Great thread on how to prepare to have the Why-You-Should-Care-About-Other-People talk w/ family. "The values that you raised me are inconsistent with the ones you're demonstrating, and that makes me respect you less, and causes me to pull away from you."
The Bleeding Heart Libertarians blog says farewell — “the variety of libertarian and classical liberal views within the academy has become better known”
A philosophical conversation on COVID-19 — with Alec Walen (Rutgers), Sophia Moreau (Toronto), and Christian Barry (ANU)
In praise of aphorisms — in their interpretation is an invitation for the readers to engage in their own philosophical enterprise – to do philosophy themselves
- A philosopher who recently signed his fourth book contract offers advice on how to publish a book in philosophy — advice from Eric Schwitzgebel (UC Riverside)
- People can submit a question about COVID-19 issues to the philosophers at University College Dublin’s Centre for Ethics in Public Life and they’ll give you a video response — they’ve done about 20 responses to questions from the public so far
- “To be anti-racist in philosophy, we must reconsider the nature of our field—not only who belongs, but what belongs” — Alexus McLeod (Connecticut) inaugurates a new series on anti-racism in philosophy at The Philosophers’ Cocoon
- “For human beings to flourish in our contemporary world, we need to make space both for self-determining states and for improved global governance regimes” — Gillian Brock (Auckland) on COVID-19 and cosmopolitanism
- “Anti-racism work needs to be ongoing if it is to be effective” — to help people do this, philosopher Michelle Panchuk (Murray State) compiled 50 weeks’ worth of anti-racist activities
- “Lack of leadership doesn’t just erode trust in the government, it also erodes trust between citizens” — Max Hayward (Sheffield) on trust and current British politics
- “I worry we have lost the moral basis for deeply committed non-violence” — Kevin Vallier (Bowling Green) on trust and race in the United States
Mini-Heap posts appear when 7 or so new items accumulate in the Heap of Links, the ever-growing collection of items from around the web that may be of interest to philosophers. Discussion welcome.
Still making sense of what happened at The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
The media world is still buzzing from the events over the
weekend when two big-time editors resigned from their jobs — New York Times
editorial editor James Bennet and Philadelphia Inquirer executive editor Stan
Wischnowski.
Another 24 hours later and we’re left to ask: Were they run
off by their own staff?
Bennet is out after Times employees pushed back over the
editorial board’s decision to run an op-ed by Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom
Cotton that called for military force to deal with protests. Wischnowski is
out after employees staged a “sick and tired” walkout following the headline
of “Buildings Matter, Too” — a tone-deaf and insensitive play on “Black Lives
Matter.”
There’s no question that both incidents raised serious questions
about the leadership of both men. The Cotton op-ed should have never run and
the Inquirer headline was awful. In both cases, outside objections were swift
and loud, as well.
But there’s also no question that the internal pressure from
staff helped lead to their resignations. At the Times, there were reports
that many staffers said they would refuse to work with Bennet in the future.
Inquirer journalists pointed fingers at Wischnowski for a culture that led to
the bad headline.
There’s no way of knowing for sure how much prior events led
to both Bennet and Wischnowski being pushed out. As bad as these incidents
were, it does seem as if there was more to it. Times publisher A.G.
Sulzberger indicated there were other times when the editing process in the
editorial department broke down. And, well before last week, Inquirer
journalists raised questions and concerns about diversity issues in the
newsroom. Maybe these recent incidents were simply the final straws.
And, as Joe Pompeo pointed out in an excellent piece for
Vanity Fair, emotions are high at the moment. The journalism
stakes are high, as well. The country is going through a difficult reckoning
when it comes to race during a divisive election year in the middle of a
once-in-a-hundred years pandemic. Throw in social media and you have to
perfect storm to take down two respected journalists who had two of the best
journalism jobs in the country
That does not excuse what happened last week. That, also, does
not mean the opinions of the staffers at both the Times and Inquirer are
wrong. But, in both cases, the editors lost the support of their newsrooms.
When that happens, they can’t stay on, no matter how talented they are.
Protesting in Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story continues to get more
troubling. If you missed it, Alexis Johnson, an African American journalist
at the Post-Gazette, was pulled off the paper’s protest coverage after she tweeted photos of garbage strewn all
over — not from a protest, but an old Kenny Chesney concert.
It was clearly a joke, yet the P-G seems to think she is now
too biased to cover the story. Despite objections from the paper’s union,
other staffers, the National Association of Black Journalists and even
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, Johnson still
is off protest coverage.
Now, NPR’s David Folkenflik reports, “NPR has
learned that a white reporter at the paper who had tweeted a vulgar
disparagement of a man accused of looting also received a warning on the same
day as his black colleague. But the white reporter kept covering issues
related to the protest. He was banned from covering protests two days later,
only after the newspaper's union raised the issue of disparate treatment.”
What’s odd is trying to understand what about Johnson’s tweet
would indicate she shouldn’t be on the protest coverage. Johnson even asked
her editors for clarification.
She told NPR, “They kept doubling down, saying I gave my
opinion through the tweet and that my opinion came through in the tweet. And
I don't think that’s the case at all. I think people made their own opinions
of what I was trying to say. I thought it was kind of clever.”
As of Monday evening, Post-Gazette executive editor Keith
Burris still has not responded to several days of requests for comment from
many media outlets covering this story.
Another editor out
Another big controversy involving an editor. This one at Bon
Appétit. Adam Rapoport, the editor-in-chief, resigned after allegations that
Bon Appétit pays white editors — but not people of color — for video
appearances. These claims come after a photo of Rapoport in brownface was posted on
social media.
The allegations about paying only white editors for videos
came from Sohla El-Waylly. She’s a chef and restaurateur who worked as an
assistant editor at Bon Appétit and has appeared in the BA Test Kitchen video
series. In an Instagram Story, El-Waylly claims she
was hired for $50,000 to assist white editors who had much less experience.
She wrote, “I’ve been pushed in front of video as a display of
diversity. In reality, currently only white editors are paid for their video
appearances. None of the people of color have been compensated for their
appearances.”
This came after a photo from October 2013 with Rapoport
appearing in brownface at what appears to be a Halloween party. You can find
additional details in Todd Spangler’s story for Variety.
In an Instagram post Monday evening,
Rapoport said, “I am stepping down as editor in chief of Bon Appétit to
reflect on the work that I need to do as a human being and to allow Bon
Appétit to get to a better place. From an extremely ill conceived Halloween
costume 16 years ago to my blind spots as an editor, I’ve not championed an
inclusive vision. And ultimately, it’s been at the expense of Bon Appétit and
its staff, as well as our readers. They all deserve better. The staff has
been working hard to evolve the brand in a positive, more diverse direction.”
An unusual call Protestors near the White House last week. (Patsy Lynch/MediaPunch /IPX)
A major news outlet has told its journalists that it’s OK to
join protests and that it will even pay for their bail money if they get
arrested. Axios — a news outlet that covers politics, tech, finance and
sports through popular newsletters, as well as a weekly HBO show — has told reporters
they can protest even though most media outlets don’t allow it because it
might lead to accusations of being impartial.
New York Times reporters Edmund Lee and Ben Smith
reported that Jim VandeHei, the chief executive and co-founder of
Axios, sent an email that told employees, “First, let me say we proudly
support and encourage you to exercise your rights to free speech, press, and
protest. If you’re arrested or meet harm while exercising these rights, Axios
will stand behind you and use the Family Fund to cover your bail or assist
with medical bills.”
VandeHei’s answer came after an employee asked about the company’s
stance on protesting. Again, this is unusual for news outlets, which
typically forbid marching in protests, donating to political candidates’
campaigns or supporting candidates with bumper stickers or yard signs.
For example, Lee and Smith point out that The New York Times
policy is that journalists “may not march or rally in support of public
causes or movements” or publicly take positions on public issues. It adds,
“doing so might reasonably raise doubts about their ability or The Times’s
ability to function as neutral observers in covering the news.”
That’s how most outlets are, and for good reason. To publicly
support a cause while covering it absolutely brings a news outlet’s
objectivity and fairness into question. While this particular cause — standing
up for racial equality — seems like something everyone can agree upon, what
happens if journalists want to join other protests that are far more divisive
or controversial, such as protests regarding abortion or gun control?
In a statement to the Times, VandeHei said, “We trust our
colleagues to do the right thing, and stand firmly behind them should they
decide to exercise their constitutional right to free speech.”
Controversy at Arizona State
Arizona State University has retracted a job offer to the
newly hired journalism school dean after former students raised allegations
of racism and mistreatment.
Sonya Forte Duhé was supposed to take over next month as dean
of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications, as well
as CEO of Arizona PBS, but that will not happen. More than 20 of her former
students at Loyola University in New Orleans told ASU’s student newspaper about behavior
they felt was racist and discriminatory against students of color and LGBTQ
students.
Wyatt Myskow and Piper Hansen — staff writers at The State,
the school’s newspaper — spoke with 23 Loyola students who studied under Duhé
from 2013 to 2019. Among their claims: Duhé told Black students that their
appearance, specifically their hair, was not appropriate for TV, and she
criticized the voices of gay students.
One student, Andrew Ketcham, said, “I’ll never forget her
advice to me that my voice was too theatrical and that I should stick with
print.” Another student, Edward Wroten, said Duhé would “blatantly compare
black and white students” and tell students of color to change their looks
and voices.
Meantime, ASU faculty also reached out to the school in a
letter to complain about Duhé’s reported behavior during a virtual meeting
earlier this month when she “berated staff.” The letter also described Duhé’s
behavior as “erratic” and said she made “denigrating comments.” The letter
added, “Based on the meeting and recent news reports, several high-performing
faculty members said they could not stay at Cronkite if Dr. Duhé takes over
as dean.”
Another controversy involving race
Christene Barberich, co-founder and editor-in-chief of
Refinery29 — a media brand focused on young women — announced she is stepping
down because of criticism over the company’s lack of racial diversity and
allegations of racial discrimination. Refinery29 is a part of Vice Media Group.
In an Instagram post, Barberich wrote that
she is stepping down after taking into account the “raw and personal accounts
of Black women and women of color regarding their experiences inside our
company at Refinery29.”
Among those accounts? Staffer Ashley C. Ford tweeted, “I worked at
Refinery29 for less than nine months due to a toxic company culture where
white women’s egos ruled the near non-existent editorial processes. One of
the founders consistently confused myself and one of our full-time front desk
associates & pay disparity was atrocious.”
Barberich said it’s time for a new chapter: “A chapter that
demands a new voice — both for our team and our audience — one that can shape
and guide the critical stories that have the real power to shift and disrupt
our culture, helping to eliminate institutional barriers that separate us and
hold our society back.”
Search is underway for a new head of Refinery29. Variety’s Todd Spangler reported that in a
memo to all staff Monday, Vice Media Group CEO Nancy Dubuc wrote, “We commit
to you unequivocally that this search will be an inclusive hiring process
with a diverse slate of candidates.”
Cutting out the print
The California Sunday Magazine, which produces some of the
best-written and most interesting journalism in the business, announced it
will discontinue its print edition. It will remain online.
Co-founder and editor-in-chief Douglas McGray wrote,
“It’s time for our format to evolve.”
The magazine has won awards for design and photography. The
print product cut is because of finances. McGray wrote, “We’re facing the most
difficult economic conditions of our lifetimes, especially for a small
company that depends on live events and sponsorship. A big-circulation print
magazine won’t be viable for us this year or next year, so it seems like the
right time to evolve. We’ll miss the print magazine. But we’re looking
forward to showing you what comes next.”
George Floyd funeral coverage (Courtesy: CBS News)
All three major networks — ABC, CBS and NBC — will air George
Floyd’s funeral in Houston today. In addition, all three of the evening news
anchors — ABC’s David Muir, CBS’s Norah O’Donnell and NBC’s Lester Holt —
will anchor their newscasts from Houston. The funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m
Houston time — or noon Eastern time.
On ABC, Byron Pitts will host a special edition of
“Nightline.” At CBS, Gayle King will host a primetime special called “Justice
For All.” That will include a Norah O’Donnell interview with Democratic
presidential nominee Joe Biden, as well as interviews with U.S. Attorney
General William Barr and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The special is scheduled for
10 p.m. Eastern.
Hot type
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