Tallahassee Democrat newspaper under fire for racially biased,
unethical reporting on defeated FAMU-TCC agreement
Westside Gazette
Negative reports about FAMU and positive reports about FSU and TCC is
typical of Tallahassee's daily newspaper. These institutions will
never be equal in the local community until equality is demanded.
Tallahassee, Fla.-- Florida's BLACKForum president Marti Johnson has
accused the Tallahassee Democrat of racially biased and unethical
reporting.
The Tallahassee Democrat newspaper is owned by Knight Ridder
(California).
Johnson specifically addressed concerns with the newspaper's coverage
of the debate and outcome of a proposed articulation agreement
between Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College.
She also addressed headlines, editorials and news articles that
reveal the newspaper's bias when reporting on Florida State
University president T.K. Wetherell and Tallahassee Community College
president William ''Bill'' Law when compared to FAMU and president
Fred Gainous.
FAMU trustees voted this week against the FAMU-TCC agreement 7-5.
Johnson said, ''Recent editorials endorsing the FAMU-TCC articulation
agreement and one-sided news articles reporting on the debate and
final outcome of this issue reveal that the publisher, editors and
staff writers of the Tallahassee Democrat intended to control the
debate and outcome of the proposed agreement in favor of TCC and Bill
Law. They are angry that their plan failed.''
''They have misrepresented and underreported the issues and concerns
with the agreement addressed by Black FAMU trustees, the Faculty
Senate, FAMU-UFF president Bill Tucker and members of the community
who are opposed to the agreement. But they are ensuring that the
views of the proponents of the agreement are heard. In fact, our
daily newspaper is for any and everything that uplifts FSU and TCC
over FAMU,'' Johnson said.
According to Johnson, ''The proponents of the agreement are getting
the most press. Law, Gainous and non-black FAMU trustees - including
Randy Hanna, Barney Bishop, and Al Cardenas - have been the most
vocal supporters of the agreement. When one black is needed to
endorse what the non-black community wants, especially to support FSU
and TCC, Gainous is usually there to fill the void. For that, they
give him high praise.'' A major problems she feels is hurting FAMU is
Gainous' rush to please the non-black community while neglecting
FAMU.
The newspaper and Gainous' support of the FAMU-TCC agreement is a
prime example. The agreement was drafted by TCC officials and was
designed to strategically place FAMU faculty and major academic
programs squarely in the hands of TCC officials.
The newspaper's editors - including publisher Mike Pate, editor and
vice president Mizell Stewart III, senior vice president John Winn
Miller, and editorial page editor Mary Ann Lindley - endorsed the
proposed agreement in a recent editorial and made the false claim in
an editorial today that ''Nixing the FAMU-TCC pact hurts students.''
FAMU should be able to find solutions to its problems without putting
all of its resources in one basket. But non-Blacks tend to feel that
they are the saviors of blacks. They are wrong.
TCC is not FAMU's savior. It is FAMU that could actually save TCC.
Staff writer Melanie Yeager and a co-writer missed opportunities to
share the views on both sides of the issue. The supporters of the
agreement were the most quoted. Angry at the final outcome, the
newspaper today chose to focus more on the concerns of those who
voted against the Black trustees.
The Democrat and non-black trustees insist that FAMU is in a crisis
situation. What Blacks call a crisis is when FSU was allowed
to ''steal'' the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center form the
students, taxpayers and community who helped fund the building 1972.
FSU has taken over nearly 20 acres of land as a gift from the
governor and weak local leaders, Black and white, which basically
gave FSU a ''debt free'' card. FSU reportedly agreed to pay $18
million to win the blessings of local elected officials and the
legislature.
When the governor signed the takeover into law, and the so-called
interlocal agreement was drafted, FSU was no longer responsible for
the debt. That was the major selling point of giving them control of
the facility. This is a crisis, especially when FAMU lost $14 million
to build a facility on its campus.
The governor giveth to TCC and FSU and taketh away from FAMU. Our
daily newspaper does not see this as a crisis. News reports published
about this matter in two April 2004 issues of the Democrat, and a
review of the two-hour workshop in which Wetherell presented his
proposal, reveal that there is a crisis that the white media and
community simply choose to ignore. Blacks have been quiet as well.
An article in yesterday's (6-30-04) edition of the Tallahassee
Democrat, ''FAMU quashed deal with TCC,'' revealed characteristic
biases and unfair reporting by Democrat staff writers and editors.
They continue to misrepresent the FAMU community by focusing on what
the non-black community thinks is best for FAMU.
The article focused more on the anger of non-Black trustees and their
exaggerated perceptions about the recruitment of transfers from TCC.
Now they are attempting to make those who voted the agreement down
and their supporters pay by using negative headlines that focus on
FAMU's recruitment problems.
Johnson said, ''We must remember that FAMU's recruitment problems
began with governor John Ellis Bush (Jeb) and was facilitated by
Bush's Black former business partner Adam Herbert, who became
chancellor of the state university system.
Herbert became a face behind the establishment's' plan to demote FAMU
to the bottom rung of Florida universities. Bush fought to dismantle
the Board of Regents to ensure his power over higher education
institutions in this state. Trustees who were appointed by Bush
replaced the regents.
Now Bush regrets that decision largely because FSU president T.K.
Wetherell has become too powerful.
''We must not forget,'' Johnson said. ''It was Bush who led the quiet
coup that ousted former president Frederick S. Humphries, stifled the
appointment of interim president Dr. Henry Lewis, and appointed
Gainous, a president that his implants could control.
And Gainous is Bush's scapegoat for every problem his implants finds
or creates in the quest to control FAMU and blacks. The problem
started in 1998 when Bush was elected. That is more than a
recruitment problem. It will take more than TCC to fix it.''
''Like the trustees appointed at FSU, Bush implanted trustees at the
other state universities and charged them with helping their
respective institutions succeed. Some of the implants he put at FAMU
were given different instructions. It looks like they are there to
help FAMU fail. Thankfully, we now know who is on FAMU's side. The
votes tell us who they are.''
The only question mark remains behind FAMU trustee Regina Benjamin's
name. She would not tell Johnson how she would have voted, even
though she participated in most of the debate.
''Once there is an understanding about who is on the right side,
those external and internal to FAMU must stop acting as if FAMU is on
the bottom rung. That is only a game to destroy FAMU's image that was
created by men whose superior place in American society blinds their
ability to embrace the fact that non-black and Black institutions can
co-exist without one dismantling the other,'' Johnson said.
The power of FAMU's strike must be felt again. It won't be felt with
the current administration unless some drastic changes are made.
Bush's hired hands must go and that includes Gainous, if he cannot
gain control of his mental faculties and rekindle the spirit and
image that Bush, Herbert and others like them worked so hard to
destroy. We will show Gainous and the Tallahassee Democrat the door,
if we have to.
THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION
