In her article Dickson refers to Public Enemy’s song “911 Is A Joke”. A copy editor unaware of the song and it’s discussion of the emergency telephone number, assumed 911 should have referred to the 9/11 terror attacks. The change in the article led to some confusion, and criticism of the reporter.

You can read about the fallout here. One of the things I find most interesting about this is as Dickson puts it, the disconnect between generations. She correctly states that the divide must be bridged, and that there’s a lot of work which must be done if we aim to have culturally sensitive reporting.

Also, what do you think of the Post’s policy of assigning collective blame for errors, which some say unfairly impacts those who don’t directly causes errors in the publication?

Journalist turned author Helena Andrews may have penned a black version of "Sex and the City"

Helena Andrews may be the latest journalist turned author turned screenwriter who makes it big, and this time Andrews could make it big in Hollywood.

A new Washington Post article highlights Andrews decision to take her personal odyssey with the dating life in D.C. very public. The article begins, “Helena Andrews is 29, single, living in D.C., and might be the star of a black “Sex and the City” — stylish, beautiful and a writer desperately in search of love in the city.”

So check out what Andrews told The Post about her decision to write her memoir “Bitch Is The New Black”, the impetus behind the endeavor, and how it’ll soon be turned into a movie by the creator of Grey’s Anatomy.

Steve Harvey {Steve Harvey is joining ABC's "Good Morning America" as a contributor}

The T.V. news world is all abuzz after news broke that Steve Harvey will be joining ABC’s “Good Morning America” as a contributor beginning Wednesday, August  19.

Some professional journos have even argued that Harvey took a job from an unemployed journo, and others have argued that Harvey is simply a celebrity contributor in the vain of Mo Rocca on CBS Sunday Morning and D.L. Hughley on the short-lived “D.L. Hughley Breaks The News.”

Harvey is expected to contribute a series of reports on a variety of topics including relationships and parenting.

He’s also expected to interact with viewers via ABCNews.com and with Skype.

Harvey Skyed in to a Disney event at the National Association of Black Journalists annual Career Fair and Convention in Tampa back on August 6.

Harvey also collaborates on a project with ABC’s parent company Disney called “Disney’s Dreamers Academy.”

St. Pete Times media reporter Eric Deegans asks does Harvey’s hiring even matter?

CNN's Soledad O'Brien {From CNN.com}

CNN and their special correspondent Soledad O’Brien are at it again.

For the second straight summer CNN is all about the issues affecting black America with “Black In America 2” .

It’s the latest in debt look by the mainstream media at black America.

There was The Washington Post’s “Being A Black Man“, NBC News’s “Where They Stand” on African American women, and PBS’s “The Masculinity Project” on black masculinity.

CNN’s second try is also a response to some of the criticism they faced by focusing some of the issues which affect the black community from poverty, to educational inequity, to growing HIV and AIDS rates, and a staggering incarceration rate.

This time however aside from only focusing on the perceived negatives, CNN wants to know whose trying to right the wrongs, and what they’re doing to create change.

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien reports the in depth series.

The critiques from journalists are now coming I think the piece by The Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik gave an overview of the project while the piece by The St. Petersburg Times’ Eric Deegans stated why the effort might give some pause.

Tonight CNN has a town hall at 7 p.m. and then a two hour premier of part one of the documentary beginning at 9 p.m.

You can catch the remainder of the event at 8 p.m. on Thursday night.

For a preview check out this review.

Google's YouTube has started a new feature called YouTube Reporters' Center.

Yesterday, Google launched a new outlet as part of it’s video sharing site YouTube called “YouTube’s Reporters’ Center: Helping You Report The News”.

Who some might ask, is it helping? The site seems geared towards helping citizen journalists learn to report all on their own with Katie Couric breaking down the keys to a good interview or Bob Woodward talking about investigative journalism. Yes, the basics you often learn in J-School or in a communications program.

At the same time many of us working journos could only aspire to have the careers of the site’s illustrious teachers, so a lesson about the basics tinged with some real life experiences might help the pros as well.

So am I a little naive in thinking that a working journo benefit could benefit from the site, are the tips the professionals?

See for yourself, check out the site and come back here and tell us what you thought of YouTube’s new feature.

Twitter is one vehicle changing the face of news today. {Thanks, AP}

Over the course of these last several weeks a lot of attention has been paid to Twitter and how it has changed how the media reports on certain events from the protests and demonstrations following Iran’s disputed presidential election to the death of celebrities such as Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy Mays.

Greater use of new media tools by “legitimate” news outlets goes to show a desire to participate in interactive journalism.

Yes, believe it or not the consumers of news are the very ones impacting how the news is in fact covered from simply responding to the content offered, or contributing content of their own, the era of the citizen journalist is here to stay.

An interesting article chronicles the takeover of Twitter by the viewers of  2009 BET Awards show.

The post raises an important issue, contributions by groups frequently unrepresented when it comes to citizen journalism, could have unexpected consequences.

So how do you ensure that there is diversity amongst citizen journalists when the same question has been posed to the traditional media for so long?

The AP reports the announcement comes after talks with the NAACP and other civil rights organizations after the controversial chimp cartoon ran earlier this year in the NY Post.

The cartoon was said to parody President Obama comparing him to a dead chimpanzee.

Cartoonists said they didn’t mean to make fun of the President.

Activists said it showed a lack of cultural sensitivity, and also underscored the need for more diverse newsrooms.

The Washingtonian Magazine’s June 2009 issue names what they call Washington’s “50 Top Journalists 2009“.

Of note on that list are NYT’s Dean Baquet, WashPost’s Jonathan Capehart whose called a “rising star”, and WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi.

So who do you think is missing?

{Thanks, faraichideya.com}

Aspiring journalists are often told in this day and age that they should be able to work across platforms.

For T.V. journalists the idea of a one man band comes to mind, though one man band reporters or producers are now called content creators, or producers.

Still, what this new title dictates is that one should be able to do it all write a print style story, or blog, record an audio podcast, upload a video, or create a picture slideshow.

Names such as Roland Martin are tossed about as examples, but before there was Roland there was Farai.

She was ahead of the curve, part of the first wave of journalists who learned to do it all from writing for magazines, to starting a website, to reporting for T.V., and then for radio.

Check out what Farai told me about her career in journalism.

Also check out her latest venture, her first novel entitled, “Kiss the Sky” about a black rock star. Yeah you read right we had a hand in that too, think Jimi Hendrix. Though I didn’t ask her this, I’m quite sure the title is homage to Hendrix who had an album entitled “Kiss the Sky”.

Aspiring journalists are often told in this day and age that they should be able to work across platforms.

For T.V. journalists the idea of a one man band comes to mind, though one man band reporters or producers are now called content creators, or producers.

Still, what this new title dictates is that one should be able to do it all write a print style story, or blog, record an audio podcast, upload a video, or create a picture slideshow.

Names such as Roland Martin are tossed about as examples, but before there was Roland there was Farai.

She was ahead of the curve, part of the first wave of journalists who learned to do it all from writing for magazines, to starting a website, to reporting for T.V., and then for radio.

Check out what Farai told me about her career in journalism.

Also check out her latest venture, her first novel entitled, “Kiss the Sky” about a black rock star. Yeah you read right we had a hand in that too, think Jami Hendrix. Though I didn’t ask her this, I’m quite sure the title is an homage to Hendrix who had an album entitled “Kiss the Sky”.

They have five black anchors, two black White House correspondents, and one black Pentagon correspondent. Those numbers exclude other black correspondents who work on beats as varied as politics, business, and entertainment.

The network is also working on a highly touted documentary Black In America 2 which will air this July again taking what’s being called an unparalleled look at the black experience in America.

However as HuffPost notes CNN and MSNBC are both being beat hands down by Fox News.

Could CNN’s struggles to come up in the ratings be linked to the fact that they don’t have a black presence in their primetime lineup (with the exception of Roland Martin recently filling in for Campbell Brown during her maternity leave)?