The Semantics of Border Crossing — and Journalists’ Politics

The semantics of border crossing: Despite years of debate about the use of the term “illegals” to describe people the National Association of Hispanic Journalists prefers to call “undocumented immigrants,” the Star Tribune ran a story on Wednesday using the term. The Associated Press story, “Green Bay, Wis., passes ordinance against hiring illegals,” shouldn’t have been headlined that way, acknowledged Star Tribune web editor Terry Sauer. “It’s a Wisconsin AP headline that we should have changed,” he said. The paper’s preferred usage, he added, is “illegal immigrant.” Many news organizations have banned the noun form of the word — agreeing with immigrants’ rights advocates who believe illegal border-crossers should not be identified in their entirety by an unlawful act. For more, listen to National Public Radio’s excellent piece on the semantics of immigration.

Rex’s “corporate blogs” T-shirt: That interview I did with Rex Sorgatz, MNspeak’s creator, generated quite the comment thread at his old digital homestead, including a note from the man himself explaining the T-shirt he wore in the illustration to Minnesota Monitor’s piece — a reference, lost on me, to an infamous Nirvana cover shot for Rolling Stone.

What gives — or rather, who? The MSNBC.com story listing 144 broadcast, web and print journalists who gave to political candidates — all but 17 to Democrats or left-leaning organizations — includes two locals, Fox 9 morning anchor Alix Kendall and Star Tribune copy editor Barbara Haugen. The donations were relatively small: Kendall gave $250 to the Midwest Values PAC; Haugen gave the same amount to Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s campaign last October. Haugen wasn’t quoted by MSNBC.com, but Strib managing editor Scott Gillespie says there is no ban on political activity by journalists, but said “we dissuade the entire staff” from active participation in partisan politics. Kendall, quoted by MSNBC.com, said, “I don’t think that working for a news organization I give up my rights… I think it’s my civic duty to be involved in what matters to me. I think it’s ridiculous that anyone who’s sitting in front of a camera doesn’t have an opinion — come on, we all do.”

It’s news, but is it new news? Later today, 30-year Star Tribune reporter and new Minnesota Monitor contributor Eric Black will offer his perspective, recalling a 1996 analysis he wrote for the Minneapolis paper on a then-stunning finding: 89 percent of Washington reporters had voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 while 7 percent voted for George Bush.

more insideLess outrage over rightwing radio: The report has the blogosphere, particularly the rightmost end of it, buzzing, yet another study released this week, by the Center for American Progress and Free Press, has gotten far less play. Despite independent polls showing that a majority of Americans support progressive ideals, 91 percent of all weekday radio programming is conservative, according to the organizations’ analysis of content at 257 news and talk radio stations across the country. Titled “The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio” [pdf], the report concluded that “the gap between conservative and progressive talk radio is the result of multiple structural problems in the U.S. regulatory system, particularly the complete breakdown of the public trustee concept of broadcast, the elimination of clear public interest requirements for broadcasting, and the relaxation of ownership rules including the requirement of local participation in management. “

Minnesota Monthly editor dies: Carol Ratelle Leach, the 43-year-old Minnesota Monthly senior editor, passed away at her home Thursday. Our deepest condolences go out to her husband,  Dan, and three children.