How Did Senator Edward Kennedy’s Work Affect Young People?

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Almost every politician likes to utter the cliches of ‘helping’ or reaching out to the young people. Very few do more than roll up take a few pictures and bounce until the next photo op. Very few have taken the steps to craft legislation that would lead to young people being empowered. The conventional wisdom is that young people don’t vote so why bother doing anything for a segment of the population that doesn’t vote or put much pressure on to move in a particular political direction. Such was not the case with Ted Kennedy. He took that aspect of his career very seriously.

Our good friends at MTV lay out a few of Kennedy’s accomplishments with respect to creating and pushing bills designed to help young people. We hope folks take this to heart and commit themselves in following on those footsteps with the goal of taking the late Senator’s legacy to new heights.

-Davey D-

How Did Senator Edward Kennedy’s Work Affect Young People?

Late senator helped lower voting age to 18 and sponsored many college grant and loan programs.

By Gil Kaufman

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1619575/20090826/index.jhtml

Young people lost a key ally in the Senate with his passing

Young people lost a key ally in the Senate with his passing

Senator Edward Kennedy

was known for many things in his 46-year Senate career, including a tenacity that could put the fear into presidents both Democratic and Republican, a willingness to work with colleagues across the aisle to pass major legislation and a focus on improving the lives of children and young people. For decades, Kennedy, who passed away on Tuesday at 77 after a long battle with brain cancer, sponsored a number of bills that greatly enriched the lives of America’s youth.

One of Kennedy’s early triumphs was his participation in creating the National Teachers Corps, part of the Higher Education Act of 1965 that helped to provide scholarships for teachers who agreed to spend two years working in economically disadvantaged communities in the U.S., training them to work in low income, inner-city and rural schools. Three years later, he also championed the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, which required schools to offer bilingual education programs.

 Another of his most lasting legacies for young voters is his amendment of the Voting Rights Act in 1970, which laid the groundwork for a constitutional amendment lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.

Kennedy was one of the key supporters of equal rights for female high school and college athletes under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which protected women from discrimination in educational institutions and increased opportunities for women to participate in college sports. In 1975, Kennedy was the original co-sponsor of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (later the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), which required free and appropriate education for children with disabilities in every state. He would also later sponsor legislation authorizing grants for early learning for infants and toddlers with disabilities and a child-care act for members of the military that is still considered one of the best child-care systems in the country.

Among his initiatives in the 1990s that impacted the lives of young Americans: the repeal of the ban on women serving as combat aviators in the armed services, an expansion of the early education Head Start program, a $500 million appropriation to expand the Summer Jobs for Youth Program and the establishment of the Direct Lending Program, which allowed the Department of Education to provide low-cost loans to college students to cover educational expenses.

The senator offered his crucial sponsorship to another important bill in 1993, helping to secure the passage of the National Community Service Trust Act, which created AmeriCorps, a program that offers educational grants for more than 75,000 students a year who agree to do volunteer service after college.

In one of his most controversial legislative initiatives, Kennedy worked with President Bush in 2001 to pass the No Child Left Behind educational act, an often-maligned bill that set standards for schools in an effort to close achievement gaps.

Long an advocate for an increase in the minimum wage — which affects many young workers — Kennedy finally succeeded in 2007 in passing the first increase in the federal minimum wage in more than a decade, from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour. That year, he also worked on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which authorized the biggest increase in student aid since the G.I. Bill in 1944 and included a loan-forgiveness program that allows more college graduates to go into public service.

In one of his final efforts on behalf of young Americans, Kennedy co-sponsored the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, which expanded grants to low-income students, worked to reform the student loan marketplace, simplified the process of applying for federal financial aid and held colleges more accountable for their costs.

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Ted Kennedy’s Legacy in the Black Community

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The passing of Senator Edward Kennedy meant the end of an era especially for a lot of elders and vets of the Civil Rights struggle

The passing of Senator Edward Kennedy meant the end of an era especially for a lot of elders and vets of the Civil Rights struggle

When you talk to alot of elders in the community you hear them remark fondly about the ‘Age of Camelot’ in the early 60s. This was when a young John F Kennedy ascended to the White House against all odds and his two brothers Robert and Edward aka ‘Ted’ came along with him and took high profile seats in the government. Robert became Attorney General and Ted went onto start what would be a 47 year tenure in the Senate.

To hear the elders tell it, the Kennedy brothers brought with them a youthful energy that inspired hope and gave people a sense of empowerment. It’s that energy that has led many to compare President Obama to what they saw and felt with the Kennedys. For Black folks, the Kennedy brothers underscored that hope. For the first time those who were struggling to dismantle the nation’s harsh Jim Crow Laws, the Kennedy’s were an unexpected friend in the White House. For many, there was an understanding that while people were sitting in at lunch counters, boycotting buses, integrating schools and boldly challenging voting right laws, the wicked brutality they experienced oftentimes at the hands of southern police with the full support of local and state government, the Kennedy’s were the federal answer that would eventually triumph.

When John and later Robert Kennedy were killed many in the Black community took it hard. Those involved in the Civil Rights struggle felt they lost key allies and Ted was the one kernel of hope they had left. Him speaking out forcefully and championing numerous causes that spoke to the poor and down trodden during the reign of President Ronald Regan was a blessing that kept many connected to the Age of Camelot.  Him endorsing Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, struck a major chord and went along ways amongst those old enough to remember.  

For those who are younger, Senator Kennedy was the large, robust grey haired Senator who was called a liberal and would make his points loud and passionately in the Senate chambers. He was a good guy if you rolled with his politics, but he didn’t evoke that same emotional connection I could see with my mom and others who watched the tributes playing on TV yesterday. The passing of Senator Edward Kennedy was truly the end of an era especially for an older generation. He will be missed.

 -Davey D-

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Ted Kennedy’s Legacy in the Black Community

The Loop 21, Commentary, Marvin King, Review it on NewsTrust

I was deeply saddened upon hearing that Ted Kennedy, the Lion of the Senate, had died due to a brain tumor. I was sad because the Kennedy clan lost another of its leaders, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, just two weeks ago. But even more so because I really believe that Kennedy represents the last of a breed, and I’m afraid my daughter will grow up in a world where people like Kennedy, who actually serve the people, are no more.

Kennedy was special because of his tireless work for the dispossessed, the immigrant, the disenfranchised, the poor, the everyman and every woman that makes America great.

As a man of privilege, Kennedy did not know poverty, but as he came from a family of immigrants, he recognized that if we could establish a level playing field, anyone in America can succeed. Given the proper tools and sufficient opportunity, Kennedy believed all Americans could reach loftier perches.

And for that purpose he worked. For more than 40 years, he worked in the Senate to provide us with that opportunity. As a staunch supporter of President Johnson’s Great Society, Kennedy made sure segregationist congressmen did not water down critical legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. His first piece of legislation, the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, opened up American immigration policy to be more inclusive of immigrants from places other than Europe. His vision, one of pragmatic fairness for all Americans, will not and cannot be easily replaced.

Massachusetts has a relatively small black population, just 7 percent, yet he acted as if winning the black vote was the key to electoral success. Like his brother John F. Kennedy, who submitted the original Civil Rights Act, Ted realized that America could not fulfill its promise as long as it treated Blacks as second-class citizens. It was extra meaningful then when Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama early in the primary season, despite his longstanding friendship with the Clintons. Kennedy understood before most of us what the symbolic benefit of an Obama presidency would mean.

Kennedy was always a proud liberal and never compromised his beliefs, even though he occasionally sought political compromise. This was most evident in 2001 when he reached across the aisle to work with Republicans in crafting No Child Left Behind, because he believed we must do something to improve our schools. Yet, he always remained a true Democrat; he bitterly complained when those same Republicans failed to adequately fund NCLB.

Kennedy was at his best in 1980 when he challenged Jimmy Carter for the Democratic presidential nomination. In an America moving to the right, Kennedy called for a more liberal platform. Although his bid to unseat Carter failed, Kennedy shined a bright light on the issues he believed Congress and the president had neglected, most notably assistance for the poor in fighting nasty rates of inflation and unemployment.

His loss will be, and already is, greatly felt in the great health care debate. The Senate could use his calming influence during the greatest domestic policy debate in a generation. Hopefully, congressional Democrats can summon Kennedy’s courage and vision and pass meaningful reform that would make him proud.

source: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=92706c93c2931ccdce8b69065da988f4
Marvin King is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Mississippiand writes the blog King Politics.

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The Kennedy brothers ushered in the Age of Camelot

The Kennedy brothers ushered in the Age of Camelot

 

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Fidel Castro says racist right-wingers fight Obama

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Rise Up Hip Hop Nation: “I Wish I Were Wrong”

Professor Tina Wright gives a great analysis of both Reuter's and Fidel's Castro's articles on Race and Barack Obama

Professor Tina Wright highlights two columns, one by a Reuter's and the other by Fidel's Castro which gives an indepth analysis of Race and Barack Obama

I have had a number of conversations with friends about Castro and Cuba as a model for social justice. I always give credit to the regime for its health care and education systems, but am not as enthusiastic about Cuba as a model as other progressives, leftists, or revolutionaries seem to be.

– I argue that the people’s power for self determination is undermined by a life long leader, but my sparring partners rationalize the need for a strong leader as the only way to fight US imperialism.

– I say that their isolation could have been used to demonstrate complete self sustainability (agriculture for example) and there would be no need to be a part of the “world market” but Cuba supporters think that is impossible for Cuba to be completely self sustaining…not sure why however…

Fidel Castro offers up a column that shows more empathy and not criticism for Barack Obama

Fidel Castro offers up a column that shows more empathy and not criticism for Barack Obama

– I argue that a true socialist country despite its history would not show the same racialized poverty (and racism in general) that permeates the rest of the world, but they say history takes time to correct.

I offer this to say, I am not a Castro supporter or hater. In theory, I believe his ideology is correct. In practice, it loses its credibility (as long as Cuba is a class and race based non-democratic society…which it is).

But I completely agree with Castro’s latest analysis of Obama’s challenges. With the racist white supremacist unable to accept Obama as president, he is being attacked fiercely. Instead of recognizing this and its repercussions on the future, many on the left are caught up in petty politics and also blaming Obama for not being all they want him to be. In getting caught in that trap, I see an opportunity for real democracy slipping quickly.

If action trumps criticism, progressives can have all they want with an Obama administration…but if we continue to let white nationalist fascists frame the mainstream dialogue, an opportunity is wasted for radical change. Read this analysis from Castro carefully…and if you want social justice for all people…take heed.

Written by Tina Wright

http://riseuphiphopnation.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-wish-i-were-wrong.html

below are links to the articles in question

Fidel Castro ‘s latest column is an interesting read. Here is the synopsis by Reuters:

Fidel Castro says racist right-wingers fight Obama
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSB30869920090825I Wish I Were Wrong!

 Here is Fidel’s entire column (English translation):

I Wish i Was Wrong

http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/cuba/2009-08-25/i-wish-i-were-wrong/

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Jackson’s Death Ruled as a Homicide

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This is such a sad story all the way around and even with this assertion form LAPD, its still mired in controversy. For starters we have a guy, Michael Jackson who had a serious drug addiction. His money and fame allowed him to continue getting drugs in spite of interventions from family and friends.  Jackson is not unique in having addictions, he’s just more well known and richer then most.  What have we as a society done to deal with this problem? It goes above and beyond MJ.

Next we have a police department that seems eager to make a name for itself. What better way then to verociously after the folks responsible for administering drugs to Jackson.  Now by no means am I suggesting that Conrad Murray or anyone else should be let off the hook. If they gave Jackson drugs then they should go to jail if that’s what caused his death. In the case of Murray whats being reported is unbelievable. He made bunch of phone calls, didn’t tell the EMR folks he gave him propophol. The whole thing stinks.

My concern is that this is a problem of epidemic proportions especially throughout Hollywood. Why wait till now? Why haven’t we seen this ‘stellar’ police work when we saw other stars  dealing with drug addictions? Why haven’t we seen LAPD dedicating themselves to shutting down the network of doctors who illegally administer drugs? Is this about putting a dent in a problem or making a name off the King of Pop?

-Davey D-

MICHAEL JACKSON DEATH RULED A HOMICIDE: Coroner finds lethal doses of propofol in singer’s body during autopsy.

http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur55577.cfm

Police say that Michael Jackson's death was a homicide

Police say that Michael Jackson's death was a homicide

L.A. County coroner’s officials found lethal levels of the powerful anesthetic propofol after examining Michael Jackson’sbody, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed today in Houston, reports the Los Angeles Times.      

The search warrant states that Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, told Los Angeles Police Department detectives that he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks. He had been giving Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol every night using an intravenous line, according to the court records.       

But Murray told detectives he felt Jackson was becoming addicted to the substance and began trying to wean the pop star off the drugs. He lowered the dosage to 25 milligrams and mixed it with two other sedatives, lorazepam and midazolam. On June 23, two days before Jackson’s death, he administered those two medications and withheld the propofol. 

The arrest of Dr Conrad Murray may soon happen although he and his lawyers are maintaining his innocence

The arrest of Dr Conrad Murray may soon happen although he and his lawyers are maintaining his innocence

On the morning Jackson died, Murray tried to induce sleep without using propofol, according to the affidavit. He said he gave Jackson valium at 1:30 a.m. When that didn’t work, he said, he injected lorazepam intravenously at 2 a.m. At 3 a.m., when Jackson was still awake, Murray administered midazolam.       

Over the next few hours, Murray said he gave Jackson various drugs. Then at 10:40 a.m., Murray administered 25 milligrams of propofol after Jackson repeatedly demanded the drug, according to the court records.       

 Although Murray acknowledged to police that he administered propofol, authorities said they could find no evidence that he had purchased, ordered or obtained the medication under his medical license or Drug Enforcement Administration tracking number. However, police detectives saw about eight bottles of propofol in the house along with other vials and pills that had been prescribed to Jackson by Dr. Murray, Dr. Arnold Klein andDr. Allan Metzger.       

Other drugs that were confiscated in the search included valium, tamsulosin, lorazepam, temazepam, clonazepam, trazodone and tizanidine. They also found propofol in Murray’s medical bag. Murray told detectives that he was not the first doctor to administer the powerful anesthetic to Jackson.      

At least two unidentified doctors gave Jackson propofol in Germany. Between March and April 2009, Murray said he called Las Vegas doctor David Adamsat Jackson’s request to arrange for Adams to administer propofol. Murray said he was present at a cosmetologist’s office, where Adams used propofol to sedate Jackson. Since he began treating Jackson, Murray said he repeatedly asked the pop star what other physicians were treating Jackson and what drugs they were prescribing. But Jackson declined to provide the information, Murray told authorities.

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Should Rap Artists Have a Morality Clause in Their Contracts?

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DaveyD-leather-225This is an interesting concept (having a morality clause) that has obviously grown out of the frustration that many  feel when they hear about a high paid recording artists acting out in public or is accused of committing a crime. The most recent incident being a stash of drugs found in the home of Jadakiss who at press time was not arrested or wanted by police. While a morality clause may have some effect in the NFL or NBA it is likely not to work in the music arena for a number of reasons. 

First, the NFL and NBA are institutions that long ago had the foresight to see that having a good image could be profitable.  As a result they’ve worked hard to control their public image by taking a number of steps ranging from disallowing TV networks to use their name or likeness to imposing dress codes on players when appearing in public.  Their theory is that the league is bigger and more important then one individual player.

This has never been the cased with the music industry. Here we’re talking about an institution that has never been shy about flirting with unsavory elements in our society, either as performers or as behind the scenes executives and employees. Such associations have added to the lore and often cited ethos -sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. In other words, the music industry has thrived off  of having a bad boy rebellious image. Sadly much of that drama filled image is crafted and planned out with the same precision and calculation as the NFL and NBA seek  to move away from trouble.

Second point,  professional sports leagues have a  small number of people who get paid lots of money with very few entry points for one to rebound if they blow their opportunity. Hence its easier to police a sports league compared to the music business which has a lot more entry points. In the  NFL or NBA  players can barred or suspended.  There is no music industry that you can bar one from. You might restrict airplay or stop someone from performing at a concert , but they can always go and do things on the indy tip and record or perform somewhere else.  Putting the word banned or suspended next to their name  will probably result in an artist enjoying more notoriety thus increasing their popularity.

The NFL and NBA is one big institution that controls all aspects of its business. It controls TV, radio, magazines etc. the Music Bizis a made up of a bunch of  individual parts that have symbiotic relationships to one another.  Its by choice we all work hand in hand, but we don’t have to especially if we have economic interests at stake. For example, if Interscope records decides to suspend 50 Cent, that has little bearing on what I  do as a radio programmer. I may still play his music, show his video or highlight him in magazine.  In addition, oftentimes its members of an artists’ entourage that kick up dust and cause drama hitting,  Who do you suspend there?

Third point, The Music Industry has built its business around shady behavior. Controversy and beef are major selling points. Artists going to jail and having brushes with the law have far too often enhanced their attraction and validated them or their record labels who seem to be determined  to garner ‘street cred’. In short bad behavior is rewarded.

Here’s a couple ofexamples.  A few years ago Jay-Z stabbed record executive Lance Un Rivera after it was revealed that he was bootlegging Jigga’s music.  Was Jay-Z suspended? Did he stop receiving airplay? Did MTV/BET tell him he was no longer welcome at their award shows?  Hell naw. The incident made him seem more ‘real’ in the eyes of fans and sadly in the eyes of radio and video executives who often live vicariously through these artists. Some of these folks felt they themselves got street cred from playing or being in good with Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella Fam.

Now imagine if any of us stabbed a collegue? It would be a wrap unless we were former Vice President Dick Cheney who shot his boy in the face during a hunting trip-but lets not digress. My point here is Jay-Z was seen as a hero, not by young impressionable children, but by grown ass men and women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s who work in the music industry who make decisions to present or not present music and images to millions all over the world.

Another example involves The Game and his entourage a couple of years ago. They  came to a Washington DC radio station WYKS to do an interview and wound up and beating  down a popular DJ named X-Zulu. According to the story, they were angry when the DJ made what they felt was an off the cuff remark.  (according to reports he said the blue tooth headset one of Game’s people was wearing made them look like a Klingon from Star Trek fame). 

Radio One which owns WYKS was at first furious with Game and ceased playing his records. However, other stations around the country continued to play him without hesitation. Game later went back into the studio and recorded a new verse to his popular song ‘Hate it or Love It’ where he actually bragged about the incident which sent the deejay to the hospital. Many radio executives had no problem playing that song on their airwaves including Radio One. In fact WYKS eventually resumed playing Game.

The grumblings around the industry was that lots of money was put forth to make sure Game’s music was played and put in heavy rotation. When the station ceased playing his songs, the money (payola) was asked to be returned. Rather then do that the station opted to, play his music. Oh well, so much for morality clauses. If anything maybe its the executive in this industry that need morality clauses..

What I find fascinating about this is that record labels when needed can and do exert control over their artists. They control where artists can do interviews on major radio stations, what concerts they perform at and what magazine’s they grant interviews. This control is all tied into the type of promotion and managing of image that the labels feel they need to have in order to ensure a successful promotion of an album. If an artist doesn’t comply, the label doesn’t promote their record. Over the years I’ve seen labels shut down concerts, have station visits stopped and letters from their lawyers demanding we stop playing a record. Rarely have I seen them push to have us shut things down because an artist did something wrong to the community. I have seen this happen when record executives themselves got beaten up… Like I said a morality clause needs to be imposed upon record executives

something to ponder

-Davey D-

Goodell Effect not always good for NFL but may be good for rap music artist

by Ooh Papi

http://www.playahata.com/?p=7068

NFL logoRoger S.”The Hammer” Goodell is the Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), he was chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue in 2006. He is nicknamed “the hammer” because he has been very tough on most NFL players.

Most think he has been to tough at times in fact Terrell Owens said that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been unfair to suspended quarterback Michael Vick and that the union and more players need to speak out. In an interview with ESPN’s George Smith, Owens said he was surprised more players haven’t spoken up in support of Vick and that, “the commissioner needs to go sit in jail for 23 months” to see what it’s like to sit behind bars.”I think it’s unfortunate,” Owens said. “I think the way the commissioner has handled it, I think it’s unfair to Michael Vick. I think he’s done the time for what he’s done. I don’t think it’s really fair for him to be suspended four more games. That’s almost like kicking a dead horse in the ground.”

Remy Ma sghould've had a morality clause in her recording contract

Remy Ma sghould've had a morality clause in her recording contract

However his reputation for toughness has impressed many. In fact, his style may be making its way over to the Warner Music Group and other music labels. Attorney Lauren Raysor’s called a press conference today and asked record labels to put a“Goodell effect” into rappers contracts. For those who don’t know Raysor is the attorney who helped put Bronx rapper Remy Ma behind bars for shooting her client Makeda Barnes-Joseph.

Raysor propositioned that labels put a “morality clause” in their artists’ contracts, providing monetary incentive for artists to not engage in violent or criminal acts. She compared the music industry to the NFL, which enforces codes of conduct stricter than ever since the Republican raised Goodell took over.

Raysor made it clear she wasn’t trying to run amok on free speech / 1st Amendment rights or destroy gangsta rap lyrics and emphasized “It is your outside behavior we are talking about; we’re not talking about what you write.”

What Raysor wants to see become a contractual matter to prevent violence in hip hop is a contractual agreement from artist that will govern acts of contempt, scorn or ridicule that will tend to shock, insult or offend the community, or ridicule public morality or decency, or prejudice the company, producer, and others in the public or in the industry in general

Raysor is looking to meet with label execs in an effort put the morals clause into effect and if this dialogue is picked up in the blogosphere then it will surely be an anecdotal mark in the timeline of rap music’s evolution.

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The Media Crisis of 2009-Radio Needs to Embrace the Future

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The Media Crisis of 2009

By Jerry Del Colliano
http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2009/08/media-crisis-of-2009.html

Jerry_Colliano-225Terry Teachout wrote an excellent article recently in The Wall Street Journal about lessons the media industry can learn from the last big technological and sociological revolution when television replaced radio.

In The New-Media Crisis of 1949 the author accurately framed the debate over what to do with the Internet, mobile space and social networking. Just as important, by inference he was giving us a view of what not to do.

My purpose in bringing this up is to add some additional content to the issue specifically targeting radio, music and new media.

Ironically, networks played a role in the previous technological revolution.

The early, popular radio shows were networked across the country and by 1949 — at the advent of commercial television — there were 85 million radios tuned in to hear these national programs.

By contrast, today, Repeater Radio and voice tracking exist not to offer one-of-a-kind talent to a nation but to offer one-of-a-kind cost savings to consolidators.

There were only 1.3 million TV sets in use — mostly on the East Coast — by 1949.

Unlike today — when the Internet, cell phone, social networking and file sharing became available for exactly the opposite reason — it was free and more readily available.

Some of my USC students felt that even though the Internet is everywhere, the devices upon which to access it were not available to all socioeconomic groups. So there was a parallel — televisions cost about half of what a new car would run you 60 years ago — and a laptop isn’t cheap today.

It was, as Teachout points out, that the rise of network TV due to the laying of coaxial cable between a number of major cities made the new medium available if not affordable.

Radio stars were big back in the day — so big that many didn’t want to cross over to television. Some did — successfully. Some did not. Careers, thus, were prolonged or eliminated by a radio star’s ability to make the transition to radio’s new competitor.

Today, we see radio groups embracing the Internet only in a cursory way — repurposing radio shows, streaming terrestrial formats online and inserting different and less expensive commercials.

That’s not much of a business plan for the future when there is no future in it.

Talent is mired in terrestrial radio unable or unwilling to see podcasting as the new radio, the Internet as simply a delivery system and not a format category and social networking the “coaxial cable” of the future — is not the product, not the content — only a component.

Fred Allen, one of the biggest radio stars that never made it in TV insisted that radio was still better because the listener “had to use his imagination” (quoting WSJ).

Oops.

Doesn’t this kind of remind you of what is happening in the radio business right now in 2009?

The “for us or against us” attitude that permeates radio (i.e., you’re either a radio person or not). By radio person that would be someone who works in a terrestrial station and takes a lot of crap from management that doesn’t see the future. Dare to say that radio is over — and you’ll be lynched (figuratively speaking).

In the Journal article, three “lessons” were offered that I would like to comment on:

Lesson #1

“Network TV lost vast amounts of money in its early years. It was only because the existing radio networks were willing to subsidize TV that it survived—leaving CBS and NBC at the top of the heap in the ’50s and ’60s, just as they had been in the ’30s and ’40s. The old media of today have a similar chance to prosper tomorrow if they can survive the heavy financial losses that they’re incurring while they develop workable new-media business models”.

Aah!

Can you see the difference already?

Radio groups today are not willing to subsidize their future competitor that is the Internet/mobile space. In fact, radio groups stubbornly refuse to invest anything in the burgeoning new technology.

Most large and small radio groups have no Internet strategy, limited understanding, no funds budgeted to the media that will likely surpass radio for good this time.

Unlike the early days of television where radio interests were developing radio with pictures, radio now is a minor player at best in the future of webcasting, mobile content and social networking.

Lesson # 2

“Established radio performers such as Benny and Hope, who embraced TV on its own visually oriented terms, flourished well into the ’60s. Everyone else—including Fred Allen—vanished into the dumpster of entertainment history. The same fate awaits contemporary old-media figures unwilling to grapple with the challenge of the new media, no matter how popular they may be today”.

That’s right — radio’s biggest names today will vanish like the dinosaurs into ancient history.

As I like to point out, the ones who will invest and innovate in new media — particularly podcasting — may go on and count themselves as the few and the fortunate to transcend a dying medium into a growing industry.

History repeats itself.

There is a reason why the old saw still rings true.

And why does history repeat itself?

Because we never seem to be willing to learn our lessons from it — so, any radio talent looking to end his or her career need simply to stay where they are in a medium that is about to be replaced by a new one in which radio has little interest.

Lesson #3

“Americans of all ages embraced TV unhesitatingly. They felt no loyalty to network radio, the medium that had entertained and informed them for a quarter-century. When something came along that they deemed superior, they switched off their radios without a second thought. That’s the biggest lesson taught by the new-media crisis of 1949. Nostalgia, like guilt, is a rope that wears thin”.

Radio people need to read and reread that last paragraph.

An entire new generation of 80 million are in the process of departing for new media leaving terrestrial radio with no growth potential and no real way to survive ten years from today. That is a fact.

Even older available listeners have taken to Facebook, downloading songs to iPods, embracing Twitter, watching YouTube — to mention a few — all at the expense of their radio listening time.

The monopoly radio had in cars for years has come to an end — the car radio is now called the entertainment center.

Satellite radio was to become the next radio and all it managed to do was be a costly part of this entertainment center not a stark contrast to its competitor — terrestrial radio.

Radio listeners have embraced new media and continue to gobble it up at a record pace. Still, radio groups exist as though they have no competition and everything is still beautiful.

The lessons are many but they are happening in real time and cannot be ignored.

There is a reason why radio operators in the 1940’s supported and subsidized its eventual replacement — television.

It’s because these leaders then saw a vision of the future and wanted to be part of it.

By contrast, today’s radio consolidators refuse to acknowledge let alone subsidize what may very well be their technological and sociological replacement — the Internet and mobile space for exactly the opposite reason.

They can’t see the vision and don’t want to be part of what it considers the enemy — not the future.

This Wall Street Journal piece is excellent if you have the time to read it — click here.

I hope this discussion has resonated with you as it has with me and I encourage you to share it with your media friends.

The richness of radio is its talented managers, salespeople and on-air performers. They are being forced to take their futures to new media without any industry leadership.

That did not happen in 1949.

But it must happen in 2009 if they are to find a place in the digital future.

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Rapper behind ‘Roxanne’s Revenge’ gets Warner Music to pay for Ph.D

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Dr. Roxanne Shante is a former rap star who grew up in the Queensbridge Projects. She is now a psychiatrist, giving back to the community --

Dr. Roxanne Shante is a former rap star who grew up in the Queensbridge Projects. She is now a psychiatrist, giving back to the community --

Rapper behind ‘Roxanne’s Revenge’ gets Warner Music to pay for Ph.D

BY Walter Dawkins
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

 Roxanne’s revenge was sweet indeed.

Twenty-five years after the first queen of hip-hop was stiffed on her royalty checks, Dr. Roxanne Shante boasts an Ivy League Ph.D. – financed by a forgotten clause in her first record deal.

“This is a story that needs to be told,” Shante said. “I’m an example that you can be a teenage mom, come from the projects, and be raised by a single parent, and you can still come out of it a doctor.”

Her prognosis wasn’t as bright in the years after the ’80s icon scored a smash hit at age 14: “Roxanne’s Revenge,” a razor-tongued response to rap group UTFO’s mega-hit “Roxanne, Roxanne.”

The 1984 single sold 250,000 copies in New York City alone, making Shante (born Lolita Gooden) hip hop’s first female celebrity.

She blazed a trail followed by Lil’ Kim, Salt-N-Pepa and Queen Latifah – although Shante didn’t share their success.

After two albums, Shante said, she was disillusioned by the sleazy music industry and swindled by her record company. The teen mother, living in the Queensbridge Houses, recalled how her life was shattered.

“Everybody was cheating with the contracts, stealing and telling lies,” she said. “And to find out that I was just a commodity was heartbreaking.”

But Shante, then 19, remembered a clause in her Warner Music recording contract: The company would fund her education for life.

She eventually cashed in, earning a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell to the tune of $217,000 – all covered by the label. But getting Warner Music to cough up the dough was a battle.

“They kept stumbling over their words, and they didn’t have an exact reason why they were telling me no,” Shante said.

She figured Warner considered the clause a throwaway, never believing a teen mom in public housing would attend college. The company declined to comment for this story.

Shante found an arm-twisting ally in Marguerita Grecco, the dean at Marymount Manhattan College. Shante showed her the contract, and the dean let her attend classes for free while pursuing the money.

“I told Dean Grecco that either I’m going to go here or go to the streets, so I need your help,” Shante recalls. “She said, ‘We’re going to make them pay for this.'”

Grecco submitted and resubmitted the bills to the label, which finally agreed to honor the contract when Shante threatened to go public with the story.

Shante earned her doctorate in 2001, and launched an unconventional therapy practice focusing on urban African-Americans – a group traditionally reluctant to seek mental health help.

“People put such a taboo on therapy, they feel it means they’re going crazy,” she explained. “No, it doesn’t. It just means you need someone else to talk to.”

Shante often incorporates hip-hop music into her sessions, encouraging her clients to unleash their inner MC and shout out exactly what’s on their mind.

“They can’t really let loose and enjoy life,” she said. “So I just let them unlock those doors.”

Shante, 38, is also active in the community. She offers $5,000 college scholarships each semester to female rappers through the nonprofit Hip Hop Association.

She also dispenses advice to young women in the music business via a MySpace page.

“I call it a warning service, so their dreams don’t turn into nightmares,” she said.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons said Shante is a shining role model for the rap community. “Dr. Shante’s life is inspiring,” Simmons said. “She was a go-getter who rose from the struggle and went from hustling to teaching. She is a prime example that you can do anything, and everything is possible.”

source:http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/08/23/2009-08-23_rapper_schools_record_label_qns_ma_makes_warner_music_foot_bill_for_phd.html

 

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Glenn Beck goes after Color of Change co-founder Van Jones

This should be pretty interesting.. Glenn Beck going after Van Jones-trying to paint Van as a nationalist.. Say what you want about Van, but here in Oakland, birthplace to the Panthers, Van was always a dope organizer, but never a nationalist, at least not in the way of some of the folks coming out of this area..If anything I would hear nationalist crowd critique Van for not being as radical as they were… Boy each day this world gets stranger

Davey D

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Glenn Beck goes after Color of Change co-founder Van Jones

August 24, 2009 |  3:41 pm

Beck

Glenn Beck used his popular Fox News show this afternoon to attack the background of Van Jones, a White House environmental advisor who co-founded an African American political advocacy group that organized an advertising boycott of his program.

During his 2 p.m. PDT show, Beck did not address the boycott spearheaded by Color of Change to protest the talk show host’s remark last month that he believes President Obama is “a racist.” 

Instead, he spent a large share of his program suggesting that Jones, who co-founded Color of Change in 2005, is a radical. Jones now serves as a special advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

During a six-minute biographical profile, set to ominous music, Beck said Jones was twice arrested for political protests and has described himself as a “rowdy black nationalist.” The talk show host cast the piece as part of a broader examination of Obama’s “czars,” special advisers to the president who “don’t answer to anybody.”

“Why is it that such a committed revolutionary has made it so high into the Obama administration as one of his chief advisers?” Beck asked.

A White House spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment. Color of Change declined to comment. Jones has not been active in the group since December 2007.

Beck’s assault on Jones came as Color of Change announced that it has secured commitments from 36 companies who have pledged not to advertise on Beck’s popular program, including Wal-Mart and Sprint. However, some of the companies never had a presence on “Glenn Beck.” Representatives of Procter & Gamble and AT&T – listed by Color of Change as companies that had signed onto the boycott – told The Times that their companies did not run spots on Beck’s program to begin with.

While the advertising boycott has generated substantial media coverage, Fox News said it has not impacted the network’s revenues or Beck’s audience. “The advertisers referenced have all moved their spots from Beck to other programs on the network so there has been no revenue lost,” a spokeswoman said.

Since his Fox News show launched in January, Beck has attracted a sizable audience with his strident denunciations of the Obama administration and apocalyptic warnings about the country’s direction. Late last month, during an appearance on the morning show “Fox & Friends,” he accused Obama of having “a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.”

“This guy is, I believe, a racist,” he added. 

The flap that ensued did not appear to dampen Beck’s viewership. This month, his show has averaged 2.25 million viewers, 99% more than tuned in during the same period last year, when the network aired “America’s Election HQ” during the time period. And his ratings are up from July, when Beck’s program averaged 2.05 million viewers. Fan websites such as Defend Glenn have called for viewers to fight back against the advertising boycott, and some media veterans have denounced the tactic as a suppression of free speech.

The controversy has triggered a broader discussion about the risks to advertisers of running commercials amid the incendiary rhetoric of cable talk shows. Clorox announced last week that it was pulling its ads off all political talk shows.

“We do not want to be associated with inflammatory speech used by either liberal or conservative talk show host,” the company said in a statement. “After a comprehensive review of political talks shows across the spectrum, at this time we have made a decision not to advertise on them. Clorox has done very little advertising on political talk shows overall, and given the sometimes inflammatory nature of these shows, we feel our advertising investment is best directed elsewhere.”

— Matea Gold

(File photo of Glenn Beck by Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

More in: Matea Gold, TV News Tracker 2009

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Police Dispatchers in Ohio Suspended for Racially Charged Emails and Photos About Obama

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Say what you will about President Obama and his policies. I can say for myself, I am not happy with many of them and have been quite vocal. His recent cowtowing around the issue of healthcare and the public option has got me angry. Now in the world of politics, dissent even if its loud and boisterous is fair game.

New York City Councilman Charles Barron once told me, in politics you go hard and beat up your opponent on the issues, but at the end of the day you remain civil and even friends. In short, politics is a contact sport and not a whole lot of folks have the stomach for it. You go hard but there are lines you don’t cross. With the election of President Obama, lines are being crossed everyday. We’ve seen folks with guns and rifles showing up at rallies where the President is speaking. He’s gotten an unprecedented number of threats on his life. He’s been the subject of racist cartoons. The most recent affront comes from two Ohio police dispatchers who  saw nothing wrong with passing around an email containing a doctored photo of AirForce One where the tail letters spell out the word nigger.

Now its annoying enough when ordinary citizens who are angry with President Obama resort to using racial slurs to talk about him. Its outright disturbing when people working in law enforcement do the same thing. If they see President Obama as a nigger imagine how they see the citizenry they are supposed to protect and serve.  What are these folks serving? Mayhem and misery?

This new racial assault from tax payer supported police personnel comes on the heals of a Cambridge cop writing an op ed piece where he called the President’s friend Professor Henry Louis Gates a ‘jungle monkey’. That officer was fired, but is appealing the decision. That incident came on the heals of a lawsuit filed by Black officers in Philadelphia about a popular website called Domelights used by white officers where they routinely make racially charged remarks about the people they encounter while on patrol. The final straw was when white officers referred to a group of young kids who were denied entrance into a country club swimming pool, ‘jungle monkeys’.

As KRS-One once famously asked in a song when reffrring to out of control police- ‘Who Protects Us from U’ ?

-Davey D-

Post Racial America? Yeah right! Look at the "tail number" of this plane that North Canton Police Dispatcher Anita Malachowski( amalachowski@northcantonpolice.org ) sent to an undisclosed amount of people. So this is what our tax dollars are paying for!

Post Racial America? Yeah right! Look at the "tail number" of this plane that North Canton Police Dispatcher Anita Malachowski( amalachowski@northcantonpolice.org ) sent to an undisclosed amount of people. So this is what our tax dollars are paying for!

 

————————————————————–

North Canton dispatchers accused of forwarding racial e-mail

By Beacon Journal staff

POSTED: 06:56 p.m. EDT, Aug 16, 2009

http://www.ohio.com/news/53361252.html

 

  

Two North Canton Police Department dispatchers have been placed on administrative leave after they were accused last of forwarding racial messages using department e-mail accounts.

North Canton Police Chief Michael Grimes said the department was notified that ”inappropriate e-mail had been replied to or forwarded by two dispatchers” while on duty.

The dispatchers were not named.

A political blog at http://www.ohiodailyblog.com posted copies last week of what it said was e-mail sent by the two dispatchers.

The forwarded prank e-mail begins by saying Air Force One — the U.S. president’s private plane — has a new tail number.

The message that was allegedly forwarded reads: ”Please forgive me, I’m really sorry, I really tried not to laugh, but. . . !” It then displays a doctored photo of Air Force One with a combination of letters and numbers on the tail that spell a racial slur.

”The police department understands the serious and offensive nature of this matter,” Grimes said. ”We are investigating the situation and will deal with it appropriately.”

The police e-mail accounts of the dispatchers have been suspended during the investigation, Grimes said.

One of the two dispatchers also works for the Uniontown Police Department, Uniontown Police Chief Jack Coontz said Sunday.

He said he was notified about the allegations and plans to investigate the claims Tuesday, when the dispatcher will be back on duty.

”I haven’t been able to talk to my dispatcher to really make a comment yet,” he said.

 

Two North Canton Police Department dispatchers have been placed on administrative leave after they were accused last of forwarding racial messages using department e-mail accounts.

North Canton Police Chief Michael Grimes said the department was notified that ”inappropriate e-mail had been replied to or forwarded by two dispatchers” while on duty.

The dispatchers were not named.

A political blog at http://www.ohiodailyblog.com posted copies last week of what it said was e-mail sent by the two dispatchers.

The forwarded prank e-mail begins by saying Air Force One — the U.S. president’s private plane — has a new tail number.

The message that was allegedly forwarded reads: ”Please forgive me, I’m really sorry, I really tried not to laugh, but. . . !” It then displays a doctored photo of Air Force One with a combination of letters and numbers on the tail that spell a racial slur.

”The police department understands the serious and offensive nature of this matter,” Grimes said. ”We are investigating the situation and will deal with it appropriately.”

The police e-mail accounts of the dispatchers have been suspended during the investigation, Grimes said.

One of the two dispatchers also works for the Uniontown Police Department, Uniontown Police Chief Jack Coontz said Sunday.

He said he was notified about the allegations and plans to investigate the claims Tuesday, when the dispatcher will be back on duty.

”I haven’t been able to talk to my dispatcher to really make a comment yet,” he said.

Obama Punks Out to GOP & Insurance Companies-Public Option is Outta Here

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I am here in Washington DC this morning and all this weekend the buzz is Obama has already cut a backroom deal with the insurance companies and skittish Senators. He seems determined to once and for all publicly derail the Public Option. Translation people are now at the mercy of insurance companies. Translation a whole lot of folks are about to be screwed royally.

If Obama backs out as indicated it will mean a loss and hence you can expect all other controversial measures including Immigration Reform to be off the table. You can also expect a more aggressive GOP, in spite being the minority to be embolded and may actually push to put the smash on people even more.

The lesson here is that folks who came out in record numbers and organized to put Obama into office will have to take that same energy and fight to make sure their aspirations and expectations are met and they have a seat at the table.

The other thing to note is that Obama and his healthcare team did very little to reach out to the hordes of young people who voted him into office on this issue. He didn’t reach out to them for ideas, help or even to target them in commercials. He did very little outreach to poor communities and communities of color.

This is a bad, bad, bad, look for President Obama

-Davey D-

White House appears ready to drop ‘public option’

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090816/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_health_care_overhaul

BarackObama-175WASHINGTON – Bowing to Republican pressure and an uneasy public, President Barack Obama‘s administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system.

Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession probably would enrage Obama’s liberal supporters but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers.

Officials from both political parties reached across the aisle in an effort to find compromises on proposals they left behind when they returned to their districts for an August recess. Obama had wanted the government to run a health insurance organization to help cover the nation’s almost 50 million uninsured, but didn’t include it as one of his core principles of reform.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that government alternative to private health insurance is “not the essential element” of the administration’s health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said, a sign that Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory.

Under a proposal by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., consumer-owned nonprofit cooperatives would sell insurance in competition with private industry, not unlike the way electric and agriculture co-ops operate, especially in rural states such as his own.

With $3 billion to $4 billion in initial support from the government, the co-ops would operate under a national structure with state affiliates, but independent of the government. They would be required to maintain the type of financial reserves that private companies are required to keep in case of unexpectedly high claims.

“I think there will be a competitor to private insurers,” Sebelius said. “That’s really the essential part, is you don’t turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing.”

Obama’s spokesman refused to say a public option was a make-or-break choice.

“What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday.

A day before, Obama appeared to hedge his bets.

“All I’m saying is, though, that the public option, whether we have it or we don’t have it, is not the entirety of health care reform,” Obama said at a town hall meeting in Grand Junction, Colo. “This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it.”

It’s hardly the same rhetoric Obama employed during a constant, personal campaign for legislation.

“I am pleased by the progress we’re making on health care reform and still believe, as I’ve said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest,” Obama said in July.

Lawmakers have discussed the co-op model for months although the Democratic leadership and the White House have said they prefer a government-run option.

Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, called the argument for a government-run public plan little more than a “wasted effort.” He added there are enough votes in the Senate for a cooperative plan.

“It’s not government-run and government-controlled,” he said. “It’s membership-run and membership-controlled. But it does provide a nonprofit competitor for the for-profit insurance companies, and that’s why it has appeal on both sides.”

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Obama’s team is making a political calculation and embracing the co-op alternative as “a step away from the government takeover of the health care system” that the GOP has pummeled.

“I don’t know if it will do everything people want, but we ought to look at it. I think it’s a far cry from the original proposals,” he said.

Republicans say a public option would have unfair advantages that would drive private insurers out of business. Critics say co-ops would not be genuine public options for health insurance.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, said it would be difficult to pass any legislation through the Democratic-controlled Congress without the promised public plan.

“We’ll have the same number of people uninsured,” she said. “If the insurance companies wanted to insure these people now, they’d be insured.”

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the Democrats’ option would force individuals from their private plans to a government-run plan as some employers may choose not to provide health insurance.

“Tens of millions of individuals would be moved from their personal, private insurance to the government-run program. We simply don’t think that’s acceptable,” he said.

A shift to a cooperative plan would certainly give some cover to fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats who are hardly cheering for the government-run plan.

“The reality is that it takes 60 percent to get this done in the Senate. It’s probably going to have to be bipartisan in the Senate, which I think it should be,” said Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., who added that the proposals still need changes before he can support them.

Obama, writing in Sunday’s New York Times, said political maneuvers should be excluded from the debate.

“In the coming weeks, the cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain,” he wrote. “But for all the scare tactics out there, what’s truly scary — truly risky — is the prospect of doing nothing.”

Congress’ proposals, however, seemed likely to strike end-of-life counseling sessions. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has called the session “death panels,” a label that has drawn rebuke from her fellow Republicans as well as Democrats.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, declined to criticize Palin’s comments and said Obama wants to create a government-run panel to advise what types of care would be available to citizens.

“In all honesty, I don’t want a bunch of nameless, faceless bureaucrats setting health care for my aged citizens in Utah,” Hatch said.

Sebelius said the end-of-life proposal was likely to be dropped from the final bill.

“We wanted to make sure doctors were reimbursed for that very important consultation if family members chose to make it, and instead it’s been turned into this scare tactic and probably will be off the table,” she said.

Sebelius spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union” and ABC’s “This Week.” Gibbs appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Conrad and Shelby appeared on “Fox News Sunday.” Johnson, Price and Ross spoke with “State of the Union.” Hatch was interviewed on “This Week.”

written by Phillip Elliott

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