Corporate WATCH
Commentary by Joe SchaefferA powerful, deep-pocketed leftist foundation allied with an organization tied to the major U.S. television networks is launching a campaign to flip the portrayal of the calamity on our southern border to embrace the Third World invasion of our nation. A recent pressure operation by that aligned group gives a broad hint of how the program will operate.
The Ford Foundation has announced that it is funding a "Reclaiming the Border Narrative" initiative that will work with several groups, most notably the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. The foundation is not even concealing the pure propaganda nature of this effort (bold added throughout this column):
Prevailing narratives across administrations have demonized border communities and stoked fear of immigrants, fueling xenophobic policies including a multi-billion dollar border wall and family separation. Through it all, the authentic life stories, voices, and narratives of impacted border communities have been flattened, and the complexities of their cultures, contributions, and experiences have been erased.
In other words, get ready for endless sob stories about people violating our national integrity.
To get an idea of the “journalism” taking place at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, check out their endorsement of this collaboration:
“It is a rarity to be among partners whose shared commitment to cultural competence can act as a powerful catalyst for systemic change, beginning with our efforts to amplify the rich and dynamic border stories too often overlooked,” said Alberto B. Mendoza, executive director for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. “With this investment, NAHJ and our journalists are part of a veritable opportunity for storytelling that preserves significance and fosters authenticity."
Now keep in mind that ABC News, CBS News and Comcast NBC Universal are all "partners" of the NAHJ.
The NAHJ is currently chest-deep in a bullying campaign against a Denver TV channel that had the temerity to not renew the contract of a Hispanic on-air correspondent who refused to comply with the station’s news style regarding illegal aliens. Lori Lizarraga is a racial activist who deludedly believes she is an objective reporter. She wrote of her departure from KUSA-9 in Denver for Westword on March 28:
Back in the newsroom, I would raise a concern that would become a familiar point of contention over the next two years. Managers reviewing my piece told me I was not allowed to describe the young man in my story — or anyone else for that matter — as “undocumented” while at 9News. Instead, I was instructed to use “here illegally” or “illegally in the country.” For two years, I explained that I was not comfortable with that verbiage and how it could discourage my community from this platform. For two years, my managers repeated the 9News guidelines.
And so she was correctly let go by the station. The NAHJ then sprung into action, meeting with the station's owner, Tegna Inc., to interrogate it about the move:
Today, the leadership of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), met with Grady Tripp, TEGNA chief diversity and inclusion officer, and Eric Valadez, TEGNA corporate content executive team member, to discuss concerns raised in a column written by former KUSA employee Lori Lizarraga and published March 28 in Westword, a Denver publication, including the incorrect use of the phrases “illegal immigration” and “illegal immigrants.”
[...]
NAHJ National Board leadership will return for follow-up meetings with TEGNA leadership in mid-April. We expect to speak to CEO Dave Lougee, Patti Dennis, director of recruiting, and 9News Content Director, Tim Ryan.
A full-throated campaign is now underway against the station, with a state senator, a Colorado House member, and Denver City Council and school board members leading the charge.
A Tegna shareholder has even been roped in to add to the arm-twisting, and international wire service Reuters dutifully reported on it.
All this over calling illegal aliens illegal. And this is just one local TV station in one American city. See how the network of organized activist coercion works?
The NAHJ is very big on policing the wording surrounding illegal immigration. In. January, it praised newly installed President Joe Biden for getting rid of the term "alien" in U.S. immigration law:
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) applauds President Joe Biden’s decision to remove the word “alien” and replace it with “non-citizen” in U.S. immigration laws. NAHJ has long urged newsrooms to stop using terms such as “alien” and “illegal” to describe undocumented immigrants, in favor of more precise and humanistic terms.
The NAHJ has a stout benefactor in the Ford Foundation. Ford Motor Company Director of Investor Relations Henry Ford III is on the foundation’s Board of Trustees, as are former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins.
And, of course, it has those network partners. Wanna see how they get together? The Border Narrative initiative has just been announced. And lo and behold CBS News, partner of NAHJ, just ran a “60 Minutes” lovefest feature on Ford Foundation President Darren Walker:
Imagine if your job were to give away upwards of $500 million a year trying to make the world a better place. That is the enviable – or perhaps unenviable – task of Darren Walker, president of one of this country's largest and most prominent philanthropies, the Ford Foundation.
The foundation was, naturally, tickled pink over the fawning interview:
"On 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl profiled the Ford Foundation and its efforts to reimagine philanthropy, tackle inequality around the world, and build a future that works for all."
This is the kind of journalism the Ford Foundation has in mind when it reclaims a narrative.
The Ford Foundation has a long history of promoting the illegal alien invasion of our country. It was a founding donor of the The National Council of La Raza (The Race), which now goes by the more benign name UnidosUS. As the watchdog site Influence Watch reports:
Inspired by the research on Mexican-Americans, three activists, Herman Gallegos, Dr. Julian Samora, and Dr. Ernesto Garza, founded the Southwest Council of La Raza in 1968. Seed money was provided by the Ford Foundation, the National Council of Churches and the United Auto Workers (UAW). In 1972 the organization changed “Southwest” to “National” to reflect its national character and ambitions.
The two largest donors to UnidosUS since 2000, according to Influence Watch:
1. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — $30,730,224
2. The Ford Foundation — $22,975,600
It is fascinating to observe who was associated with the Ford Foundation when it first helped create this radical Hispanic racialist organization. According to the Ford Foundation 1971 Annual Report, McGeorge Bundy, a top National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, was president of the organization. And Robert S. McNamara, former Defense Secretary for JFK and LBJ, was on the Board of Trustees.
So much of the cultural and demographic disaster that is now afflicting the U.S. can be traced back to this Democratic era. LBJ’s ruinous “War on Poverty” and the infamous 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act directly set the stage for the illegal immigration wildfire that burns out of control in our nation today.
And now, in Joe Biden, another wholly owned Democrat political instrument of the elitist establishment is in the White House. Is it any wonder the Ford Foundation feels the time is ripe for a fresh attempt to create a new “narrative” on the very identity of this nation?
Joe Schaeffer is the former Managing Editor of The Washington Times National Weekly Edition. His columns appear at WorldTribune.com and FreePressInternational.org.
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