Top black woman editor forced out

By: Joe Nicholson Tallahassee Democrat cites circulation DIP in dropping Lorraine Branham

The nation's only African-American woman editor of a daily with a circulation more than 50,000 was forced to resign last week ? prompting some to raise questions about subtle forms of sexism and racism.
Lorraine Branham, 46, executive editor of the Tallahassee Democrat, told a packed newsroom that she was stepping down after more than three years to accept a temporary post as a consultant with parent Knight Ridder.
The newspaper reported that the move "was viewed as a response to the newspaper's declining circulation."
In an interview with E&P, Branham said she agreed to resign after discussions with her publisher, Mike Pate. She would not elaborate on discussion details. Pate could not be reached for comment.
But Marty Claus, vice president for news of Knight Ridder, praised the job Branham did at the Tallahassee Democrat, adding, "Obviously, we are hoping she stays in the company, and that's because she is a very good editor."
Branham said a black woman editor faces many hurdles, often including an assumption "that she got the job not because she was smart and qualified" but due to a diversity effort.
"People always expect you to walk on water and be twice as good," she added. "The industry is so focused nowadays on the bottom line and circulation that issues like diversity and journalistic excellence really are secondary," said Branham. "My fear is that it's going to [get] worse."
But Branham said circulation declines were in single digits and no different than those at numerous other papers. She said efforts she made produced improvement in readership among African Americans, woman and younger people, although there was a drop among white males. Before she became editor, she said the Tallahassee Democrat had "a bad reputation in the African-American community" and "was referred to as 'The Dixiecrat.'"
Managing Editor Bob Shaw, 55, also said he would leave a post he has held for eight years to become chief of the paper's Florida state capital bureau.
Shaw, who is white, praised Branham, telling E&P she "brought a lot of intelligence ? integrity and ? warmth to the newsroom."
During Branham's career, going back to Knight Ridder's Philadelphia Inquirer, chain executives always supported her, she said. "I have been fortunate because I've certainly known a lot of [African-American] colleagues who have felt [discrimination]." she said. "I've lived somewhat of a charmed life."
She said she might not be stepping down if the publisher who hired her was still in the job. Whether race and gender were factors in Pate's mind, she said, "I will never know."
Will Sutton, 44, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and deputy managing editor at the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer, said, "People tend to hire the people they are most comfortable with, and the people they are most comfortable with are the people most like them."
Whenever a minority group member makes it to the top of a masthead, Sutton said there is often "discomfort with [their] different perspectives."
Asked about a decline in the very small number of African Americans in top editor positions at Knight Ridder newspapers, Claus said, "I'm not sure I'd say it's going backward as much as it's a fluid number."
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(copyright: Editor & Publisher October 23, 1999) [Caption]