Source: Fashionbombdaily.com

Revisiting Essence magazine’s shift of their white managing editor into a new role after his right-wing views were exposed on Facebook, I agree with readers here who feel the move was an excuse to get Michael Bullerdick out of the position. The swiftness with which the decision was made and the comparably minute articles he’d posted compared to the public blunders of other media personalities who’ve been allowed to keep their jobs suggests the magazine may have been waiting for an opportunity to remove the white editor in a way that wouldn’t make it seem as though it was simply taking it’s reader’s racial concerns to heart when he was hired in the first place, but perhaps they should have.

It obviously doesn’t take a particular ethnicity to be able to tell when someone’s syntax is wrong or their grammar is off, but when we’re talking about a magazine who’s readers are 99.9% black women it would certainly make sense that someone who would read the content themselves would have a better eye for checking for things like tone, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying that. I can’t tell you how many editorial job descriptions I’ve come across for opportunities with a publication or non-profit that explicitly states the applicant must have significant knowledge of the Jewish culture or Hebrew community in order to even be considered. There’s nothing wrong with us doing the same, although for some reason we seem to have this attitude that we’re not being diverse enough if we express that sentiment despite the fact that we aren’t the ones who need to knock down barriers for other people, we need them broken down for us. I know Essence claims that Michael was only involved in production but he listed his responsibilities on LinkedIn as “Edit stories for tone and style,” so it appears one of the parties was confused about what his true role was. Now, that inconsistency is neither here nor there but I do find it interesting that this issue has sort of been swept under the rug with no response from the publication to its readers about how this was overlooked—and who might even replace him. I don’t think anyone who saw Michael’s wall was personally offended, but I do think it proves readers had genuine concern when they protested his hiring, much like the hiring of Ellianna Placas, a white woman, as the fashion director, a year and a half ago. Opportunities being what they are for black people, you would think the one place someone in fashion or publishing could get a high-ranking job if they so choose would be Essence, but the difference between the publication and some of the Jewish ones I’ve come across is those communities owned their content, and last time I checked Time Warner was hardly led by an African American.

That being said and this situation considered, I don’t foresee Essence listening from here on out. The former editor, Angela Burt-Murray, defended Ellianna’s hiring, saying she hand-picked her herself, and Constance C.R. White pretty much did the same with Michael. Whether they truly didn’t see an issue with the hirings or if they were coaxed into it by corporate politics and the powers that be, we’ll likely never know but either way it’s cause for concern. I know the go-to response around anything Essence-related is “I don’t care, I don’t read the magazine anymore anyway,” but we should care and so should they. It’s candid discussions like this that are essentially a free focus group for the magazine and its corporate leadership to see in plain color what their (previous and potential) readers want and how to make it happen. I’m curious how much further readership has to drop for them to get the point. On one hand the issues plaguing the magazine aren’t unique. The interests of society have become increasingly superficial and if you want to thrive and be profitable you have to cater to that somewhat, but being the innovator that it was when it first entered the market many have been hoping the magazine would find a happy medium without selling out to rathetness or racial pressures but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Hiring a black person doesn’t guarantee that all of their ideologies will be in line with the publication and all black women for that matter but it does significantly increase the odds that the person put in the position will not only understand the issues plaguing black women but also have their best interest at heart with how their addressed and represented in the magazine and no one should want any less. There’s no better way to prove you really are the voice of black women than to have black women be the voice behind the content.

Do you think Essence will finally listen to its readers concerns over its hiring practices as a result of this incident?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Continuing the social media + career don’t mix trend, Essence has parted ways with its white male managing editor after right-wing news posted on his Facebook wall was brought to the attention of the magazine’s editor.

Michael Bullerdick’s position with the magazine has been controversial from the beginning. When he was hired last July, many expressed their disapproval of a white man working on a magazine for black women. Despite the title of managing editor and describing his duties for the magazine on LinkedIn as lists “Edit stories for tone and style,” Essence Editor-in-Chief Constance C.R. White stated when he was hired, “Michael is responsible for production and operational workflow. He has no involvement in editorial content.”

Whether that’s true or not, the content on Michael’s Facebook page is what led to his demise after a Journal-isms reader sent in screen shots of his wall, writing in an email:

“Essence readers would be shocked to find that Bullerdick, who under the prodding of Time Inc became the first white male editor at the magazine last year, openly espouses extremist Right-wing views that run counter to what Essence has historically stood for.”

The views referenced include an April 10 posting headlined, “No Voter Fraud, Mr. Attorney General?” with a video by conservative activist James O’Keefe. The same day, Bullerdick also posted a photo illustration of Al Sharpton titled, “MSNBC Race Pimp.” He also regularly recommends material from the conservative magazine Human Events and the right-wing website townhall.com. One post included “the Frequent Bomber Program,” an article about 1960s anti-war radical Bill Ayers on which Bullerdick wrote, “Obama’s mentor and friend.”

When this news first broke on Journal-isms Friday, White issued this statement, saying:

“As editor-in-chief, I’m responsible for all editorial content for Essence. I hired Michael to manage the production schedule of Essence. As head of production, he does not attend editorial idea meetings, nor does he get involved in the editorial direction of the magazine.”

By the end of the day, a spokeswoman said:

“By mutual agreement, Michael has accepted a position in another division.”

When Essence was questioned about their social media policy, the spokeswoman said employees should follow the current Standards of Business Conduct, which is distributed to everyone at the company. She also said Dan Okrent, who leads Editorial Standards and Practices for Time Inc., has been working with the magazine’s top Editors to develop a specific social media policy, which will be released when it’s completed.

There’s no word on what Bullerdick’s new role is within the company, but this shift certainly demonstrates the fine line between an employee being able to express personal views that are inconsistent with those of its employer on social media.

Do you think this move is fair?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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By Brittany Hutson

Last week, CNN announced that distinguished journalist Mark Whitaker will be assuming the newly created role of executive vice president and managing editor on Feb. 14th. Coming from his most recent position of senior vice president and Washington bureau chief at NBC News, Whitaker has a resume that boasts a myriad of firsts–besides being the highest-ranking person of color at NBC, Whitaker was also the first African-American to become NBC News Washington bureau chief and the first African-American to edit Newsweek magazine. So what exactly will Whitaker bring to the network as far as diversity in the newsroom and on the air?

Though it is too early to tell, his track record and stated commitment to diversity leaves those such as Richard Prince, author of the column Journal-isms to assume that “he will continue in that direction at his new network.” “CNN has been honored for its diversity efforts by the National Association of Black Journalists, so they should be on the same page,” he said.

Others, such as Adam Hanft, CEO of marketing firm Hanft Projects, believes that the network is in some ways playing it safe with Whitaker’s hiring. “They’ve gone with a serious journalist who doesn’t screech from one side of the spectrum or the other,” he said.

However, “Whitaker’s lack of fire could be a surprise asset,” continued Hanft. “It’s a bet that the viewing public will eschew the entertainment histrionics of Fox and MSNBC for sober discourse. It hasn’t been the case up til now as CNN has suffered by being too polite and boring. But the emotional pendulum might be swinging to the middle.”

Whitaker’s commitment to diversity has been called into question before, in one instance by his former Newsweek colleague, Sylvester Monroe, who wrote a piece for theRoot.com in which he stated that he watched his “old friend twist and turn trying to keep white corporate bosses and readers happy–often at the expense of black reporters and readers who had high hopes for his editorship.” Since Whitaker moved on to NBC, Newsweek “has yet to see more and better black content–or more black staff, for that matter,” added Monroe.

In his defense, Whitaker replied to Journal-isms with a list of cover stories he commissioned at Newsweek, including “‘The Good News About Black America’ (June 7, 1999), ‘Black Women in America’ (March 3, 2003) and ‘Latino Power’ (May 30, 2005).”

In addition, both at Newsweek and NBC, Whitaker has appointed a number of minority reporters as on-air analysts and high ranking positions, such as Marcus Mabry as Newsweek’s first black Chief of Correspondents, and Antoine Sanfuentes–who is of Hispanic origin–as Whitaker’s Deputy Bureau Chief at NBC.

Whitaker told Michel Martin on National Public Radio’s “Tell Me More” in 2008 that he “certainly hopes to be an advocate for smart stories and smart debate about issues involving race, and also to be a champion for hiring and promoting people from diverse backgrounds who really excel.”

“I think my record of success speaks for itself,” he said to Journal-isms.