Sites Target Blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans, LBGTQ+:
Reporters Exit Pentagon in Rebuke to Hegseth
Serious Charges Dropped Against Reporter in ICE Case
. . . AP Finds ICE Uses Device Said to Inflict Torture
. . . White House Video on Chicago ‘Mess’ Is a Fraud
. . . Meta Removes ICE-Tracking Information
SPJ Diversity Group Stalls but HBCU Plan Goes Forward
Astead Herndon Leaves N.Y. Times for Vox
Journalists of Color, DEI Stories Win in Murrow Awards
For Cuban Journos, Blackouts Worsen Bad Situation
Homepage photo credit: Instagram
Sites Target Blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans, LBGTQ+
NBC is laying off a large part of the staff working on its identity-focused websites – NBC BLK, NBC Latino, NBC Asian America and NBC Out — as part of cuts in which termination notices went out Wednesday to 150 NBC News Group employees. The sites are not closing, as previously reported.
Journal-isms was told Friday:
- The verticals will continue to exist and will feature content from across the NBC newsroom.
- Of the nine vertical staff members, five are being pointed to open roles in the general newsroom “where they would in part bring their journalistic expertise on these subjects.”
“The cuts have been anticipated for months as NBC is seeing declines in TV ratings and ad revenue that are not being fully offset by a growing digital business,” Steven Battaglio reported Wednesday for the Los Angeles Times.
“Audience migration to streaming platforms has put pressure on legacy outlets across the media industry, leading to layoffs and cost-cutting.”
In addition, Christopher Wiggins reported Wednesday for The Advocate, “The move is part of a reorganization that separates MSNBC from NBC News under a new entity called Versant. Executives described the decision as an efficiency measure to eliminate overlap and streamline operations across NBCUniversal’s news division. But it also dismantles the network’s identity-based teams: NBC BLK, NBC Latino, NBC Asian America, and NBC Out.”
Oliver Darcy reported for Status, “The verticals will continue to publish stories, with two dedicated senior editors who will curate the content, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Five out of the nine staffers impacted by the layoffs will likely remain with the company in general newsroom roles, contributing to the verticals occasionally. But without the dedicated staff to bolster newsgathering for the sections, the workload will fall to the broader newsroom. Recently laid-off employees are being encouraged to apply for roles across the news organization, where around 140 job postings are currently active.“
NBC Latino was the first of these “verticals,” followed by NBC Asian America and then NBC BLK, created after theGrio left NBC. NBC BLK “was created (in January 2015) to elevate America’s conversation about Black identity, social issues and culture. The vertical tells stories by, for and about the Black community. Their stories engage, inspire and inform communities of color and dig into the challenging issues facing black communities, reporting news and opinion through the lens of a modern Black perspective,” a later news release said. NBC OUT followed, the first vertical from a mainstream news organization focused on the LBGTQ+ community.
Curtis Bunn (pictured), who wrote for NBC BLK, messaged Journal-isms Thursday, “”The diversity verticals at NBC News produced some of the most thorough, well-thought out, and beautifully written work about Black people and culture, the LGBTQ community, the Asian American immersion in the U.S. and the immense ongoing challenges of the Latino world.
“Losing all that in a sweeping move is heartbreaking and regrettable for us involved, but it is also a shame for those seeking the commitment we had to put the vital news of the day and times about these communities into context. It is disheartening on many levels, but a mere part of the drastic changes in media we are seeing.”
Among those caught in the broader layoffs was Deon Hampton (pictured), who wrote on social media, “Generally, I was regarded as NBC News’ #1 field reporter— often traveling America tackling our most competitive and toughest stories. I was sent on 60 news assignments. I was never beaten on a story and came away with 20 national exclusives.”
The Advocate reported that “Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’s chief communications officer and an executive producer of the GLAAD Media Awards, called the move ‘part of a dangerous pattern of mainstream media outlets choosing to lose trusted and talented journalists who focus on important LGBTQ news that otherwise is under-reported or not reported at all.’ He added that ‘the talented journalists at NBC Out consistently lead with impact and accuracy,’ noting that the vertical’s reporting had ‘earned the trust of LGBTQ Americans and our allies to report on news with care, precision, and impact.’ ”
Reporters walk out of the Pentagon together Wednesday after turning in their credentials. At left, with bag, is producer Mosheh Gaines of NBC News. (Credit: Jabin Botsford/Washington Post)
Reporters Exit Pentagon in Rebuke to Hegseth
The nation’s military and defense journalists exited the Pentagon in unison Wednesday afternoon, having had their accreditation revoked after refusing to agree to the Defense Department’s new restrictions on their newsgathering activities,” Scott Nover reported for the Washington Post.
“The new rules, which among other things bar reporters from soliciting information that the government hasn’t authorized for them, prompted journalists from The Washington Post and dozens of other outlets to turn in their press credentials and decamp for possibly the last time during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s tenure.
“More than 30 members of the Pentagon press corps walked out of the building together before the 5 p.m. deadline, crossing a foot bridge and descending a long staircase that empties out on the northeast end of the five-sided building. . . .”
- Scott Nover, Washington Post: Hundreds of people cover the Pentagon. These are the 15 who signed its new press policy.
- Erik Wemple, New York Timest: Inside Hegseth’s Effort to Limit Press Access at the Pentagon
Raoul Peck, whose previous work includes “I Am Not Your Negro,” an Academy-Award nominated documentary about writer James Baldwin, is interviewed about his latest work, on George Orwell. Peck said on “PBS News Weekend,” “When you attack academia, when you attack the justice system, when you attack the journalists or the networks, those are known tools to degrade democracy.” (Credit: YouTube)
Serious Charges Dropped Against Reporter in ICE Case
A University of Cincinnati journalism student who was working as an intern for Cincinnati’s CityBeat when arrested during a July protest has been found guilty only of a single misdemeanor charge. His attorneys, from the American Civil Liberties Union, declared victory.
Lucas Griffith had been charged with failure to disperse, disorderly conduct, obstructing a highway and obstructing an emergency responder, Quinlan Bentley reported Oct. 2 for the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“Griffith (pictured) was convicted by a six-person jury of failure to disperse. He was acquitted of the other charges. The jury imposed a $50 fine.
“He was facing a maximum of 270 days in jail.”
Pleased with the outcome, Bethany Baxter, staff attorney for the ACLU of Kentucky, said, “The Covington Police Department arrested and charged our client despite being made aware that he was a journalist.
“The jury correctly rejected the prosecutor’s request to convict him of multiple offenses, opting instead to issue a guilty verdict on a lone charge and impose a minimal fine.”
The Enquirer story continued, “Griffith was arrested alongside CityBeat investigative reporter Madeline Fening on July 17 while covering an anti-ICE demonstration on the bridge connecting Cincinnati and Covington. Fening was initially set to go on trial on Sept. 30, but the trial date was rescheduled for early 2026.
“Prosecutors argued that Griffith failed to leave the highway despite numerous law enforcement commands and after seeing two people being arrested.”
Starting at 00:50, Seth Stern, advocacy director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, tells the Journal-isms Roundtable on “ICE and the Press,” “There’s this deep sense of secrecy and this attempt to treat this as a warlike situation, as a terrorism situation, where emergency powers can be used to silence dissent and to evade transparency.” (Credit: YouTube)
Griffith’s was one of several cases cited by Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation at a Sept. 29 Journal-isms Roundtable as examples of overreach by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“They were arrested at a protest of the detention of Ayman Soliman, who was himself a former journalist. He fled Egypt because he was being persecuted there for his journalism, came here, didn’t work as a journalist here, worked as a hospital chaplain, I believe, only to have two journalists arrested at a protest over his detainment.”
A second example from Stern of federal government overreach involved the Federal Communications Commission, whose Trump-appointed chair, Brendan Carr, opened an investigation of San Francisco-based KCBS for its coverage of immigration enforcement actions in San José, sparking concerns from press freedom advocates and drawing right-wing backlash to the radio station.
In an interview on Fox News, Carr said he opened the investigation after KCBS shared the live locations and vehicle descriptions of immigration officials on Jan. 26.
The status of that case could not be determined.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been using a full-body restraint device called the WRAP during deportations. That continued despite concerns about safety from a watchdog division of its parent agency, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. (Credit: AP Video/Allen G. Breed).
. . . . AP Finds ICE Uses Device Said to Inflict Torture
The Associated Press has found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has used a restraining device “despite internal concerns voiced in a 2023 report by the civil rights division” of the Department of Homeland Security, “in part due to reports of deaths involving the use of the WRAP by local law enforcement,” the AP’s Jason Dearen, Jim Mustian and Dorany Pineda reported Tuesday.
“And the AP has identified a dozen fatal cases in the last decade where local police or jailers around the U.S. used the WRAP and autopsies determined ‘restraint’ played a role in the death. . . .”
The reporters also wrote, “The WRAP is the subject of a growing number of federal lawsuits likening incorrect usage of the device to punishment and even torture, whether used in a jail or by immigration authorities during international flights. Among advocates’ concerns is that ICE is not tracking the WRAP’s use as required by federal law when officers use force, making it difficult to discern exactly how many people are being subjected to the restraints. . . .
“The WRAP’s manufacturer says it intended the device to be a lifesaver for law enforcement confronting erratic people who were physically attacking officers or harming themselves.
“But ICE officials have a much lower threshold for deploying the WRAP than the manufacturer advises, the AP found. Instead, detainees interviewed by the AP said ICE officers used the restraints on them after they had already been shackled. They said this was done to intimidate or punish them for asking to speak to their attorneys or expressed fear at being deported, often to places they fled due to violence and torture. . . .”
Last month, the AP’s Nicholas Riccardi, Chinedu Asadu and Edward Acquah reported that “Ghana has joined Eswatini, Rwanda and South Sudan as African countries that have received migrants from third countries who were deported from the U.S.”
A “lawsuit filed on behalf of some of the migrants said they were held in ‘straitjackets’ for 16 hours on a flight to Ghana on Sept. 5 and detained for days in ‘squalid conditions’ after they arrived there. It said Ghana was doing the Trump administration’s ‘dirty work.’ ”
. . . White House Video on Chicago ‘Mess’ Is a Fraud
“. . . A dramatic voiceover video shared by the White House and US President Donald Trump claims to show immigration agents responding to the ‘mess’ in Chicago as the Republican seeks to justify deploying National Guard troops to the Democrat-run city,” Bill McCarthy reported Tuesday for Agence France-Presse.
“But an AFP investigation found that the video is littered with outdated footage highlighting drug busts, arrests and deportation raids in other states, including Florida, Texas, South Carolina and Nebraska. . . .”
. . . Meta Removes ICE-Tracking Information
“Meta has removed a Facebook page dedicated to tracking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action in Chicago after the Justice Department got involved,” Lauren Feiner reported Tuesday for The Verge.
“Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X Tuesday that Facebook had taken down an unnamed ‘large group page that was being used to dox and target’ ICE agents after outreach from the DOJ. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed the group, which he did not identify, ‘was removed for violating our policies against coordinated harm.’ Its removal follows Apple and Google blocking ICE-tracking apps, also following government demands. . . . ”
- Mina Bloom, Block Club Chicago: ICE Agents In Chicago Area Who Aren’t Undercover Must Wear Badges Or IDs, Federal Judge Rules
- Madison Hart, Press-Enterprise, Southern California: Riverside bans masks, requires IDs for ICE and other law enforcement officers
- Paul Rogers and Grant Stringer, Bay Area News Group: Among other bills, Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the “No Secret Police Act,” which bans law enforcement officers from wearing face masks, except clear shields and other limited exceptions.
- Gabriel R. Sanchez and Edward D. Vargas, Brookings Institution: Racial profiling by ICE will have a marked impact on Latino communities
- Liam Scott, Columbia Journalism Review: On Trial for Journalism in Kentucky: Two months after their arrests while covering a protest, a pair of local reporters face criminal charges. (Sept. 29)
- Dave Savini, Samah Assad, WBBM-TV, Chicago: Broadview police chief accuses ICE agents of making false 911 calls (Oct. 2)
- Ray Suarez at Journal-isms Roundtable on “ICE and the Press”: “The biggest threat to the understood social order of the United States is that we now have a federal government that doesn’t feel that it has to tell the truth about its operations to the people of the country.” (Sept. 29) (video)
“We send in the troops,” SPJ says of its ReNews project. “A pro visits campus to meet interested students, train them into a staff, and help them cover whatever the hell they want. We follow that up with virtual advising for the rest of the school year, and we recruit on campus and locally for onsite advisers.” (Credit: Editor & Publisher)
SPJ Diversity Group Stalls but HBCU Plan Goes Forward
The Diversity & Inclusion Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists, which at times has been a pride of the organization, is inactive “due to the most recent committee chair having to step down after getting a new, more intensive job,” SPJ President Emily Bloch told Journal-isms on Thursday.
In turn, the Dori J. Maynard fellowship, “with recipients typically selected by that committee, is on hiatus this year.”
“Since 2015, the Dori Maynard Diversity Leadership Program has aimed to help open doors to underrepresented populations of journalists within the SPJ community and beyond,” SPJ says on its website.
“Since its inception, the program has awarded scholarships to roughly half a dozen SPJ members to attend each SPJ national convention. The program has provided an opportunity for participants to explore diversity-related issues with SPJ’s leadership and members. Program fellows have received full access to the convention, including panels, workshops, networking events, general member meetings and governance proceedings.”
Bloch (pictured) is among 1,500 in Washington attending SPJ’s MediaFest, co-sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Association.
Bloch said the organization is moving forward withThe ReNews Project, a collaboration between press organizations and media companies.
“Together, we’re restarting dormant student newspapers on HBCU and HSI [Hispanic-serving institutions] campuses – by removing every barrier that stands between students and their desire to do good journalism,” according to the SPJ website..
Among other benefits, “A pro visits campus to meet interested students, train them into a staff, and help them cover whatever the hell they want. We follow that up with virtual advising for the rest of the school year, and we recruit on campus and locally for onsite advisers.”
- Gretchen A. Peck, Editor & Publisher: Rebuilding campus newsrooms. The ReNews Project revives student university presses, particularly at HBCUs (Sept. 13, 2023)
Astead Herndon Leaves N.Y. Times for Vox
Astead W. Herndon (pictured, by Jason Miccolo Johnson/NABJ) of the New York Times, awarded “Journalist of the Year” honors over the summer by the National Association of Black Journalists, is joining Vox as host and editorial director, the website announced Thursday.
“In this role, he will launch and lead a new multiplatform video podcast for Vox, while also contributing political coverage across text, video, audio, and social media platforms. He begins October 20,” the website, which specializes in explanatory journalism, said.
“At Vox, Herndon will play a key role in helping audiences understand the factors shaping the 2026 midterms and the lead-up to the 2028 presidential election. He will launch a new weekly video podcast about politics — and beyond — in 2026, expanding Vox’s reach with video-first political storytelling. He will be a multiplatform journalist, contributing to Vox’s text, audio, and video reporting.
“He will also guest-host Vox’s popular Today, Explained podcast along with Noel King this fall and winter, and create videos for Vox’s social channels, helping audiences clearly understand what’s going on in American politics, what the stakes are, and why it all matters. Vox will also explore exclusive content with Herndon for its membership program.”
Herndon is a national politics reporter for the Times and a former Washington bureau and city hall reporter for the Boston Globe.
In announcing his selection as Journalist of the Year, NABJ said, “His work has shaped Times political coverage since 2018. ‘In Search of Kamala Harris,’ Herndon’s 2023 cover piece in New York Times Magazine, was nominated for a National Magazine Award in profile writing. He is a recent recipient of the Distinguished Journalist Award by DePaul University’s Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence, a former Pritzker fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and a longtime analyst for CNN.”
Herndon responded on social media, “In so many ways, the National Association of Black Journalists changed my life. To be named Journalist of the Year ~10 years after I went to that first convention in college is not only a huge honor but a great full circle moment. Thank you @NABJ.” He added, “I also want to dedicate this award to every journalist who focuses their reporting on those political systems would rather ignore. And in particular the journalists in Gaza, who have persisted amid a violent campaign to silence their work. . . . ”
Univision Noticias placed silicone wristbands on 10 farmworkers, which showed that all of them were exposed to multiple pesticides as they went about their daily lives. That was in line with findings from multiple scientists. (Credit: Univision)
Journalists of Color, DEI Stories Win in Murrow Awards
Stories about Sing Sing prison, immigration and exposure by Indigenous people to radiation were among the winners in the Radio Television Digital News Association’s annual Edward R. Murrow Awards, which include special awards in each category for diversity and inclusion.
However, journalists of color and topics pertaining to their communities were honored in other categories as well, with Lester Holt’s July 15, 2024, newscast on “NBC Nightly News” just one example.
“Among the most prestigious in news, the Murrow Awards recognize local and national news stories that uphold the RTDNA Code of Ethics, demonstrate technical expertise and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community,” the association says.
The full list of winners is here.
These were for diversity and inclusion:
- Network TV: The Sing Sing Chronicles, NBC News Studios, New York
- Digital: Nyah Mway: The boy who will forever be 13, Radio Free Asia, Washington, D.C.
- Large Market Television: The Buffalo Hunt, KING TV, Seattle
- Large Market Radio: Symbolic medical bills and prayers: Tribes fight for RECA, share struggles from radiation exposure, Mountain West News Bureau, Boise, Idaho
- News Documentary: Hate in South Carolina, WMBF, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
- Small Market Radio: Unforgotten: Connecticut’s hidden history of slavery, Connecticut Public, Hartford, Conn.
- Large Digital Organization: ZIP Codes with Imaeyen, AJ+, Washington, D.C.
- Small Digital Organization Embedded Bias, STAT, Boston
(Credit: Cubanet)
For Cuban Journos, Blackouts Worsen Bad Situation
“Power outages – some lasting for up to several days – have plagued Cuba since last year, intensifying in frequency since September 2025,“ Katherine Pennacchio reported Tuesday for LatAm Journalism Review.
“In addition to disrupting daily life, for journalists working on the island and independent media that operate solely online, they’ve deepened the information blackout and added to restrictions imposed by the State.
“ ‘Right now, the blackouts are affecting the work of the newspaper 14ymedio as much as the repression,’ journalist Yoani Sánchez, director of the digital outlet, told LatAm Journalism Review (LJR).
“With a loss of power comes a loss of internet connectivity, affecting everything from communication with sources to the very ability to update and access websites.
“Moreover, these outages are taking a toll on the physical and mental health of Cuban journalists.
“And in a country where protest is frequently criminalized, speaking out about the energy crisis has even led to detention. . . .”
Separately, The Miami Herald’s Nora Gámez Torres (pictured) wrote Wednesday on X, “I was incredibly honored to receive the #MariaMoorsCabot award in a ceremony at @Columbia. I ended my speech with a reminder of the situation faced by Cubans imprisoned for exercising the right to free speech. As journalists, we need to tell their stories.”
- CiberCuba: The Cuban regime denies that there are any imprisoned protesters: “Not even one.” (Sept. 27)
- Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP): A journalist from Radio 26 in Matanzas has been publicly discredited following complaints about the health crisis in the province.
- Diario De Cuba: ‘The Cuban government is 100% responsible for the crisis’: eight economists weigh in
- Yolanda Huerga, Marti Noticias: Amnesty International welcomes Ferrer’s release and warns about hundreds of political prisoners in Cuba.
- César López Linares, LatAm Journalism Review: Haitian journalist stranded in Cuba pleads for help from prime minister as health deteriorates
- Madicken Malm, City St George’s Alumni Network: Nora Gámez Torres [of the Miami Herald] – Breaking Cuban stories from outside the island’s borders
- Prisoners Defenders: The 13 new political prisoners arrested this month in Cuba include minors detained and prosecuted for participating in peaceful demonstrations.
