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The Root Gets Its First Black Owner

by richard0716

Stories to Reflect Communities’ ‘Depth, Complexity’

 

NABJ Meets With WaPo Editor; Opinion Pages Move Right

Court Denies Appeal to Stop Guevara Deportation

. . . El Salvador Journalists Group Goes Into Exile

Myron Lowery, News Anchor Turned Politician, Dies at 78

Short Takes: Visa restrictions for foreign journalists;  FCC’s Brendan Carr urged to resign;  Doug Mitchell; Hillary Clinton; Terence Samuel;  Nora Gámez Torres;  Jesse Watters;  Jorge Ramos and María Elena Salinas

Homepage photo of Ashley Allison by Watering Hole Media/YouTube

“Hell’s Kitchen,” a hit Broadway musical from Alicia Keys’ “very own” Kecia Lewis, was recognized in December as one of The Root’s most influential Black Americans — “The Root 100.” (Credit: YouTube). 

Stories to Reflect Communities’ ‘Depth, Complexity’

The Root is moving to Black ownership for the first time since its founding in 2008, purchased by a company owned and founded by Ashley Allison (pictured), political strategist, communications expert, CNN commentator, and former Obama-Biden White House official.

A spokesperson declined to say whether the new ownership means a change in the editorial team or in its approach to the news, now heavy on chatty, Black-oriented People magazine-style stories.

One prominent piece Thursday, for example, is headlned, “After Years of Drama, Ray J’s Beef With the Kardashians Takes Explosive New Turn: The drama between Ray J, his famous ex Kim Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner has been brewing for years. And now it may have finally reached its breaking point!”

However, all signs point to a different approach.

“This acquisition isn’t just about a media brand changing hands,” a publicist said. “It’s about returning one of the most trusted voices in Black journalism back to Black ownership, restoring its legacy as a front-page platform for culture, politics, and unapologetic truth-telling.”

[Some news organizations reported that The Root was “returning” to Black ownership, but it was never Black-owned, as former editor Danielle Belton confirms in a posting on Threads.]

Henry Louis Gates Jr., (pictured) the Harvard scholar who in 2008 co-founded The Root with Donald Graham of The Washington Post Co. — who Gates said had the idea for a “Black Huffington Post” — told Journal-isms that The Root is making “a return to its roots.” He added, “When we created the Root, it was the leading Black site for cutting edge news and thoughtful opinion about the entire Black world.””

About Allison, 43, the news release says the political activist, “who also served as the National Coalitions Director for the Biden-Harris 2020 presidential campaign, has built a career on amplifying diverse voices and navigating the intersection of politics, policy, and culture. Through Watering Hole Media, she brings this experience to the digital landscape, positioning the company to deliver journalism, storytelling, and entertainment that reflect the depth and complexity of Black communities.”

“ ‘This isn’t about making more content but rather about making meaning of this moment,’ shares
Allison. ‘The Root has always been about preserving culture and creating clarity in a world full of
distractions. Owning the power to tell our own stories is a rich tradition The Root is committed to
upholding.”
Rashad Robinson (pictured)., longtime social justice leader and former president of Color of Change, is also “joining as a strategic advisor, underscoring the importance of this relaunch in building infrastructure for Black talent and reporting.
“ ‘This is an exciting moment in the media landscape, with so much potential to make Black voices
an even stronger force in the big fights taking place in our country right now,’ Robinson said. ‘The Root provides an infrastructure for growing Black talent and supports a drumbeat of reporting on issues that would not otherwise gain momentum. I’m excited to be part of its next chapter.’ ”

Allison appeared on “NewsNight with Abby Phillip on Thursday.

Once the parent company of The Onion, Jezebel, Quartz and Deadspin, G/O’s portfolio contained a single outlet, The Root. CEO Jim Spanfeller said in July, “The Root is a wonderful site and a very good business.” 

Still, Corbin Bolies reported for The Wrap, “The Root is one of several G/O Media outlets that squabbled with company and editorial leadership before eventually being acquired. Root staffers launched multiple labor disputes with its editor in chief, Tatsha Robertson, in 2023 over creating a ‘toxic and hostile work environment,’ leading G/O Media to retaliate with its own unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. The two sides eventually dropped their most egregious charges.”

Robertson, once of the Boston Globe, is the site’s eighth editorial leader. She followed Vanessa K. De Luca, Danielle Belton, Lyne Pitts, Lynette Clemetson, Joel Dreyfuss, Sheryl Huggins Salomon and Danyel Smith.

NABJ Meets With WaPo Editor; Opinion Pages Move Right

The National Association of Black Journalists met Monday with leadership at The Washington Post “to raise urgent concerns about the environment for Black journalists at the paper following the firing of columnist Karen Attiah and the recent departures of several Black reporters, editors and senior staff members,” the association said.

On Thursday,  new Post opinions editor Adam O’Neal announced the hiring of three  white opinion journalists with conservative backgrounds: Dominic Pino, most recently economics editor of the National Review; Kate Andrews, most recently deputy U.S. editor of the Spectator, and Carine Hajjar, Boston Globe columnist.

Black opinion writers Karen Attiah, Eugene Robinson, Jonathan Capehart and Colbert King have left the newspaper or announced they would be leaving.

The NABJ team met with Executive Editor Matt Murray (pictured), who has no jurisdiction over the editorial pages.

Asked about the meeting, a Post spokesperson said only, “I can confirm the meeting on background as a Post spokesperson and that The Washington Post remains committed to advancing diversity at all levels of our organization.”

The NABJ announcement said, “NABJ President Errin Haines (pictured) emphasized during the meeting that The Washington Post must remain committed to representation and diversity, especially given the industry’s history and the paper’s legacy of hiring, retaining, and promoting Black journalists. Today, NABJ is once again watching to see whether The Post will build on that legacy or retreat from it.

“ ‘The absence of Black journalists doesn’t just harm us — it impoverishes the entire profession. When our voices are missing, stories go untold, perspectives go unchallenged, and the truth remains incomplete,’ ” Haines said.

NABJ said Murray “acknowledged the challenges of newsroom restructuring. He outlined steps underway, including a new two-year internship program designed to expand access for journalists of color, a willingness to meet with existing Black staff and a commitment to improve career development and retention of diverse staff. Still, our concerns remain about the impact of recent departures, particularly Black editors, and the effect on newsroom culture.”

Meanwhile, the Asian American Journalists Association, NABJ’s Chicago and Washington chapters, as well as the D.C. chapter of AAJA expressd support for Attiah, who was fired over a social media posting regarding reaction to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In addition, the Associated Press ran an opinion piece by race and ethnicity reporter Jaylen Green, “In Black columnist’s firing, advocates fear decreasing diversity, vital perspectives in news media.”

Court Denies Appeal to Stop Guevara Deportation

“A federal court has denied journalist Mario Guevara’s emergency attempt to stop immigration authorities from deporting him to El Salvador,” Dan Raby reported Wednesday for WUPA-TV, now known as CBS Atlanta. 

“Guevara, who was arrested while covering a ‘No Kings’ protest in DeKalb County in June, has been in ICE custody for more than 100 days while the legal battle over his detention continued.

“On Wednesday night, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Guevara’s deportation could go forward, finding that, while the journalist did have the First Amendment right to report on the protest, he had not filed the proper paperwork to apply for permanent residency. . . . (photo credit: WAGA Atlanta)

“With the ruling, Guevara is at risk of being sent to El Salvador at any time and remains in custody.”

Giovanni Diaz, a lawyer for Guevara, appeared Monday night the Journal-isms Roundtable (video; starting at 00:33:11.000 )

Doaz said his client was not a legal permanent resident, though he was allowed to be in the United States.

His situation was “I think terrifying to a lot of folks that we’ve spoken to here in Georgia that are involved with the media, because he had a big press badge. He had his helmet on. It was a vest . . . that said ‘PRESS’ in bold, and it was huge, and he was also wearing his credentials on his neck. And he was live streaming, which is something that he does every single day. So, they arrested him. For… maybe not complying, or in their view at the time, he wasn’t complying with some of the things that they were asking him to do.

“But those charges were subsequently dropped, and I think where it started to get really disturbing was, after being arrested, another jurisdiction in the Metro Atlanta area, Gwinnett County, suddenly swore out warrant for his arrest, for alleged conduct while covering some police and ICE activity in the past.

“And they saw our warrants on them. And that — you know, most of us had never seen anything like that.
There were traffic violations, essentially.”

Diaz added that “it seems the entire immigration court system is politically compromised,” but said, “What we’re hoping is we’re going to get a decision on the emergency stay from the 11th Circuit,” before Thursday, Oct. 2.

The Salvadoran Journalists Association presents its 2024 Press Freedom Report on May 5. (Credit: Salvadoran Journalists Association [APES])

. . . El Salvador Journalists Group Goes Into Exile

Meanwhile, in El Salvador, the country to which Mario Guevara would be deported, “The Salvadoran Journalists Association (APES), the country’s main union, announced the closure of its operations and its forced exile in the face of increasing harassment of the press under the Nayib Bukele administration,” Spain’s El Pais reported Wednesday.

“This was confirmed to El PAÍS by its president, Sergio Arauz. His departure marks a historic precedent: for the first time since its founding in 1936, the association is transferring its legal status outside the country. This event follows the exile of 43 other journalists this year, a consequence of the escalating authoritarian regime.

“In recent years, APES has become an uncomfortable player for the Bukele administration by constantly denouncing attacks on the press and freedom of expression . In its most recent report, it recorded 789 attacks in 2024, the highest number in the last decade. According to the report, most of them came from state agents: police, soldiers, public officials, and even the president himself. . . . “

Shaquiena Davis reports on Myron Lowery’s publlc life for WATN-TV in Memphis. (Credit: YouTube)

Myron Lowery, News Anchor Turned Politician, Dies at 78

Longtime Memphis public servant Myron Lowery, an early officer of the National Associaton of Black Journalists and a broadcast journalist in the city, has died, Shelby County Government officials announced Sunday. He was 78.

 A cause of death has not been released, James Coleman wrote Thursday for the Tri-State Defender .

“Prior to his time in public office, Lowery was a news anchor and reporter for WMC-TV Action News 5. He was elected to the Memphis City Council in 1991, of which he would eventually serve as chairman and become the longest-serving Black councilmember. He also served as the city’s mayor pro tem for three months after Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton retired before the end of his term in 2009,” Lucas Finton wrote for the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Lowery was NABJ’s first vice-president/broadcast, elected in 1981, and in 1973, two years after becoming a journalist, helped organized the Memphis Association of Black Communicators, Wayne Dawkins writes in “Black Journalists: The NABJ Story.” Lowery helped Black journalists in other ways as well.

“Lowery sued WMC-TV for racial discrimination in 1981, making a successful settlement that paved the way for many other employment discrimination suits by African Americans,” reported the HistoryMakers.

“He then went on to work as press secretary for Congressman Harold Ford Sr. and as manager of corporate relations at FedEx. In 1991, Lowery ran for Memphis City Council and won. Five years later, he was a speaker at the Democratic National Convention when President Bill Clinton won the Democratic primary. He also served as a superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention in 2008, at which Barack Obama won the Democratic primary. In his role on City Council, Lowery has initiated a successful gun buy-back program, the installation of red light cameras at busy intersections, and the reform of some of the City Council’s discussion processes.”

In addition, Coleman wrote in the Tri-State Defender, “Toward the end of his tenure, he prioritized the removal of the statue of Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest from Health Sciences Park in Memphis’ Medical District. The remains of Forrest and his wife were also relocated.

“ ‘It is no longer politically correct to glorify someone who was a slave trader, someone who was a racist, on public property,’ Lowery said at the time.

“In 1996, Lowery was a speaker at the Democratic National Convention. He also served as a member of the Democratic National Committee, the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, and as treasurer of the United Negro College Fund’s National Alumni Council. He was also a board member of the National League of Cities. . . .

“A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Greater Imani Church, The Cathedral of Faith, 3824 Austin Peay Hwy. There will be a private interment.”

Short Takes

  • Doug Mitchell (pictured), founder and director of Next Generation Radio (video),  a “locally focused professional, digital media skill development progam funded by public media stations, colleges and universities,”  left NPR on Tuesday , having started there in 1987, he wrote Thursday on LinkedIn. “We will (eventually) establish Next Gen as an independent organization. In the short term, we will remain a program that is ‘hired’ by funders/sponsors to conduct our audio-focused sprints,” Mitchell wrote . “Meanwhile, we’ll return to Texas in 2026, bring back ‘Next Gen Radio: Indigenous,’ and launch our first collaboration with support from a large startup incubator in Oklahoma. We’ll look to return to Cincinnati, continue developing new projects/collaborations in new locations around the US, publish a regular newsletter, and, with luck, secure funding for a site overhaul and a second season of our podcast, ‘Future Rewind.’ “
  • An editorial in the conservative-leaning Boston Herald took exception to statements by Hillary Clinton that it said “doubled down on the vitriol, declaring that the ills of the country can be laid at the feet of white men. And not just any white men. ‘The idea that you could turn the clock back and try to recreate a world that never was dominated by, you know, let’s say it: white men of a certain persuasion, a certain religion, a certain point of view, a certain ideology, it’s just doing such damage to what we should be aiming for,’ Clinton said last week on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’ . . . .”
  • Jesse Watters, host of Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” told viewers Tuesday that “Liberals want the military to be out of shape because Trump wants them in shape. They’re not even really mad about the fit test, they’re mad that Pentagon DOGE’d DEI, which was a bigger threat than all of America’s enemies combined,” reported Media Matters for America.

ICE Attacks Journalists in New York, Chicago

Sept. 30, 2025

Fourth Estate Faces Hospital Stays, Arrests, Tear Gas

Nominations Open for J-Educator Promoting Diversity

A photographer tends to injured journalist L. Vural Elibol Tuesday after an ICE agent apparently shoved him hard to the floor at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan.  (Credit: Dean Moses/amNewYork )

Fourth Estate Faces Hospital Stays, Arrests, Tear Gas

A photojournalist on assignment at New York’s federal immigration court was assaulted and hospitalized Tuesday after a chaotic incident with agents from the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to New York news reports. That development followed a weekend in Chicago in which federal authorities arrested at least one journalist and used chemical weapons on protesters and members of the press.

Also in Chicago, WBBM-TV, known as CBS Chicago, reported Sunday that its reporter Asal Rezaei was alone, driving her truck to an ICE detention center when a masked federal agent shot pepper balls at her from about 50 feet inside the fence.

The incidents coincided with a Journal-isms Roundtable discussion Monday of “ICE and the Press,” in which more than 75 journalists, students and experts discussed what speakers described as out-of-control federal immigration authorities who they said increasingly believe they can act with impunity toward the press and others who get in their way. Another 80 watched on Facebook. You can watch that discussion here.


More than 75 journalists, students and experts met Monday at the Medill-D.C. campus and via Zoom for the Journal-isms Roundtable discussion of “ICE and the Press.” Another 80 watched on Facebook. (video)

“ICE agents assaulted amNewYork’s own Dean Moses, and allegedly attacked another journalist, on Tuesday morning as they were documenting the ongoing arrests of individuals attending immigration court proceedings at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan,” Robert Pozarycki and Adam Daly reported Tuesday for amNew York.

“Masked officials grabbed Moses, the police bureau chief of amNewYork, as he went to photograph them apprehending an immigrant inside a public elevator at around 10:15 a.m. on Sept. 30.

“The chaos occurred five days after an ICE agent was caught on camera violently shoving a woman to the ground after she pursued her husband, who had been arrested after a court appearance. ICE suspended the yet-to-be-identified agent on Friday, but he reportedly returned to work on Monday, according to CBS News.

“As he has done for months, Moses and other photojournalists — exercising their First Amendment rights to freedom of the press — were on the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza observing the actions of masked ICE agents outside immigration courtrooms, where many individuals have been taken into custody after attending court-mandated hearings.

“ICE agents paced the 12th-floor hallway on Tuesday morning and briefly followed a woman after she exited a courtroom. They suddenly stopped pursuing her and allowed the woman to head toward an elevator bank, where she boarded an arriving lift.

“ ‘A couple of seconds after she goes into the elevator, two ICE agents go in after her,’ Moses said. ‘They never identified themselves, they didn’t ask for her papers or her ID.’ ”

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“Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agents’ actions, saying they were being ‘swarmed by agitators and members of the press, which obstructed operations,’ “ Michael R. Sisak reported for the Associated Press.

“ ‘Officers repeatedly told the crowd of agitators and journalists to get back, move, and get out of the elevator,’ McLaughlin said in a statement. ‘Rioters and sanctuary politicians who encourage individuals to interfere with arrests are actively creating hostile environments that put officers, detainees and the public in harm’s way.’ ”

The amNewYork reporters also wrote, “During the episode, Moses said, a second photojournalist outside the elevator — Olga Fedorova, a freelancer working for the Associated Press — was shoved to the floor by another ICE agent. In the process, another photojournalist directly behind Fedorova fell to the floor hard.

“The journalist, identified as L. Vural Elibol of the Anadolu Agency, had hit his head on the back of the floor near the elevator bank, and appeared seriously injured.

“ ‘People immediately started screaming because he was seriously injured,’ Moses said of the chaotic scene. ‘He was semiconscious, but he didn’t move from the position for 35 to 40 minutes.’  . . .”

Molly Crane-Newman and Thomas Tracy added for the Daily News in New York, “Masked and armed agents have been routinely grabbing people as they walk out of courtrooms, including many people who had moments earlier been told they were safe in the country for the time being by immigration judges.

“The approach has led to accusations that the federal government is targeting people following the law as low-hanging fruit, despite Trump’s claims that they are targeting criminals.

“Immigration judges, lawyers for the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] and ICE agents are all part of the executive branch, meaning they ultimately answer to Trump.”

U.S. Border Patrol agents march through downtown Chicago on Sunday afternoon. (Credit: Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times)

In Chicago, meanwhile, Cindy Hernandez, Mohammad Samra, Erica Thompson and Stefano Esposito reported for the Chicago Sun-Times Sunday that for the second day in a row, “federal agents launched tear gas and other chemical irritants near protesters gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview.

“Agents fired pepper balls into a crowd of about 75 protesters Saturday evening and made several arrests.

“Steve Held, a Chicago journalist, was one of those arrested. A Chicago Sun-Times reporter was struck by rubber projectiles and tear-gassed. Held is a co-founder of Unraveled Press, which has been working with the digital oulet The TRiiBE and other independent media to cover protests at Broadview.

“ ‘It was shocking to see, but it was not shocking because they’ve been targeting us for days,’ said Raven Geary, a colleague of Held who was across the street when he was detained. ‘They know that they’re being watched, they know that they’re secret police, they know that they’re targeting reporters on purpose.’ ”

Charles Thrush wrote Sunday for Block Club Chicago that Geary “was shot in the face with a pepper ball by federal officers on Friday and sought medical attention afterwards, Block Club reporters witnessed.

“ ‘We have never witnessed anything like what ICE has unleashed on our communities this week,’ Unraveled said in a statement posted to social media Sunday.”

Violet Miller of the Sun-Times wrote Monday that WBBM reporter Resaei “was alone, driving her truck to the facility early Sunday when a masked federal agent shot pepper balls at her from about 50 feet inside the fence. There were no protests or protesters on scene at the time.

“The chemical round hit Rezaei’s driver’s-side panel, causing the chemical powder to fill the inside of her truck, leaving white residue on her windshield and causing her face to feel ‘on fire for at least the last 10 minutes or so,’ Rezaei told Broadview police, according to the report. The chemical also caused her to vomit once outside her truck. . . .”

At Monday’s Journal-isms Roundtable, speakers attributed the boldness of the ICE moves to the politicization of federal agencies under the Trump administration. They said the relative media inattention to the issue sprang from the flood of similar politically motivated actions that also demand news coverage, and called for a united front among news organizations and journalism associations, particularly those of color, in opposing such repressive measures.

However, the ownership of media organizations by corporations seeking federal regulatory approval was cited as a mitigating factor. Still, attendees named organizations such as the Pivot Fund that can provide small media outlets with access to legal advice when confronted with federal bullying.

Speakers included:

Craig Duff, a professor at the Medill school of journalism at Northwestern University who was at the Broadview ICE facility and experienced tear gassing and rubber bullets; Giovanni Diaz, attorney for Atlanta reporter Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran who has been imprisoned for more than 50 days; Seth Stern, director of advocacy, Freedom of the Press Foundation; Ray Suarez, veteran journalist, broadcaster and author;  Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel, National Press Photographers Association; and Dave Levinthal, investigative reporter and author of “ICE May Be Breaking the Law to Stonewall Reporters” for the Columbia Journalism Review.

More in a subsequent column.

Julian Rodriguez of the University of Texas, Arlington, accepts the Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship award in 2015 at the Association of Opinion Journalists Symposium, held at the Poynter Institute. (Credit: John McClelland/YouTube)

Nominations Open for J-Educator Promoting Diversity

Beginning in 1990, the Association of Opinion Journalists annually granted a Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship — actually an award — “in recognition of an educator’s outstanding efforts to encourage minority students in the field of journalism.”

Journal-isms assumed stewardship of the award last year, handed the baton from the News Leaders Association, which absorbed the now-defunct Association of Opinion Journalists but in 2024, itself dissolved.

Since 2000, the recipient had been awarded an honorarium of $1,000 to be used to “further work in progress or begin a new project.”

This will be the first such award under the new affiliation.

Past winners include James Hawkins, Florida A&M University (1990); Larry Kaggwa, Howard University (1992); Ben Holman, University of Maryland (1996); Linda Jones, Roosevelt University, Chicago (1998); Ramon Chavez, University of Colorado, Boulder (1999); Erna Smith, San Francisco State (2000); Joseph Selden, Penn State University (2001); Cheryl Smith, Paul Quinn College (2002); Rose Richard, Marquette University (2003).

Also, Leara D. Rhodes, University of Georgia (2004); Denny McAuliffe, University of Montana (2005); Pearl Stewart, Black College Wire (2006); Valerie White, Florida A&M University (2007); Phillip Dixon, Howard University (2008); Bruce DePyssler, North Carolina Central University (2009); Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia University (2010); Yvonne Latty, New York University (2011); Michelle Johnson, Boston University (2012); Vanessa Shelton, University of Iowa (2013); William Drummond, University of California at Berkeley (2014); Julian Rodriguez of the University of Texas at Arlington (2015); David G. Armstrong, Georgia State University (2016); Gerald Jordan, University of Arkansas (2017), Bill Celis, University of Southern California (2018); Laura Castañeda, University of Southern California (2019); Mei-Ling Hopgood, Northwestern University (2020); Wayne Dawkins, Morgan State University (2021); Marquita Smith of the University of Mississippi (2022), and Rachel Swarns of New York University (2023).

Nominations may be emailed to Richard Prince, who chairs the awards committee, at richardprince (at) hotmail.com. The deadline is Oct. 15.  Please use that address only for Bingham fellowship matters.

Feel free to urge others to write supporting letters for your nominee, especially if they are students or former students of the person you favor.

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