He's Baaaaack...

I suppose it couldn't have been any more predictable--you knew it, I knew it, even the family dog knew it: Don Imus has made it back onto the air. He's signed a deal with WABC Radio that will have him filling the morning drive-time slot (6 am to 10 am), and, we can assume, making a whole lotta money doing it.

It's amazing to think that a whole six months has passed since the brouhaha that got him booted from his last job took place, and I for one am struggling at the moment to figure out how much I care that the man has got his footing back. On the one hand, he certainly "paid a price" for his idiotic remarks; but on the other, his return makes it clear that the powers that be in the media really don't get why people were so upset in the first place. They slapped him on the wrist, sure, but now they've handed the mantle right back to him, giving him plenty of opportunity to continue his pattern of racial and sexual degradation, along with some general jack-assery.

So, again, the question isn't really (or only) about Imus; it's about the media culture. He's the symptom, they're the disease. It's impossible to imagine Don Imus coming back to the air being anything other than his same, old self, and I guess what his re-hiring tells us is that that old, mean self is cool with the guys at ABC, who are clearly psyched to keep the power in the hands of guys like themselves. It's all pretty gross, if you ask me... but why does the whole thing make me feel so utterly exhausted?

NPR for 30 Somethings

Looks like NPR has wised up to the fact that there are plenty of us out here in our 30s who'd love to listen to them on much more regular--if only they provided us with programming a little bit different from what our grandparents are listening to.

The answer to this age old (old age?) problem has come in the form of the relatively new "Bryant Park Project," a morning news show from NPR that will, according to their Facebook group, "change your life, speed up your commute and jack your test scores 50 points -- in whatever order you choose."

I've only listened to a couple of shows, but I think I may already be hooked--and not just because the super dope Alison Stewart (remember her from her MTV veejay days?) is one of the voices behind the show. Right now you can only hear them in Seattle, Indiana and Vermont over the airwaves, but they're available nationwide on Sirius Satellite, and always available via the web.

Check it out, superstaaaaahs...

The XX Factor Is Legit

Can't say how I missed it (except that sometimes Slate boooores me), but apparently the lady-folk over there (including a former classmate of mine) have taken to blogging: political blogging from the female perspective, to be precise. Now, there's lots of chatter out there that this bad, because it ghettoizes women, and that it's totally banal, because all these ladies have to talk about are their domestic travails. But I for one will cheer for The XX Factor, because it's nice--and important--to have more female voices out there, talking about whatever the hell they please.

And if you happen to need more on that particular topic, check out my mom's blog post today on the HuffPo. Rock on, CJ!!!!

Women? Sports? Power? No way.

God bless America! I have absolutely no excuse for going this long between posts, except to say that things here at work have been 100% mad, what with having to commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month and trying to keep up with the various other management related tasks here on the j-o-b. But still, no excuses, and no more laying off the blogging--I'm done with that, I swear.

So here's the thing I've not been able to get off my mind since this weekend (which now seems eons ago): did anyone else happen to check out the 100 Most Influential People in Sports list in Business Week? I did, and I have to say I'm not sure why they even BOTHERED to use the term "people"--because 95 out of the 100 individuals listed are MEN. The top ranking woman, in fact, comes in at an astounding 67th place (the CMO of Coke), followed by Maria Sharapova at 73, Heidi Ueberroth somewhere in there, one other lady whose name I can't recall, and finishing up, at the very bottom of this list of 100, with Donna Orender, head of the WNBA.

Now, if this list is in any way accurate (and there are some pretty good reasons to think it's a pile of junk), then every sports related company in this nation is pretty much ripe for a major EEOC complaint (or ten) to be filed against them. But it's not them I'm most steamed at. That women are underrepresented in the business of sports (and business leadership in general) isn't news--but what has lit me utterly on fire is that a publication like Business Week would make ZERO effort to try to diversify this list in any way--by reaching out to unlikely candidates, or by making some kind--any kind!--of gesture that would indicate that they realize there is something seriously awry with a list that makes it seem as if women make little to no contribution to the world of sports, in business or on that proverbial field.

Total yuck, my friends. If I had a subscription, I'd cancel it for sure.

Must Listen: Young African-Americans Speak Out on HIV

Guess what? AIDS may be a global problem, but it still happens here in the United States, too. And if you're person of color, it happens a whole lot. African Americans may represent 12 percent of the total U.S. population, but we were estimated to account for 50 percent of the HIV and AIDS cases diagnosed among adults in 2003.

Think that's bad? Well, if you're a woman of color it gets even worse: black women account for nearly 66% of HIV cases amongst women despite being only 12% of the US population of females.

Stunned? Me too. Want more information about the realities of the disease in the US, and how some pretty remarkable young African Americans are dealing with the epidemic? Check out this program on NPR featuring super-fly journalist Michel Martin. Her guests have a lot to share, and may just convince you that when it comes to HIV, it's not just folks in the third world who are continuing to suffer.

O'Reilly Meets Blacks, Eats Their Food

Thanks to Media Matters--and my mother--for tipping us off to this juicy little tid-bit: apparently Bill O'Reilly thinks Black people curse a lot. And are generally crass. And use profanity to request service. All the time.

I'm not even going to attempt to go further than that in describing what he said; I'll just let you read it here. Keep in mind that this was his response after dining at the famous Sylvia's Restaurant up in Harlem, with Al Sharpton.

O'REILLY: I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks... There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, "M-Fer, I want more ice tea."

Maybe it was just that folks were on their best behavior because they saw him coming. Or maybe not. But I seriously don't know how any media figure can be so continuously stupid and still be revered by millions. It's moments like this that remind me just how hard it will be for Barack, and maybe even Hillary, to win the election...I guess it's really true what they say: there is no finish line when it comes to achieving equality. Days like today make it feel like we've barely even gotten out of the blocks.

Young? Got a Good Heart? Well, MTV Wants YOU!

Getting involved is even easier than it used to be. Today, MTV Networks launched Think.MTV.com in beta, with an eye to giving them young folks an even better way to do good and--crucially for this generation-- "be recognized" for it.

The idea behind Think is that young people are great force to mobilize for action (duh), and that they would be well served by having a place where they can learn more about volunteer opportunities and connect with other like-minded folks. It's definitely a great idea, but it's not a new one: the folks at GoLeft.org have been working on a similar product since March.

Still, it's good to see anyone, everyone, trying to convince kids that there's more to life than making a whole load of dough. Especially when folks like Bob Herbert are apparently losing the battle.

Lies, Lies and More Lies

Want to be a journalist? Apparently all you have to do is make shit up.

Alexis Debat, a consultant to ABC News and, until yesterday, a senior fellow at the Nixon Center (counterterrorism is his specialty), has been found to have fabricated a whole host of interviews he claimed to have done with esteemed public figures like Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg and Alan Greenspan. Though his veracity was challenged before, none of the publications printing his work seemed to take it too seriously until Barack Obama came out swinging over a faked interview that ran in the esteemed French mag, Politique Internationale.

Looks like Jason Blair's bench is getting deeper by the minute.

Bill Maher, Mos Def and Cornel West Talk Jena 6

I've mentioned the Jena 6 to you before; nice to see it getting some national coverage here and there. This is a travesty, and a miscarriage of justice we all speak out about. As Mos Def put it, "That shit is whack"--and it's time to get off our rears and do something about it.

Visit ColorofChange.org to learn more about how you can help.

Beating Up Gay Dudes is SO FUNNY, Tucker!

Just when I think I've lost all my love for Gawker, they go and remind me why I once loved them so much: in this case, by posting this remarkable clip of MSNBC's Tucker Carlson admitting that he once physically attacked a gay man who made advances on him. Gawker asks: Did Tucker Carlson just admit to a crime? The answer is, absolutely--and I hope the man whose civil rights he violated comes right out of the woodwork and nails Tucker's butt to the wall.

Not to worry, though--this one isn't going to sleep quietly: GLAAD is now speaking up and asking Tucker to apologize for his comments. That oughta show him.

Remembering Katrina

If you followed my instructions a few weeks back and checked out the posting I was doing from down in Mississippi and Louisiana during our Media Justice trainings, you'll be happy to see that there is now video evidence of the work we did while we were there.

This video, created by Jacquie Soohen, gives a great peek into what the process of putting together a radio documentary really looks like. Plus, she's set it to some seriously dope tunes, which is never a bad thing.

A Little Free Advertising for CNN

Not because I feel the need to provide a huge media conglomerate with more space in the universe than it already takes up--but because I really can't get enough of Christiane Amanpour. Which is why both tonight and Thursday night, I will be glued to my seat from 9pm until whenever it ends, watching her special on fundamentalists and religion, called, appropriately enough, "God's Warriors."

Tonight I believe she begins with the Jews, tomorrow moves on to the Muslims, and wraps it all up on Thursday with the Christians. I'm super bummed to be missing that middle episode for a lot of reasons (not the least of which is that Islam is the religion I know the least about--which, I imagine, puts me in the same camp as most other non-Muslim Americans). But tomorrow night Jessica and I have tickets to go see Mr. Barack Obama address the crowds in Brooklyn. So someone's gonna have to TiVo that one up for me.

Black Journalist Shot Dead

Given the state of the Fourth Estate--it's elite stature, its more recent synonymy with lunches at Michael's and hobnobbing with the stars--it's become pretty easy to foget that digging for the facts can still be a deadly job. Case in point: Chauncy Bailey, an editor at the Oakland Post (and formerly a beat reporter for the Oakland Tribune) was just executed, right here in the good old US of A, in what police are calling a targeted ambush.

What a waste...

Star Shines Bright on This One

Via HuffPo, Broadcasting & Cable reports on Star Jones' recent commentary on the need for a permanent person of color on The View.

Not that I find myself agreeing with Ms. Jones on much, but on this one she's absolutely right... When BaWa started the show (what is it, 10? 11 years ago now?), she did something quite novel and appropriate by trying to mirror back to us what our national demographic looks like, at least when it came to race. With the addition of Lisa Ling, the show became even more diverse (and exponentially smarter). But since both Ling and Jones are now departed, and even Rosie--who gave a little queer perspective, and thus made up (a tiny bit) for the lack of racial perspective--has jumped ship, The View has started to look mighty white--and has become more than a bit boring (for this reason among a thousand others).

I've already made it clear that I think this particular show really ought to think about packing it in already--but if it does stay on the air, it's pretty much a no brainer that Jones is right in this case, and that a woman of color belongs on that dais along with the rest of those jokesters. I mean, we deserve the right to be mediocre and petty right alongside everyone else, no?

If We Ever Actually Bought the Print Edition, Maybe We'd Care

The Times is Raising Newspaper Prices

Quipping with the Queen of Quirk

I've admitted before on this blog how taken I am with Miranda July and her work. Today, via the Powells Books newsletter, I've found a great new interview with our Quirky Queen, who expounds on, among other things, the exhaustion of coming face to face with her public (been there--and yes, it really can be a mind-numbingly depleting experience). Worth a read, if you love kooky as much as I do.

Rather Callow, Mr. Rather

Is Dan Rather so piqued by his lack of a career these days that he's got nothing better to do than bash Katie Couric? Yesterday on MSNBC the veteran deposed news anchor gave Couric a tongue lashing for sullying the evening news by, in his estimation, "dumbing it down" and "tarting it up."

Mostly, this is just embarrassing for Dan, who, before engineering his own demise, really was a trusted name in journalism. Now, he's just another old man throwing around sexist remarks at a woman who could be his daughter and probably makes four times what he ever did in that spot. (Even CBS chief Les Moonves saw sexism in what Rather said.)

Sad, really. Very sad. Not that I don't agree with the idea that television news has slid, perhaps inexorably, into the tabloid genre--but it just seems so tasteless for one anchor to say these kind of trashy things about another. Or perhaps Rather is our proof that, even though we couldn't see it, television has been trashy all along.

Who Died???

[Spoiler alert: If you haven't already seen last night's final episode of The Sopranos, you may want to skip this post.]

Besides Phil Leotardo that is (truly, truly a brilliant scene). Jess and I spent several minutes trying to parse what we think might have happened after our screen went black (and yes, we were among those people who thought their cable had gone out). Is it Meadow who takes the bullet? Or Tony? Or does Meadow arrive just in time to see her whole family blown to bits?

I suppose we'll be pondering this for a long time--or at least as long as it takes David Chase to convince James Gandolfini to pick up that white bathrobe and continue slouching towards Bethlehem. A remarkable ending to one hell of a show. Thanks for the memories, guys.

Homophobes, Take Note

There is, believe it or not, a price to be paid for spouting your hatred in the open air. It may take half a year for that tax to be levied, but levied it shall be... at least of you're part of the cast of Grey's Anatomy.

Isaiah Washington, he whose tendency to rail against a specific co-star with homophobic epithets has been well documented, has now been released from his contract, according to both ABC News and the NY Times.

Apparently, though, Isaiah is pissed about all this retaliation, and swears we haven't heard the last of him. Oh, but can't a girl dare to dream???

Blogging for HuffPo

So somehow I forgot to mention that I'm now also blogging for the HuffPo, and yesterday, my first piece ran. It's about violence and women and sports and dogs, and if you'd like to take a gander at it, you can find it here.

If you read the comments section, and you're a thinking person, you'll get a good laugh... It's great when folks get outraged and claim that violence against women isn't a "real" political issue. It's comments like those, from so called progressives no less, that make it the clearer to me why we need more women speaking the truth in the public forum. Otherwise, it all gets cast as sideline chatter. Pheh.