Hannah-Jones/Hussman Conflict Getting Ugly

After it was reported that media mogul, Walter Hussman Jr., had stepped in to try and stop the hiring of UNC alumna Nikole Hannah-Jones as a Knight Chair professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, someone updated Hussman’s Wikipedia page to read, “His (Hussman) success can be attributed to nepotism and systemic racism.”

Hussman, also a UNC grad, donated $25 million to his alma mater, where the journalism school now bears his name.

Hannah-Jones is the creator of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project—a series of historical essays, widely praised and roundly criticized, for challenging us to reframe U.S. history by marking the year of the arrival of slaves as the foundational date of the nation.

“Impartiality means reporting, editing, and delivering the news honestly, fairly, objectively, and without personal opinion or bias,” Hussman said, in his criticism of Hannah-Jones and the 1619 Project.

A source close to the story, attending a post-event at UNC’s Rizzo Center yesterday, replied, “If Mr. Hussman is so concerned about impartiality, honesty, and objectivity in the media, what in the world was he doing delivering his message about the matter on the Tucker Carlson Show.”

Hannah-Jones was hired anyway, despite Hussman’s influence, albeit in a 5 year contract—not the tenure she was reportedly offered.