacy organization in the U.S., has joined in the growing criticism of The Grammys.

The artists and activists are upset that NARAS eliminated a number of categories, comprised mostly of ethnic music.

Categories like Gospel, R&B, Traditional and Contemporary Jazz, Latin Jazz, Traditional and Contemporary Blues, Cajun/Zydeco, Polka, Mexican Norteña, Native American and Hawaiian music have been eliminated.

To make matters worse, the activists say the changes were done without the knowledge of the organizations 21,000 members.

“Neal Portnow and the big bosses at the Grammys have committed a deplorable act of greed and racial discrimination by deleting music categories that are so central to the lives of so many,” Presente.org Executive Director, Arturo Carmona, said. “Portnow and the Grammys have nothing to celebrate and deserve an lifetime achievement award for putting profit over people. We are honored and highly motivated to join the fight to re-institute the deleted categories on behalf of the millions who love Latin jazz, Gospel, R&B and other musical genres.”

Over the past year, the Grammys have come under fire for their alleged lack of diversity in honoring all forms of music.

Last year, music industry/advertising executive Steve Stoute wrote an open letter  to The Grammy’s in a full-page ad in The New York Times .

He most recently sat down with the Associated Press, where he further discussed The Grammys’ lack of ethnic diversity, along with their alleged exploitation of Hip-Hop music.

Check out the article, which contains commentary from 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Quest Love and Steve Stoute. 

CRADLE TO PRISON PIPELINE® CAMPAIGN

Nationally, 1 in 3 Black and 1 in 6 Latino boys born in 2001 are at risk of imprisonment during their lifetime. While boys are five times as likely to be incarcerated as girls, there also is a significant number of girls in the juvenile justice system. This rate of incarceration is endangering children at younger and younger ages.

This is America's pipeline to prison — a trajectory that leads to marginalized lives, imprisonment and often premature death. Although the majority of fourth graders cannot read at grade level, states spend about three times as much money per prisoner as per public school pupil.

CDF's vision with it's Cradle to Prison Pipeline campaign is to reduce detention and incarceration by increasing preventive supports and services children need, such as access to quality early childhood development and education services and accessible, comprehensive health and mental health coverage. Emphasis must be shifted for the sake of our children and our nation's future.

State Coalitions to Dismantle the Pipeline

The Cradle to Prison Pipeline campaign launched during a national summit three years ago held at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Community leaders, government officials, educators, parents and young people responded by forming coalitions to keep children in school and out of trouble in their communities. Summits have convened in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Ohio and Texas. During the meetings, participants formulate action plans and form working groups to promote best practices, build community and confront policies that are contributing to the crisis in their state.

On January 25th, 2011, the Massachusetts coalition reconvened to continue the work of addressing zero tolerance and school discipline policies that are funneling children into the state’s criminal justice system. Learn more about the goals and principles of the Massachusetts coalition and download the group’s action plan.

Listen to a radio interview with Barbara Best, CDF’s Director of Foundation Relations and Special Projects, about the Massachusetts Coalition’s work.

Black Leaders Address the Mass Incarceration of Youth

The Black Community Crusade for Children (BCCC) is committed to dismantling the pipeline to prison through education and by expanding programs that work such as the CDF Freedom Schools® program and replicating the Harlem Children’s Zone model in other communities through the Promise Neighborhoods Initiative. During a meeting in December 2010, Black leaders gathered at CDF Haley Farm to discuss the problems Black youth face and promising approaches. Watch new videos from the convening where author Michelle Alexander addresses the devastating impact that the mass incarceration of Black men is having on communities and Judith Browne-Dianis of the Advancement Project discusses zero tolerance policies in schools.

• Michelle Alexander, Author,The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
  Bio
• Judith Browne-Dianis, Esq., Co-Director, Advancement Project
  Bio

Portrait of Inequality 2011

The economic crisis of the last three years has pushed Black children and youth deeper and deeper into an abyss of poverty, hunger, homelessness and despair. Black children and youth continue to face multiple risks from birth and throughout life that increase the danger of their becoming part of the Cradle to Prison Pipeline® crisis that leads to dead end lives. To highlight these harsh realities CDF produced the “Portrait of Inequality 2011”, a report showing the gross inequalities facing Black children compared to White children, across all critical indicators of wellbeing.

Click here to download the report.

Promising Models for Reforming Juvenile Justice Systems

As Congress considers re-authorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), CDF President Marian Wright Edelman looks at several promising approaches across the country that are changing the juvenile justice paradigm from punishment and incarceration as a first resort to prevention, early intervention and rehabilitation that put children onto a path to productive adulthood in her weekly Child Watch® Column, "Promising Models for Reforming Juvenile Justice Systems."
 
 

Key Immediate Action Steps

Tens of thousands of youth are being funneled down life paths that often lead to arrest, conviction, incarceration and even death. The urgent challenge for each of us and for our nation is to prevent this waste of our children's lives and our nation's capabilities.

Find out ways you and your community can step up and take action.

Learn More about the Pipeline in Your State

Access state-level data on the various issues related to the Pipeline including poverty, health care, early childhood education, education, child welfare, juvenile justice system and incarceration, and community violence with CDF's Cradle to Prison Pipeline state factsheets. These factsheets also provide action steps needed to protect and reroute children from the pipeline.

America's Cradle to Prison Pipeline^© Report

This report documents an urgent national crisis at the intersection of poverty and race. The report includes an overview of the major factors behind the Pipeline, photographs that show the faces of children in the Pipeline, case studies describing how the Pipeline affects children, calls for the hard work and persistence needed to build a transforming movement, descriptions of some promising approaches to help keep children out of the Pipeline, and research tables and state-by-state data of key child indicators. Learn more and download the report.
 
 

Youth in the Juvenile Justice System are Underserved in Los Angeles County

On December 2nd, Marian Wright Edelman joined with Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas to discuss the state of the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles County and release the report, “Juvenile Reentry in Los Angeles County: An Exploration of the Strengths, Barriers and Policy Options.” The reentry report found that most juveniles who are released from long-term secure placement in the county are not successfully reintegrating into their communities. These youth require services and supports that meaningfully engage them in school, employment, and community life if they are to successfully exit the Cradle to Prison Pipeline and enter the pipeline to college and work. The report on juvenile reentry was prepared for Supervisor Ridley-Thomas’ office earlier this year by Michelle Newell and Angelica Salazar, former masters candidates at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government who now both work at the Children’s Defense Fund on juvenile justice policy.

Read the entire set of findings and policy recommendations in the full report edited for the Web.

Innovative Solutions to Dismantling the Pipeline in Texas

The American Leadership Forum Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter has produced a report,Dismantling the Cradle to Prison Pipeline in Houston and Texas: A Study of Solutions, that documents promising approaches that are effectively shutting down the pipeline by focusing on prevention and early intervention. These programs create a more positive future for young people and save taxpayers by avoiding the costs of incarceration. Thereport and accompanying power point presentation can be found on the American Leadership Forum’s website.

http://www.childrensdefense.org/programs-campaigns/cradle-to-prison-pipeline/index.html