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Voting Rights Discussion

Aired August 04, 2005 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A look at the headlines now. The proposes making the no-fly zone around Washington, D.C. permanent. The FAA is accepting public comment on the proposed extension, which was requested by the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security.
An OxyContin scandal in Miami. Acting on warrants, federal officials arrest 29 people, including school bus drivers, school bus attendants and janitors. Despite their positions, none is accused of selling to students or on school property.

Israeli police say an Israeli shot three people dead on a bus today in a mostly Muslim district in northern Galilee. Five other people were wounded, some seriously. The victims were all Israeli- Arabs.

Well, former President Clinton says that efforts are afoot in state legislatures to restrict the right to vote. At least seven states now ask for photo I.D.s at polling stations. The stated purpose is to combat fraud. But addressing black journalists here in Atlanta, Clinton said that's a cover.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's these bills allegedly to fight voter fraud, but what they're really trying to do is restrict access to the ballot, so a smaller percentage of the American people can decide who represents all Americans. It's wrong, it's un-American, and it's a violation of the Voting Rights Act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now Clinton and other opponents charge that photo I.D. requirements impose unfair burdens on potential black voters and potential elderly voters. Those traditional Democratic constituencies are less likely than others to have driver's licenses.

And I think the one of the hardest things for me as a journalist is figuring out what's a solid and important story. Will it interest you? Will you learn something? How do I make you care? Who are the interesting characters? Is it my coverage diverse?

The National Association of Black Journalists is gathering here in Atlanta, Georgia, this week, discussing all these professional, ethical and diversity issues facing all journalists.

Herb Lowe is NABJ president and, of course, reporter in New York. Paula Madison, president and general manager of KNBC in Los Angeles, and the regional G.M. in L.A. for three NBC Telemundo stations. And Roland Martin, executive editor of "The Chicago Defender" and author of "Speak, Brother: A Black Man's View in America." Great to have all three of you. What a pleasure.

ROLAND MARTIN, JOURNALIST: How you doing, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Very good.

PAULA MADISON, KNBC PRESIDENT & GEN. MGR: Thank you for having us.

PHILLIPS: Let's get right into it. Let's talk about the Voting Rights Act. Roland, I know you have strong opinions about this. Is it at risk? What Clinton had to say last night, do you believe it's true? Do we need to worry about voter discrimination, after all these years?

MARTIN: Well, it is true. Here in Georgia, if you go to a state school, Georgia Tech, you're allowed to use your student I.D. to vote. But if you go to Spelman or Morehouse, private colleges, you cannot use your I.D. to vote. And so it is critical that the Voting Right Act is reauthorized in 2007.

The Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., asked the president, when he met with CBC, would he reauthorize it. And he said I don't know anything about it. Although as governor of Texas, he was under the Voting Rights Act. And so, it is important that it is reauthorized. It is considered the most successful piece of civil rights legislation in the history of the United States. It still matters.

PHILLIPS: Herb, do you think it matters to all the young journalists that you're seeing come through your convention this week?

HERBERT LOWE, NABJ PRESIDENT: Voting rights is important to all of us. We know that we want to vote. We're having our elections tomorrow internally, and we're encouraging everyone to vote. And we would like to see everyone get a chance to see who our nation's leaders are, our local leaders. And everyone should have the same opportunity to have a say in how the government is done.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about other subject matters we've been covering a lot lately. And this has come up a lot, as I've talk to various journalists that have been here. Civil rights cases, and these cases of lynching. Finally, after decades, these cases are being reopened. You've got Emmett Till, his bones being exhumed to finally hold people that are still living accountable. You've got Edgar Ray Killen, finally going to serve jail time for what he did. There are cases being reopened up here in Georgia. It's about time. They're actually doing reenactments so people can see what was ignored for so many years. Why is this important? Paula?

MADISON: Well, it becomes important, not just -- certainly not just for black America, not for African-Americans, but for the entire nation. We actually have to examine our history, and our true history. For many,, decades, African-Americans in the United States have been, in many ways, bicultural. We've learned our own history as best we could. And we've learned the majority history, all the time. That's what we learn in school, that's what we learn in media.

Today, what we're experiencing, thank goodness, is an examination of what really happened. What is the legacy that this country has left us and how will we write it? So to the extent that journalism and the courts can play a role in this, I think it's -- it comes as little surprise that this happens as -- and while the numbers of African-Americans and other people of color are not necessarily burgeoning in journalism and in the justice system, but they're certainly are many more of us that allow us to have conversations with counterparts.

So a lot of these initiatives that are coming about right now come as a result of right-thinking people everywhere, regardless of race or gender, deciding that it's time.

PHILLIPS Such a good point.

MARTIN: These cases must be reopened because we've sanitized our history. My paper "The Chicago Defender," published the Emmett Till photo when he was murdered. I published that same photo two months ago, because this generation needed to see. The photos on your screen right now is of a smiling Emmett Till. That's not how he looked in that casket. And so if Americans see the brutality of what took place, they can have a better understanding of what blacks had to endure during Jim Crow.

PHILLIPS: And that's exactly -- right here, Emmett's mother. That's why she wanted to have the open casket.

MARTIN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I had the privilege of talking to her and meeting her before she passed away. And she said that's exactly why I did it, Kyra, because I wanted everybody to see what happened to my son.

Herb, do you think whether white, black, Hispanic, American- Indian, are young journalists right now talking about these points in history that are so important to remember and to learn from and to be able to talk about, while covering all stories that involve diverse issues right now, at this time, 2005?

LOWE: Absolutely. Most of our young journalists work in smaller markets in TV or smaller newspapers. And it's often those kinds of newspapers -- for example, Jackson, Mississippi -- where they have to take the courage to do these kinds of stories. And so I think the young journalists sees that. They want to make a mark. They want to see fairness. They know right away what's right and what's wrong. And I think that they're learning how to do journalism by doing these kind of stories and how important diversity is in making sure that everybody understands what's going on.

MARTIN: But, Kyra, what's missing is the fact that we don't have enough of us sitting in the key positions. I mean, Paula is clearly one of the highest ranking African-Americans in our entire industry. And so we celebrate Paula. We need 100, 200, 1,000 more Paula Walker Madisons. So we need folks sitting in those positions.

If you look at on cable television right now, there's not a single African-American who hosts a daily talk show on cable television. And so we bring different perspectives, a different flavor, a different style and different understanding to issues. And so that's why you have to have us in front of the camera, behind the camera, in the executive suite.

PHILLIPS: And you know how I feel about this. I think it's essential to have diverse newsrooms. And there's still a very long way to go. And more diversity in those that are running news operations and making the decisions on what we cover and what we care about. You...

MADISON: Well, as we talk about diverse newsrooms, let me just take it another step back. Because I used to be in a position where I ran a newsroom. I now run television stations. The person running the television station is the person who decides who gets to run the newsroom. So in many ways, what needs to happen is, it's also a front office discussion. It's who's sitting upstairs, who's making those decisions in determining who gets to be the department heads.

PHILLIPS: And don't you agree, though, that it's so important, no matter what your race is, you need to care about everything? I want to ask you, how do you convince a white reporter to care about why we should cover a reenactment of a lynching here in Georgia?

MADISON: I'm not sure that I have to convince the white reporter to care about it. What I need to convince the white reporter to do, as any reporter, is to do his or her job appropriately. The issue is really about preparing and delivering news that's going to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of the public...

PHILLIPS: Great word, curiosity.

MADISON: ... of that community. So it's our responsibility to put information before the public that they can use to determine quality of life issues. So let's say, for example, we decide that we're going to look past the story and the reopening of the investigation into the lynching, the murder of Emmett Till. By ignoring that, what are we doing to our community?

What we really need to do is get it in front of the community and put it out on the table as a point of discussion. Because if we don't, there is a real danger that we could have a repetition of that. Society is designed -- we want to move forward and not keep repeating...

PHILLIPS: Go backwards.

MADISON: ... Keep repeating the mistakes of the past.

MARTIN: But it's also challenging those people when you're covering the story. President Bush is coming to Atlanta to speak to Bishop T.D. Jakes' Megafest. The voting rights march is on Saturday. Will the president attend that? Will Bishop T.D. Jakes, who's one of the most prominent black and one of the most prominent pastors in the country --

PHILLIPS: His congregation is pretty diverse, too.

MARTIN: Yes. It is and it's in Dallas.

PHILLIPS: I've been... I've been... Right.

MARTIN: But will he support the voting rights march? See, you tell the story of the president speaking in front of 100,000 people, talking about issues of faith, but voting was put in a moral prism. What are your views on that? So, you can have the photo op, but you've got to ask the question: What about this particular issue as well? So, that's why, when you're framing the conversation and framing how you tell the story, it's important to have us sitting in that chair.

PHILLIPS: Herb, I can see you want to say something.

LOWE: Yes. Well, I want to talk about news coverage and why we want to have more people of color in news room management. We are where we are today and what's striking to me and I can appreciate that the media is taking on, is that if you are found -- God forbid, you are found missing and Paula's found missing, what's likely to happen is there'll be a lot more stories about you, as a white woman, than there would be about Paula.

MARTIN: There are likely to be no stories about Paula.

LOWE: Well...

PHILLIPS: Well, there was a lot of criticism about the Natalee Holloway and why do we cover all the missing white girls and you did sort of see this sort of response when...

LOWE: But that's sort of...

PHILLIPS: ... A young gal in Philly became missing, I think everybody...

LOWE: But that was bloggers who did that, though.

PHILLIPS: That triggered it.

LOWE: When Elizabeth Smart was found missing or even recovered, there were 400 reporters that just descended on Salt Lake City. Now, I've never been to Salt Lake City, but I would have gone to cover that story. And of those 400 people who got to cover that story, I don't know a single one who's black.

PHILLIPS: So, Herb what changes that though. What changes that?

LOWE: What changes that is like who we're meeting this week -- of talk about news room managers, having more of us in the seats. But not just as top managers on Paula's level, but mid-level managers. People who do the assigning. People who say, "get on the next plane and got out there and cover that."

MARTIN: And what changes that is somebody in the news room saying, "why are we spending this much attention on this one story and not this one?" I mean, it's about challenging the infrastructure and challenging the system and demanding an answer, versus, "well, we really don't know why we sort of just --" It's a story and...

PHILLIPS: And encouraging more people of more ethnicities to get involved and become journalist, read more, travel more, step outside your box.

MARTIN: Well, it's not just being journalist. I mean,CNN wants to be the number one cable network. So, you want black folks watching, Hispanic, men, women, you want everyone watching and so, if you're not putting stories on the air that will interest those particular viewers in a fragment of society, they're not going to watch this network.

LOWE: And they also...

MADISON: I'm sorry, there's another aspect to this, too. A lot of times, what happens is young people who are interested in journalism are most often interested in your job. It's the job that they see on camera. They don't know enough about those of us who are behind the scenes.

Today, there are, in fact, over at NABJ, initiatives in place that we've had in place for years, encouraging young journalists of color to not occupy the anchor chair, but to occupy the general manager's chair or the news director's chair

PHILLIPS: Sure and be making those decisions.

MADISON: Right.

PHILLIPS: You guys are going kill me. You know I could keep talking about this for another five hours and I'm getting the hard wrap...

MARTIN: Well, go on get out of here, let' increase CNN's ratings right now. Let's go.

PHILLIPS: It has nothing to do with our topic of conversation, I promise. Herb, good luck, as president, with the rest of the week. Roland, I'll always talking to you, reading your stuff.

MARTIN: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: What a pleasure to meet you, Paula.

MADISON: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: You're doing great thing and we salute you in your position, for sure. We'll keep talking, I promise. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, I want to, once again, thank all of you for your e-mails, as you've e-mailed us here at LIVE FROM, yesterday, as we decided to read the names of the Marines that were killed in Iraq in recent days. I know that many of you feel that we don't do it enough and your e-mails really touched a lot of us. Here's one of them from Ron in Junction City, Kansas...

"It was poignant to see you reading the names of the young Marines recently killed in Iraq and the impact that it made."

And D.B. from Boca Raton, Florida wrote...

"Thank you for reading the names of the fallen servicemen. You showed real emotion and it is appreciated by the listening public. Your story was followed by the president saying they fought and died for a noble cause. Perhaps you should read the names and say that again. Thanks for being human and honest. Our hearts bleed for all those who have given their lives in this un-ending battle."

Names you are about to see now, once again, remind us of the more than 1800 men and women that have died fighting for our freedom since this war began.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In entertainment news, "Teen People" magazine hits the newsstands with its list of Hollywood's most influential young stars and Dr. Phil's television star is rising. CNN Entertainment Correspondent Brook Anderson, live in L.A. with all the news from Hollywood. Hi, Brooke.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.

I want to start with Ashton Kutcher. This guy, not getting punked by "Teen People," rather, the publication is very serious about the fact that he is number one on their Young Hollywood Power List.

That list selected by the readers of "Teen People." Twenty- seven-year-old Kutcher's movie "Guess Who," raked in $68 million this year and his production company "Catalyst Films," is behind the hit shows "Punked" and "Beauty and the Geek."

"Herbie Fully Loaded" star Lindsay Lohan's clout in Hollywood, scored her the number two spot with readers. She's 19 years old and she commands a $7.5 million paycheck.

And all those period costumes Orlando Bloom has donned on the big screen make him "Teen People's" third most powerful. The star of "Kingdom of Heaven" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is next in theaters in the drama, "Elizabethtown." Now, This issue of "Teen People" hits newsstands tomorrow. And Dr. Phil will be dispensing his advice on the air waves well into the next decade. The television therapist has signed a five-year extension of his syndication deal. That means the no-nonsense guidance that is the "Dr. Phil Show," will continue through the year 2014. The hour-long broadcast averages nearly 7 million viewers. Placing it behind just one other syndicated show, "Oprah."

All right, Howard Stern, on television uncensored: That's right, the shock-jock has sealed a three-year deal with the In Demand networks to carry the televised version of his radio show. The show had previously been shown on the E channel for 11 years. That version was censored. This move comes as Stern is preparing to jump to Sirius satellite radio in January.

Now, both at Sirius and In Demand Stern will not have to answer to government regulators, nor advertisers regarding language, nudity or content. Stern, of course, has been a frequent target of the Federal Communications Commission in the past with his content. In Demand is planning to turn the cameras on stern very soon. then later this year, the company will allow digital cable user to order Stern's channel. Kyra, no pricing has yet been set for that.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. That Howard Stern, he's such a troublemaker. All right, Brooke, thank you very much.

Well, tired of those high prices at the pump? One automaker is taking the high road with a new batch of hybrids. Details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, hybrids are increasingly popular among car buyers. And Toyota wants to make sure there are enough to go around. Susan Lisovicz, live from the New York Stock Exchange with more on that.

Susan, my mom is dying to by one of these cars.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's going to have to wait, Kyra, they're that successful. And Toyota, Kyra, is reportedly working on ten new hybrid models after seeing sales of the environmentally-friendly vehicles rocket in the U.S.

The company already makes three hybrids, including the popular Prius. Perhaps that's what Kyra's mom is so hot to get. Last year, Toyota sold more than 50,000 Priuses with some buyers waiting up to 6 months for delivery.

Toyota's goal is to sell 600,000 hybrids a year starting early next decade, or nearly 1/3 of its total sales in the U.S. Toyota plans to introduce two more hybrids next year, a Lexus hybrid sedan and a Camry hybrid built at the automakers plant not in Tokyo, but right here in Kentucky -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Good old Kentucky. All right. Oil prices heating up again. LISOVICZ: Oh, yes, that's one of the reasons, of course, why hybrids are so popular. Oil prices back on the rise after cooling off for a day. Crude prices inching closer to $62 a barrel, again flirting with record highs. This comes despite booming production from OPEC.

The oil cartel boosted output by nearly 300,000 barrels a day last month. Total production, now 30 million barrels a day, the highest level since December of 1979.

Disappointing retail sales, another culprit in today's broad- based sell-off. There you see the Dow Industrials, close to session lows, off 82 points, Or at 0.75 percent. The NASDAQ down 23 points, or more than 1 percent.

And that is a wrap on Wall Street. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Susan, thank you so much.

Well, straight ahead, OxyContin arrests. Wait until you hear who was rounded up in a Miami area drug bust.

And it's been a particularly deadly week for U.S. marines in Iraq. Ahead on LIVE FROM, we expect to hear Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld say something about that. Live pictures, as we wait for him to step up to the podium. We'll bring it to you live as soon as it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now in the news, fighting words from Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant, Ayman al Zawahiri, appearing today in a new diatribe that warns the U.S. and allies of attacks that will make 9/11 seem like nothing. Much more in just a minute.

Off limits forever: Federal officials want to restrict the airspace of the nation's capital, permanently. That's all because of the continued terror threats. The restrictions on D.C.'s airspace have been in place two-and-a-half years.

Safe for reentry: That word from NASA which has decided not to try another repair job on the shuttle. There's a torn blanket right below Discovery's cockpit window, but NASA has determined it should not be a problem during reentry.

Why didn't it stop? Investigators say three of the four thrust reversers were working when this Air France plane landed then ran off the runway in Toronto. But they still have to look at the brakes among other factors. Everyone on board survived that crash.

Volcanoes of anger and rivers of blood, vintage al Qaeda verbiage delivered for the second time in less than two months by Ayman al Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's top deputy. President Bush is unimpressed.

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