Davis Library Seriate
AUG 19 2519
InhIliulil.lihlHhiHlhulhullHUullhHil
DAVIT 12/01/17 *#CHILL
UNC-CH SERIALS DEPARTMENT
DAVIS LIBRARY CB# 3938
p □ BOX 3890
CHAPEL HILL
NC 27599-0001
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2019
TELEPHONE 919-682-2913
VOLUME 98 - NUMBER 30
PRICE 50 CENTS
Media Responsibility and Accountability in the Era of
iy Stacy M. Brown, NNPA
Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
In a world with an ultra-
ompetitive, 24-hour news
ycle, journalists are often
irged by their editors and
publishers to be first with
he story.
Unfortunately, in doing
o, some have traded accu-
acy for sensationalism.
Being first to break a story
night provide accolades and
wen financial rewards, but
vhether printed, published
inline, or broadcast, a jour-
lalist’s words can have scri
ms repercussions for both
he accuser and the accused.
A 2018 Pew Research
jurvey found that about two-
hirds of American adults
68 percent) say they at least
occasionally get news on so-
jial media. About the same
percentage share the news
ind information that they
ind on social channels.
While Pew notes that
many of these consumers
ire skeptical about the infor
mation they see there, noting
that a majority (57%) say
they find information on so
cial media to be inaccurate,
the pervasiveness of social
channels makes it more im
perative than ever for the
press to present facts and
stray from innuendo.
In some cases, main-
stream media has failed to
adequately report or focus
on stories that would benefit
the public.
For example, FBI statis
tics indicate that more than
424,000 girls have gone
missing since the beginning
of 2018, yet many say the
media hasn’t done enough
to shine a light on the crisis,
which includes a large num
ber of African Americans.
News reporting is a key
witness in the court of pub
lic opinion
Take for example the case
of Emmett Till, the black
teen lynched and killed
by white men after he was
falsely accused of whistling
at a white woman in Missis
sippi in 1955.
Author Michael Oby not
ed that the Black Press shed
light on Emmett Till’s bru
tal murder and continued to
press the case for decades af
terwards. Though Emmett’s
killers never spent a day in
prison, in the APMreports
series, “In the Dark: Acquit
ting Emmett Till’s killers,”
Peter Vesco notes, “Pictues
of Till’s battered, unrecog
nizable face were printed
in JET magazine and publi
cations across the country.
News of his hideous lynch
ing led to outrage around the
world.”
Oby said news coverage
by the Black Press proved to
be crucial in the mobilization
of African Americans at that
time because it ignited the civil
rights movement of the mid-
1950s.
^SOK
Dr. Elizabeth Primas is the ESSA Program Manager for the National Newspapers Publishers Association.
What We Can Learn from Schools
that Educate Military Children
It is not uncommon for military programs to be adopted for use in civilian life. Schools in Virginia Beach, VA, that
have some of the highest percentages of military children in the country, are doing an incredible job helping those
students cope with the added stresses of having parents in the military. Other schools and communities can learn from
Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
I recently spent a day with families and educators from Shelton Park Elementary School. About 70 percent of the
students there were children with a parent in the military or a defense contractor. There is a large population of special
forces personnel in Virginia Beach and at any moment, a parent can be called on for deployment to a warzone. Their
families often do not know to where they are deployed, which compounds stress and anxiety.
A unique program in Virginia Beach public schools includes 28 Military Family Life Counselors, who work closely
with schools’ staff and families to support students. One mother we spoke with, talked about the fears her five-year-
old daughter had while her father was deployed. After a particularly bad night, the mother let the school staff and the
assigned counselor know that her daughter was going through a very difficult time. However, mom was able to send
her daughter to school knowing that the school community would play an active role in engaging with her to help her
work through her fears. The Virginia Beach counselors, funded under a program by the U.S. Department of Defense,
are licensed and specialize in child and youth behavioral issues.
It’s not just supporting students through the stress of having a parent deployed where Virginia Beach schools excel
in supporting this population of students. A report from The Lexington Institute looks at how schools and districts with
high percentages of military families are supporting students, who, on average, move every 2-3 years to far and distant
places. Uprooting and moving so often is disruptive to a child’s educational progress, and it can stall their academic
achievement.
However, moving is not the only thing that can disrupt educational progress. Low teacher retention, frequent absen
teeism, and unsafe school environments are all factors that can also inhibit academic progress.
The Every Student Succeeds Act, a federal education law, requires schools and districts to have a well-rounded
curriculum. Too many schools have eliminated music, art, drama, and essential academic courses like social studies
and science to give more instruction time to reading and math. Math and reading are critical, but these other subjects
enrich the learning experience and help make a well-rounded, whole human being.
From the very beginning, students at Shelton Park Elementary School are exposed to art, music, leadership strate
gies. The well-rounded curriculum combined with support from the military counselors creates a school environment
that can-and should-be modeled across the country.
As a lifetime educator, I am inspired to see how Virginia Beach Public Schools are supporting military children.
They are truly a model to be emulated by any school, because every kid—military or not-deserves this kind of high-
quality support and instruction.
Dr. Elizabeth Primas is the ESSA Program Manager for the National Newspapers Publishers Association.
Trump aide:
Trump criticism
of US different
from 4
Democrats
By DARLENE SUPER
VILLE
Associated Press
BERKELEY HEIGHTS,
N.J. (AP) _ A top adviser to
President Donald Trump
is claiming a "huge dif
ference” between Trump’s
criticism of America dur
ing the 2016 campaign
and current criticism of the
U.S. by four liberal Demo
cratic congresswomen of
color who Trump has been
feuding with.
White House advis
er Stephen Miller tells
"Fox News Sunday” that
Trump’s past words were
part ofhis campaign ofput-
ting America first.
Miller says comments
by first-term congress-
women Ilhan Omar of
Minnesota, Alexandria Oc
asio-Cortez of New York,
Ayanna Pressley of Massa
chusetts and Rashida Tlaib
of Michigan are part of an
"ideology that runs down
America.”
The lawmakers say
they’re fighting to help
make America better.
Trump carried the feud
into a second week Sunday,
tweeting "I don’t believe
the four Congresswomen
are capable of loving our
Country.”
Appeals court halts
Texas death row in ¬
mate’s execution
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -A
state appeals court has halt
ed this week’s scheduled
execution of a Texas death
row inmate condemned for
the slaying of an 81-year-
old woman nearly 30 years
ago.
The Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals granted
a request by Mark Robert
son’s attorneys to stay his
execution.
The stay came as Rob
ertson’s attorneys asked
the court to review a 1997
decision in which it had de
nied a previous appeal over
claims that Robertson’s
trial attorney had worked
to keep African Americans
off the jury.
Robertson had been set
for lethal injection for the
August 1989 fatal shooting
of Edna Brau at her Dallas
home.
Robertson received a
life sentence for fatally
shooting Sean Hill, Brau’s
19-year-old grandson, and
another life term for killing
a convenience store clerk
10 days earlier.