Ebony/Essence adding White House reporters to cover Obama administration

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON writes an article for The POLITICO regarding the changes that Barack Obama’s presidency is already making in the black press.  Here’s a sampling of Nia-Malika’s article Obama Brings Firsts for Black Press.

• Essence, the top-selling magazine among black women, will have a full-time White House reporter for the first time. Ebony magazine will add a White House reporter, either full time or as needed. Its sister publication, Jet magazine, will have a weekly two-page Washington report in every issue.

• And Black Entertainment Television is scrapping its usual fare of videos and sitcoms for a four-hour live broadcast of Obama’s swearing-in — just as the leading cable network in black households did for both party conventions last summer, and on Election Day. TV One will do the same, airing 21 hours of inauguration coverage throughout the day.

• April Ryan, who has been covering the White House for American Urban Radio Networks for 11 years, wonders what took so long.  “Katrina happened under Bush, and Rwanda happened under Clinton,” said Ryan, who was one of a handful of black reporters in the White House press corps during that time. “If more reporters of color were here, maybe those issues would have garnered more attention, and it could have made a difference.”

• The press as a whole has faced charges of pro-Obama bias — including respected names like PBS’ Gwen Ifill, who is black — but the magazine editors say they know they must provide balanced coverage to their readers.  Yet, if what happened to Tavis Smiley, a popular guest on the “Tom Joyner Morning Show” and host of his own PBS show, is any guide, serious questioning of Barack Obama might not always sit right with black audiences.

• The latest issue of Essence, which reaches 8.5 million readers a month, has two different covers — Barack or Michelle — and features famous African-Americans, ruminating on the moment. Ebony named a person of the year for the first time in its 63-year history, dedicating its entire January issue to the president-elect.