Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, contacted Fox News CEO Roger Ailes today to demand that his news division add a formal disclaimer during segments about the 2010 election to inform viewers that Fox’s parent company provided an unprecedented $1 million contribution to defeat Democratic governors in 2010.

The letter goes on to state: “For the first time in history, your organization is openly and proudly supporting the defeat of Democratic governors with an unprecedented political contribution of $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. In fact, your company provided the single largest corporate contribution to our opposition…. As you are well aware, the stakes could not be higher in the 37 gubernatorial races this election cycle.”

Mr. Roger Ailes
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President
Fox News Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
and VIA EMAIL

Dear Mr. Ailes,

For the first time in history, your organization is openly and proudly supporting the defeat of Democratic governors with an unprecedented political contribution of $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. In fact, your company provided the single largest corporate contribution to our opposition.

In the interest of some fairness and balance, I request that you add a formal disclaimer to your news coverage any time any of your programs cover governors or gubernatorial races between now and Election Day. I suggest that the disclaimer say: “News Corp., parent company of Fox News, provided $1 million to defeat Democratic governors in November.” If you do not add a disclaimer, I request that you and your staff members on the “fair and balanced” side of the network demand that the contribution be returned.

As you are well aware, the stakes could not be higher in the 37 gubernatorial races this election cycle. Your corporation and your allies know well that these races have grave and substantial implications for Congressional redistricting. In fact, your allies in the GOP hope to change our election map for decades by electing governors who will redraw 30 seats into Republican territory.

I look forward to hearing from you – or any of your programs – at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Nathan Daschle

P.S. Many news outlets have covered this controversy, but your own news programs have been strangely silent. I am available to appear on any of your programs to discuss the case for Democratic governors – particularly why our governors best for business growth. Despite my efforts to immediately reach out to your news programs, more than a dozen requests were ignored.

Cc: Bret Baier
Carl Cameron
Gretchen Carlson
Neil Cavuto
Steve Doocy
Trace Gallagher
Major Garrett
Sean Hannity
Bill Hemmer
Brian Kilmeade
Megyn Kelly
Martha MacCallum
Bill O’Reilly
Jon Scott
Shepard Smith
Greta Van Susteren
Chris Wallace

Newsmaker Shirley Sherrod is set to appear before thousands of journalists on Thursday, July 29 at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Annual Convention in San Diego, Calif.

Sherrod has made headlines over the past two weeks for her forced resignation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture after conservativeblogger Andrew Breitbart posted video excerpts of Sherrod’s address at a March 2010
NAACP event on his website. The NAACP initially condemned her remarks and U.S. government officials called on her to resign. Upon review of the unedited video incontext, the NAACP, White House officials, and Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, apologized soon after and Sherrod was offered a new position. Sherrod has not yet decided if she will accept the job offer.

Sherrod will have a candid conversation with a panel of journalists during a newsmaker plenary, “Context and Consequences: A Conversation with Shirley Sherrod.” The discussion will focus on the reporting and coverage of this incident and the role that race still plays in a runaway media culture.

NABJ also extended Breitbart <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Breitbart>an invitation to this session. He initially accepted, but later declined.

*EVENT: *Context and Consequences: A Conversation with Shirley Sherrod and the National Association of Black Journalists**

*TIME: 8:00 a.m. PST July 29- Newsmaker Plenary***

*LOCATION: Manchester Grand Hyatt, Room TBA*

The National Association of Black Journalists named CNN’s Soledad O’Brien Journalist of the Year at its spring Board of Directors meeting. O’Brien will join other top honorees at the association’s Salute to Excellence Gala, on July 31 in San Diego, during NABJ’s 35th Annual Convention and Career Fair, the largest gathering of minority journalists in the country.

O’Brien is the impetus of CNN’s acclaimed “In America” franchise, which began with CNN’s “Black In America” in 2008, a groundbreaking documentary, which took an in-depth look at the challenges confronting blacks in America. In 2009 CNN followed up with “Black In America 2,” a project which didn’t just seek to highlight challenges, but also acknowledged the efforts by those in the community to come up with proven solutions to the most pressing issues facing the black community. “Black In America 2″ was the highest-rated cable news documentary of 2009, sparking conversations and town hall gatherings across the country to further examine the intersection of race, class and gender, subjects that can be challenging for the media to explore.
“Soledad’s work in the ‘Black in America’ series offered extraordinary and gripping stories of successful community leaders who are improving the lives of African-Americans,” said NABJ President Kathy Y. Times. “This was an example of great reporting, and through her work and platform she shared the stories in our communities that often go untold. She is truly worthy of NABJ’s Journalist of the Year honor.”

O’Brien crisscrossed the U.S. and included reporting from Ghana and South Africa as she uncovered the people and programs at the forefront of change - people inspiring volunteerism, programs that are improving access to quality healthcare and education, and leaders working to address financial disparities and develop strong families.

“Soledad is a solid journalist with a long list of accomplishments,” said Bob Butler, NABJ Vice-President of Broadcast. “Her reporting is always done with great thought and perspective. We are proud to have her in the NABJ family.”

O’Brien is currently an anchor and special correspondent for CNN. She joined the network in July 2003 as the co-anchor of the network’s flagship morning program, “American Morning,” and distinguished herself by reporting from the scene on the transformational stories that broke on her watch, including Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Southeast Asia.

During CNN’s Katrina coverage, O’Brien’s reports on the storm’s impact included an in-depth interview with former FEMA chief Michael Brown. She also covers political news as part of CNN’s “Best Political Team on Television.”  Earlier, O’Brien spent 12 years at NBC News where she anchored Weekend Today, and was one of the original anchors of MSNBC.
The Salute to Excellence Awards Gala recognizes journalism that best covered the black experience or addressed issues affecting the worldwide black community during 2009.

NABJ’s 35th Annual Convention and Career Fair will take place July 28- August 1 in San Diego, Calif.

Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dorothy Height - the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans.  Ever since she was denied entrance to college because the incoming class had already met its quota of two African American women, Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality.

She led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, and served as the only woman at the highest level of the Civil Rights Movement - witnessing every march and milestone along the way. And even in the final weeks of her life – a time when anyone else would have enjoyed their well-earned rest – Dr. Height continued her fight to make our nation a more open and inclusive place for people of every race, gender, background and faith. Michelle and I offer our condolences to all those who knew and loved Dr. Height – and all those whose lives she touched.

Dallas District 5 councilperson Vonciel Hill tells Councilman Caraway and Friendship-West not to meet in here district.  The Dallas Morning News cited DallasSouthNews.org as the first news outlet to report on Hill’s memos.

Eric Johnson releases a new campaign video in bid to unseat Terri Hodge in Texas House 100.

NBA/WNBA Fit Challenge Regional Competition is held at Moorland YMCA.

Tom Joyner Foundation and Ford look to raise money for Paul Quinn this weekend.

Lorrie Irby Jackson reviews Raphael Saadiq’s concert at House of Blues.

“So In Style” Dolls of Color are a big hit for Mattel.

Wade Emmert, Cedar Hill council member, makes a run for the GOP nomination in Dallas County Judge race.

and more……

Make sure to check out DallasSouthNews.org EVERYDAY, where people go to find out what’s going on in Southern Dallas.

Each week Roland Martin and a rotating panel of journalists and experts, including American Urban Radio Networks White House Correspondent April Ryan and Comcast Network host and Philadelphia Tribune columnist Robert Traynham, will discuss the top stories in Washington. The show will also feature regular appearances by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. In addition, Martin will conduct a one-on-one interview with a key newsmaker each week.

The hour series,  Washington Watch with Roland Martin, is slated to debut Sunday, Sept. 27 and will air weekly at 11 AM and 5 PM ET. TV One President and CEO Johnathan Rodgers and Martin announced the new series at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans July 4.

“With the election of President Obama, Washington has taken center stage in the hearts and minds of African Americans, and with the many critical issues facing our country, this was the perfect time for us to launch a program to help our viewers understand what impact Washington policy decisions are likely to have on their lives,” said Rodgers. “The positive feedback we received on our coverage of the election of President Obama indicated to us there is a real hunger for information about what’s happening in Washington.

“In addition, since Roland joined the TV One family four years ago, we’ve wanted to find a way a way to have him as a regular, on-air presence on the network, and this new series is a perfect way to take advantage of his talents as an interviewer and analyst, and capitalize on the way he connects with our audience,” Rodgers added.

I am reminded of the founders of the first black newspaper in America, Freedom’s Journal, who wrote in their lead editorial in 1827, ‘We wish to plead our own cause; too long have others spoken for us,’” Martin said. “The same applies today. The voices of African American elected officials, policy makers, analysts and journalists are important, and need to be a part of the discussion on a weekly basis, and on most Sunday mornings shows, they are not.

“Our goal is to also speak to a wide variety of individuals, whether they are Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, moderate, independent, African American, Hispanic, white, Asian, Native American, you name it.

“Lastly, this show will be interactive. This is not about us telling our audience what’s important. Our viewers from across the nation will have a chance to share their thoughts and concerns and also drive the agenda on improving the state of Black America,” Martin concluded.

Roland Martin became a commentator for TV One in the spring of 2005 and was named political editor in 2008. He is also an analyst for CNN, a nationally syndicated columnist, a special correspondent for Essence magazine and essence.com, and a senior analyst for the Tom Joyner Morning Show. A former editor of leading African American publications the Chicago Defender, the Houston Defender and the Dallas Weekly, and reporter for the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram and Austin American-Statesman, he has won more than 20 professional awards for journalistic excellence, including the National Association of Black Journalists’ President’s Award in 2008.

Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvoneonline.com) serves more than 47 million households, offering a broad range of entertainment, reality and lifestyle -oriented original programming, classic series, movies, and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult African American viewers.  TV One’s investors include Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets African American and urban listeners;  Comcast Corporation [NASDAQ: CMCSA and CMCSK; www.comcast.com], the leading cable television company in the country; The DirecTV Group; Constellation Ventures; Syndicated Communications; and Opportunity Capital Partners.

(Thanks in advance for your help Fam…Shawn P.)

Dallas South News has launched a campaign to gain 100 new members before the end of the day on Friday. As most of you know, our mission is to utilize technology, social media, and journalistic principles to empower and inform underserved communities.  We are a nonprofit news organization that relies in part on contributions from our readers to help us cover important stories as they pertain to Southern Dallas.

Carla Lacy interviews Carlton Cooper with Jerome Sheffield on the Camera

This week we look to add 100 names to our current list of supporters.  We ask that anyone reading this post visit our Donation Page and join our cause by making a secure online contribution. While details of our membership plan are being worked out, those who sign up prior to Friday will receive free admission (first come first serve) to our initial “Meet the Editor” event next month (Guest to be announced soon).

You may also mail a check payable to Dallas South News to our newsroom at 1409 S. Lamar Ave., Suite 609 Dallas, TX  75215.  No amount is too small (or too large).

DSN Intern Michael L. Counter, Jr. covering DART Green Line Opening Celebration

Volunteer Photographer Byron Watters at Cotton Bowl

News is more popular than ever, and we believe the nonprofit model is an idea whose time has come.  As mainstream media outlets pick and choose which communities to devote their resources to, many Southern Dallas neighborhoods will be left behind and their voices will be silenced.

Please join us in our effort to build communities through the sharing and documentation of narratives.  Sign up today and help us reach our goal.   Thanks in advance for your consideration.