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Are you ready for Unity Lite? Some thoughts on the Hispanic withdrawal and the future of the minority journalism group once known for its unity; (UPDATING with “Post-Racial” Unity)

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I’m not sure if there is a point to Unity if two of the biggest groups have decided to abandon whatever sense of unity might exist among minority journalists.

When the black journalists left the group and weren’t at the convention last year I was dismayed. But I thought maybe Unity could still survive, especially if there was even a remote possibility of NABJ returning.

Now that the Hispanic journalists of NAHJ have pulled out, I think it’s really over.

Here was NAHJ President Hugo Balta’s message on its website this week:

“As I’ve repeatedly stated NAHJ is open to working with UNITY and look forward to discussing proposals that meet our mutual [associations’] mission.

“We wish UNITY good luck in their future endeavors.”

Sound like the kiss-off speech you get when you’re fired or laid off?

(Haven’t experienced that ever? Then you’re really a protected minority).

If two of the biggest groups aren’t represented, we have a different kind of “Unity” that is no longer unified, diverse, nor even necessary.

A group that includes AAJA, the Asian American journalists group, and the two smallest minority journalism groups from the LGBT and Native American communities, represents an organization with diminished numbers, resources, and power.

We should have figured something like this would happen when the tag line was changed last year from “Journalists of Color” to “Journalists for Diversity.”  Diversity? Or some reasonable facsimile?

Diversity without the two biggest minority groups in the organization is just a joke.

It’s also disheartening, though not surprising, to see business and financial reasons come up as the wedge that divides the different groups over the common goal of diversity.

Of course, joining a bigger group makes perfect sense to the minority of minority journalism groups representing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, and Native Americans.

But how can Unity make sense for everyone else?

What kind of formula would lure back NABJ, NAHJ?

What kind of arrangement is needed to keep even AAJA members interested?

The current president Paul Cheung has just sent an e-mail to AAJA members, saying that since July the remaining alliance members are working to restructure Unity to make it “more nimble, flexible, and financially sound.”  Furthermore, it says AAJA has taken a leadership role in coming up with solutions.

I’ll be open to whatever the remaining Unity reps come up with. But if it doesn’t compel NABJ or NAHJ to re-join, then it may not be good enough.

The group certainly shouldn’t be called Unity.

I’ve been to every Unity convention and believe in the mission of bringing the power of all the organizations together to make our case for diversity together.

But what good is a new and nimble Unity without the blacks and Hispanics?

Do we really need Unity Lite?

(Clarification: NAHJ as of August had 1,279 members and was the second largest Unity partner. AAJA was the largest with 1,597 members in August. NABJ withdrew from Unity in 2011. It has nearly 3,000 members,  according to Richard Prince’s Journalisms/Maynard Institute website).

See other posts and like us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media

 

ADDENDUM: (10/24/13, 11:24 am PDT)

Without the blacks and Hispanics, you essentially have a GAAJANA (Gay Asian American Journalists Association/Native Americans). It would be a different organization, just not “Unity.” And probably not worth it to organizations to take  time from their own specific concerns. Too bad the formal idea has  already been built and established,  but there’s no will to do what’s right for all. No one uses the good of the people argument here.

A “Unity” without all the groups is really like a Congress without 50 states. But  Congress has its problems with gridlock and “doing the right thing.” Why did we expect anything different with our journalism organizations?

UPDATE (10/24/13 11:43 am PDT )

Disappointment but willingness to let go from a significant early member of Unity, who compared the situation to marriage, essentially saying sometimes it doesn’t work out and you move on. That’s a sign that the old Unity is  really gone forever. Anything from here on will be brand new and be very different. 

Initially, I called it Unity Lite. But it’s really a kind of “Post-Racial” Unity.

So here’s an idea:Why don’t we just try to diversify existing mainstream groups like SPJ, RTNDA, and the like instead of creating a brand new Unity?

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The Slants are Undaunted; Asian American Rock Band Will Fight On To Register and Trademark Its Name

The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has refused to let an Asian American rock band known as “The Slants,” register its name which was found  by the board to be “disparaging.”

Bass player and founder Simon Tam spoke with Emil Guillermo the morning after the decision was handed down on Oct. 2.

Tam said he was glad the case is now out of the trademark court area, so that a case can now be filed in federal court where it can be determined if the group has been denied the name of the basis of race. He believes it is an important civil rights battle to “take back” and re-appropriate the term which has been used in the past as a slur.

 

[powerpress]http://www.amok.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/The-Slants-are-UndauntedAsian-American-Rock-Band-Will-Fight-On-To-Trademark-Its-Name.m4a[/powerpress]

 

See my original take on The Slants back in 2011 here: http://aaldef.org/blog/my-slant-on-the-slants-and-other-asian-american-n-words.html

 

Don’t forget to check out my column at www.aaldef.org/blog

The Slants are Undaunted;Asian American Rock Band Will Fight On To Trademark Its Name

 

 

From The Slants “Yellow Album,” released late 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

blog, diversity, journalism, news, race

CBS’ Julie Chen’s the “Talk” about her eyes at the EYE; But candor on race has come pretty late for the TV star

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Here’s my initial reaction to the Julie Chen reveal of how she dealt with racism in TV News that I posted on my “Emil Guillermo Media” Facebook site– https://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media  :

Post by Emil Guillermo Media.

 

I think the bottom line is it’s still a self-serving reveal for Chen, especially since she appears to have only done it to fill out a show theme on “secrets” for her program, “The Talk.”
Wouldn’t it have been better–and more credible–if she had come out boldly after the “Big Brother” debacle this season? Yes, BB is also Chen’s show, but the presence of a specific contestant who spouted anti-Asian comments throughout the show, would have given Chen a real opportunity to come out more naturally about how she dealt with anti-Asian racism in the past.

So instead of seeing  Julie Chen as Rosa Parks, I’m wondering, what’s up Julie Chen?
Here’s someone who knows how hard it is as a minority to get ahead in TV news. She recalls the blatant racism she experienced in Ohio. And frankly, she must know that some version of that conversation can be heard in newsrooms even today.

And yet, prior to this, Julie Chen has not been known in broadcast circles as a pioneering diversity advocate.

This is after years of success as Chen represents the best example of hair and makeup, and now plastic surgery. She has quite a career as one who has married a network president and has an ubiquitous presence in daytime, primetime, and bedtime.

But maybe this is the start of a brand new Julie. Perhaps someone has told her about that old phrase of the jazz great Ramsey Lewis, “When you take the elevator up, don’t forget to send it back down.”

 

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Adventures in learning Facebook: I’m back on, but I didn’t get married on it

I just started up on Facebook again.

Maybe it was because I just went to a journalism conference and there was more interest it seemed in the digital media than there was in any other form of media. Should I trust it, most of the people at the conference don’t even know what a typewriter was.  But it’s a fact. FB is the internet, the better AOL, the place where people are. So I  am now on Facebook:

I’m on “Emil Guillermo Media”    https://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media  Like me there.

And so as not to confuse my professional writing from my personal musings and pictures of food and stuff Asian Americans like me  like to post:

https://www.facebook.com/emil.Guillermo

You will note that I was an early adopter of FB, starting up when they opened to the general  public in 2007. But I’m slow. I  didn’t become addicted until last week.

That’s all as a preface to this  note I posted on FB last week and that I repost here on my personal website. You see, I had an unintentional “life event” on FB, and I got to see how FB works so powerfully to connect people at the drop of the hat.

But as the Wall Street Journal would say, it required some “Clarification and Amplifcation.”

Here’s my note:

Dear Friends. I won’t bury the lead. I didn’t get married today. But hear me out, it’s kind of an interesting story. This is the first time I’ve been able to get to the computer to make amends for my errant post this a.m. As many of you know, I have “stayed away” from Facebook for many years. I was a bad FB’er. Maybe it was because I remember the original hardbound Facebook, where I would try to figure out how to meet some cute freshman from Radcliffe. But recently, I’ve been convinced that I should get on this thing (Zuckerberg will have Asian American babies and they will need help fighting any glass ceilings they might face). It’s also better than “aol” and where else can I go on the internet? www.amok.com? So I have become a “user.” But still a neophyte. As I adjusted my status from “nothing” to “married,” I was in the wrong update area. And so instead of simply saying “I’m married,” it posted I had a life event and “got married.” This, of course, was news to my wife of 26 years as well. So this is turning into a life event all the same. I am hearing from many people who wish me well. I am grateful for that and I’m sorry to alarm you, though it is a bit like a happier, cyber version of Huck and Tom attending their own funeral. My wife Kathy and I actually eloped and many years ago (26 years this month) and never had a big party, so this is a reminder that when we do get around to that big party, you all can show up on FB and real life. We weren’t registered anywhere for this, so no harm there. I’m just gratified to see so many well wishers and hope this explanation helps straighten things out. And please rest assured, I did not do this to get another column topic. Though, I will add this to my file of “Adventures in learning FB.” This is my personal site where you will get stuff like this.Go to the Emil Guillermo Media fb site to get my other writing. Best to you all, Emil  P.S. and next time I get married, you definitely will be the first to know.

https://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media