Corporations Are Missing the Mark & Killing Urban Radio Format

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Radio Corporations: Demands on Staff Killing Product?

July 18, 2009 · Posted in Editorial/Opinion, radio facts 

Kevin-Ross-225In this ever changing and evolving digital music world, listeners are able to get their music fix from numerous sources. While urban radio’s PPM ratings are not bad nationwide, there are some stations that are struggling pretty badly. Either way corporations needing to cut costs are eliminating black programmers in certain markets and using the music director as the eyes and ears of the station that is now being programmed by a PD who is not only another state but another region. This is a practice that is going to come back to bite urban radio on the ass. In urban radio, a programmer NEEDS to be in the market to understand it. Second, a programmer in one market already has his hands full maintaining THAT station. Third, the effort makes it more evident that urban radio is moving further and further away from what has made it successful for decades, community-oriented programming. The constant shoving of more and more homogenized commercial urban radio down the throats of urban radio listeners, WAY too much syndicated programming (from hosts who are older and out of touch with today’s music), eliminating important job posts and putting stations on auto pilot and finally overworking current employees JUST because the ratings don’t seem to reflect a problem, is like relaxing on the beach and while a tsunami is about to hit. You sense the rumbling but you ignore it and play with the possibility of it existing it to see if it reacts. When it does, it’s too late.

Once you take away an urban programmers creativity and ability to build a winning station (singular), train new talent and to hone in on his or her market’s needs, you might as well be a cereal factory and give him the job of gluing box tops together all day. I am amazed that someone like Cathy Hughes, who I have a great respect for and who has risen through the ranks or urban radio has not realized how important it is to allow each station in each market to have its own identity FIRST.

If I was doing marketing for one of the cell phone companies with all the twitter, facebook and other apps to add to my cell phone service, I would not be comfortable promoting a product like that on any of the current syndication urban radio morning shows. It would immediately appear to me from 30 minutes of listening to the show that I’m not going to reach my target. Do they even know what twitter or “apps” means? Regardless of what the PPM ratings might reflect, it appears these syndicated hosts are simply out of touch, many don’t even like hip hop and have no problem stating it and they are stuck in the 70s and want to bring back the music of the Commodores and Earth Wind & Fire…. (laugh) they admit it too!!! That’s the problem with hiring out of touch hosts, they are… well…. OUT OF TOUCH! In addition few if any of the shows even have a representative of the younger generation on the show. What kind of option is that for an innovative product trying to reach a younger demo? Urban radio is complaining the economy has created a revenue slump in advertising for urban stations and to a large extent that’s true but what has also caused a revenue slump in advertising at urban stations is an EXTREME lack of innovation and the ability to appeal to who advertisers are trying to reach, today’s young consumer.

The No Account DISCOUNT…
Finally, while there is a larger list of issues with today’s urban radio I’m not covering today, another important one that I have to address is how urban radio is still missing the mark on the internet. When I go to many urban station websites, they are basically using one company to design the sites to save money, or to get a better deal for 30 stations, who knows, what is evident is that a majority of the sites look EXACTLY the same and they are not maintained for the most part, dated news, old pictures of celebrities and there is no eye catching appeal or anything to keep a web visitor interested. A discount in some instances doesn’t ACCOUNT for shit. The people doing these sites are obviously removed from urban radio culture and urban radio is not paying enough attention to this valuable resource. A radio website is a great opportunity to make extra revenue for the station but it is not something that you can just add a couple of stories to, it has to be promoted and manned daily. The internet rankings for most urban radio station websites is very poor. This clearly indicates the station is not paying a lot of attention to a tool that clearly can compliment the main product and can offer added benefit to advertisers. I’ve asked several urban programmers about this and they all say it’s not a priority with the corporation. In addition, it is almost impossible to find a web person who is familiar with urban radio or an urban radio person who is familiar with building websites. I have to agree on this one but there are some out there. How hard to urban stations look? Who knows but one thing’s for sure, urban radio programmers are doing way too much work right now and it would seem damn near impossible to offer 100% to any one job when they are doing several per the corporation’s instructions. There are many reasons urban radio is successful and struggling at the same time and while cutbacks and increasing responsibility is important to maintain stability, so is taking a second look at the product itself.

source:http://radiofacts.com/2009/07/18/radio-corporations-demands-staff-killing-product/

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Pat Buchanan Calls Sonia Sotomayor a Minor Leaguer-Says white men didn’t get a fair shake during hearings

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Editor’s Note: For decades, conservatives played on the racist and sexist fears of their constituents by spinning dramatic tales of the white man’s decline in the face of advances by women, African-Americans, Hispanics and other minority groups. Conveniently putting aside their calls for personal responsibility, conservative pundits and many GOP legislators blamed the woes of working-class white men on affirmative action programs.

Uppity women and minority groups, or so the story went, were exploiting past injustice to gain an unearned leg-up over more deserving white males. White men were, allegedly, increasingly victimized by government policies that privileged women and minorities.

Needless to say, conservatives were far more concerned with rolling back the rights of women and minorities than offering policy solutions that truly helped low-income white men.

In the past few months, conservative griping about the oppression of white men has come back with a vengeance. Lacking any real material with which to attack judicial nominee Sonia Sotomayor, Republican lawmakers and media conservatives have mightily struggled to paint Sotomayor as an unqualified affirmative-action candidate — one committed to using the law to erode the rights of while males. 

 Sotomayor was absurdly attacked as a “reverse racist”; she was accused of gaming the system to get ahead; her temperament, educational achievements and judicial history were slimely undermined despite ample evidence that she is more than qualified to serve on the Court.

Some of the most vicious attacks have come from Pat Buchanan, a conservative extremist who for mysterious reasons still enjoys a spot on MSNBC as a “political analyst”. Recently Buchanan appeared on the Rachel Maddow show to argue that Sotomayor has made a career of discriminating against white males and that her nomination constitutes affirmative action run amok. Needless to say, Maddow easily dispatched Buchanan’s silly — and racist — arguments. By the end, the frazzled Buchanan looked like someone’s racist grandpa, as Maddow showed just how irrelevant, retrograde and blatantly racist conservative grievance-based ideology has become.

Source: http://www.alternet.org/story/141425/rachel_maddow_takes_down_msnbc%27s_resident_racist%2C_pat_buchanan/

Here is the full transcript:

Rachel Maddow Takes Down MSNBC’s Resident Racist, Pat Buchanan

Rachel Maddow: One prominent Republican who believes that the Republicans did not make enough of the issue of race at the Sotomayor confirmation hearing is my MSNBC colleague, Patrick J. Buchanan, who argued in his column this week that the hearings should have been seized even more by Republicans to try to win over white conservatives who feel aggrieved by racial issues.

He says, quote, “These are the folks that pay the price of affirmative action when their sons and daughters are pushed aside to make room for the Sonia Sotomayors. What Republicans must do is expose Sotomayor as a political activist whose career bespeaks a lifelong resolve to discriminate against white males.”

“Even if Sotomayor is confirmed,” Pat says, “making the nation aware she a militant supporter since college days of ethnic and gender preferences is an I assignment worth pursuing.”

Joining us now is my MSNBC political colleague, Pat Buchanan.

Pat, it is-it’s been far too long since you’ve been on the show.

It’s so nice to see you.

 Pat Buchanan, MSNBC Political Analyst: Good to see you, Rachel.

Rachel Maddow confronted Pat Buchannon who is upset that white men aren't getting a full shake with the recent nomination of Sonia Satamayor

Rachel Maddow confronted Pat Buchannon who is upset that white men aren't getting a full shake with the recent nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court

RM:

So, your argument is that Republicans could reap political rewards by making the argument that Sotomayor essentially doesn’t deserve to be on the supreme court, that she’s only there because of her race. Is that-is that-did I understand your argument correctly?

PB: Well, I think I would vote no on Sonia Sotomayor the same way I would have voted no on Harriet Miers-and I said so the first day she was nominated.

I don’t think Judge Sonia Sotomayor is qualified for the United States Supreme Court. She has not shown any great intellect here or any great depth of knowledge of the Constitution. She’s never written anything that I’ve read in terms of a law review article or major book or something like that on the law.

And I do believe she’s an affirmative action appointment by the president of the United States. He eliminated everyone but four women and then he picked the Hispanic. I think this is an affirmative action appointment and I would vote no.

RM: And what do you-what do you think that affirmative action is for?

PB: Affirmative action is to increase diversity by discriminating against white males. As Alan Bakke was discriminated at the University of California at Davis; As Brian Weber, that worker in Louisiana was discriminated against; As Frank Ricci and those firefighters were discriminated against; As Jennifer Gratz, was discriminated against and kept out of the University of Michigan which she set her heart on, even though her grades were far higher than people who were aloud in there.

That’s the type-affirmative action is basically reverse discrimination against white males and it’s as wrong as discrimination against black females and Hispanics and others. And that’s why I oppose it.

RM: I obviously-I have a different view about it, but I want to give you a chance to explain what you —

PB: But why do you have a different view? Why is it OK to discriminate against white males?

RM: Well, let me ask you this.

PB: Sure.

RM: Why do you think is that of the 110 Supreme Court justices we’ve had in this country, 108 of them have been white?

PB: Well, I think white men were 100 percent of the people that wrote the Constitution, 100 percent of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence, 100 percent of people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Probably close to 100 percent of the people who died at Normandy.

This has been a country built basically by white folks in this country who are 90 percent of the entire nation — in 1960, when I was growing up, Rachel — and the other 10 percent were African-American who had been discriminated against. That’s why.

RM: But does that mean that you think that there are 108 of 110 white Supreme Court justices because white people essentially deserve to have 99.5 percent of those positions? That doesn’t reflect any sort of barrier to those positions by people who aren’t white. You think that’s just purely on the basis of what white people have deserved to get?

PB: I think a lot of people get up there for a lot of reason, but my argument would be: get the finest mind you can get. Get real scholars. Whether you agree with Bork or Scalia or not, they’re tremendous minds and I think there are other minds. I’m sure the Democratic Party, I’m sure has women there that can stand up head-to-head with Scalia and make the case, who have got tremendous credential, knowledge, background.

But this one doesn’t have that. She was appointed because she’s a Latina, a Hispanic and a woman.

RM: She’s also —

PB: I mean, look at —

RM: She is also the judicial nominee who has more judging experience than any judge has gone up in, say, in the past, I don’t know, what is it, 70 years? She has been an appellate court judge of some distinction for a lot longer than Judge Roberts was, Judge Alito was. I mean, it’s not like she was picked out —

PB: Rachel.

RM: She was like picked out of the minor leagues and brought up here, Pat.

PB: Listen, it certainly is. Look at her own words in “The New York Times,” from the tapes. It’s in “The New York Times,” June 11th. She said, “I’m an affirmative action baby.”

RM: Yes.

PB: I got into Princeton on affirmative action. I got into Yale. I didn’t have the scores that these other kids did. How did she get on Yale law review? Affirmative action. How did she get on the federal bench by Moynihan? Moynihan needs a Hispanic woman just like Barack Obama needs a Hispanic woman. That is not the criteria we ought to use, Rachel.

RM: But, Pat —

PB: … for Supreme Court justices, conservative or liberal. That’s why I opposed Harriet Miers. I said I know she’s going to vote with me. She’s a good Christian woman. She’s probably a fine lawyer, but she’s not Supreme Court material, and neither is Sonia Sotomayor. And I think you know that, Rachel.

RM: I don’t know that at all. And I would say that if you and I agree that what our country needs is to be able to choose from the largest possible pool of talent in order to be able to pick the people who are going to have to function at the highest levels so that our country can compete and our country to do all the hard things we need do, I would hope that you would see that picking 108 out of 110 white justices.

PB: Rachel.

RM: … to the Supreme Court means that other people aren’t actually being appropriately considered. And the reason that you have affirmative action is that you recognize that the fact that people were discriminated against for hundreds of years in this country means that you sort of gamed the system, unless you give other people a leg up.

PB: It is not. It does not.

RM: . the best schools and the best jobs-hold on, I let you talk for a while.

PB: She was put into the best schools. She was put into the best schools.

RM: That’s right. She was …

PB: Of affirmative action, not because of ability, Rachel. She was put there, she said herself, because of where she came from. She’s a Hispanic woman. She’s from Puerto Rico. That’s why she was passed over. Other students who applied there with better scores who were denied the right to go to Princeton.

RM: Do you think that she got the grades that she got at Princeton on the basis of affirmative action, too?

PB: I think what they do in the Ivy League, and you know it as well as I do, that half the class graduates cum laude these days.

RM: How did you do at Georgetown compared to how she did at Princeton?

PB: I’ll tell you, I graduated higher in my high school, I will bet or as high as she did. And I certainly say, in Georgetown, I did. And I’ll tell you, I will match my test scores against her — but I’m not qualified for the United States Supreme Court.

RM: But, Pat, for you to argue that there’s no basis on which the United States benefits …

PB: Right.

RM: … from having Hispanics be among the people who we choose the best and brightest from defies belief.

PB: I don’t.

RM: The idea that you think we’ll best serve by only choosing among 99.9 percent white people.

PB: Hold it. No, no, no.

RM: … to hold these jobs, I don’t believe you believe it, Pat.

 

Pat Buchanan is upset that the race issue was stirred up more during the Sonia Sotomayor hearings

Pat Buchanan is upset that the race issue was stirred up more during the Sonia Sotomayor hearings

PB:

I — hold on — I believe everybody should get a chance to excel and be on the United States Supreme Court. But if I look at the U.S. track team in the Olympics, and they’re all black folks, I don’t automatically assume it’s discrimination. I will say, “I think maybe those are the fastest guys we got, that maybe they’re the fastest guys in the country, maybe they’re the fastest in the world. If they’re all — our Olympic team in hockey is eight white guys from Minnesota, I don’t assume discrimination.

Why do you assume discrimination simply because you got one component on the Supreme Court? Where is the genius you think who’s a woman and a feminist who sure ought to be on that Supreme Court? Go for her. Don’t go for an affirmative action person you know was picked because she’s a Latina and because she’s a woman.

RM: Pat, when I look at the United States Supreme Court and I see 108 out of 110 white people, I see 108 out of 110 men. I don’t look at that and think, “God, white guys are naturally better at this type of work than other people who aren’t getting these jobs.” I don’t think that way.

RM: I want to hear you — I would love to hear your answer as to whether or not you think that is what explains it, too. Because, I think, what the more obvious explanation is, is that you have to be a white guy in order to get considered for these jobs and has been true since the dawn of time in this country.

PB: No.

RM: That’s starting to break up now so that we can tap a bigger pool of talent. You should be happy about that for your country, Pat.

PB: I do. I do. I’m happy when you got all 78 firemen can take a test, but if all the guys that win in the test are all white guys and one is Hispanic, I don’t say, automatically, the test was fixed, bias, bigoted against black people, because I don’t know that, Rachel.

And those guys did well in that test and they are victims of this evil affirmative action policy which says in effect that everybody’s covered by the 14th Amendment and the civil rights laws unless you’re a white male and your parents and ancestors came from Europe. Then we can discriminate against you. That’s what I am against.

RM: Pat, do you — do you — are you happy that we’ve got a Latino on the Supreme Court for the first time or we’re about to? Does that seem like a positive thing for the country?

PB: I would — I think the Republicans had an outstanding Latino who had outstanding grades, who was brilliant and was gutted, Miguel Estrada.

RM: Let me just ask you a question before going to talk about some other Latino who’s not in question here. Are you happy for the United States of America for our prospect as a nation that we’ll be the best that we can be, that there is a Latino on the Supreme Court for the first time ever, that that glass ceiling is broken. Do you see it as a positive thing?

PB: If you say, be the best question we can be. We’re not being the best we can be with Sonia Sotomayor and I think you know it.

RM: Pat, I couldn’t disagree with you more. I credit you sticking to your gun. I think you’re absolutely wrong about this and I think that by advocating that the Republican Party try to stir up racial animus among white voters.

You’re dating yourself.

PB: I say, you know, I think what they ought to do — they ought to defend the legitimate rights of white working-class folks who are the victims of discrimination, because that’s the right thing to do and because it’s the politically right thing to do. It so happens that here, that doing the right thing is the right political thing, standing up for Frank Ricci. We saw the face of — the face of a victim of these policies.

Rachel, you and your friends admire up there and in New York and you never look at these guys who are working-class guys with their own dreams, just like Sonia Sotomayor.

RM: Pat, I don’t need a lecture from you about whether or not I know what working class …

PB: You certainly do, Rachel.

RM: I really don’t need a lecture from you about what I think about working class Americans or what anybody else in New York, including Sonia Sotomayor who grew up in the Bronx thinks about working-class Americans.

PB: What do you think?

RM: A lot of things divide us, Pat. Race is one of those. But there’s a lot of other ways in which we just gratify as a country, and for you to privilege race and say that what we really need to make sure we tap, politically, is white people’s racial grievances, you’re playing with fire and you’re dating yourself. You’re living in the 1950s, Pat.

PB: Maybe I’m dating in the 1960s when the civil rights act was passed. Do you think Frank Ricci and those guys were treated justly when they were denied that promotion because they were white?

RM: Pat Buchanan, MSNBC political analyst — I’m very sorry that we’re out of time. It’s nice to have you back on the show, Pat. Thanks.

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Wise Intelligent Speaks: Trenton Police Shoot, Kill a Man Last Night

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It was just a few days ago that we ran the article of Wise Intelligent being falsely arrested. Sadly this type of over the top behavior is what Wise Intelligent was trying to avoid.. Police terror is at an all-time high.I said it before and I’ll say it again, whats taking place is alow grade one sided war of sorts. brothers are being picked off left and right by the police..

-Davey D-

INTELLIGENTNEWZNET
INFORMING the HIP-HOP COMMUNITY

Trenton Police Shoot, Kill man last night (7/16/09)

Wise Intelligent Speaks on yet another incident of police terror

Wise Intelligent Speaks on yet another incident of police terror

On Wednesday July 8, 2009 here is what I was lucky to avoid in Trenton, New Jersey. This is the environment we as black men are embedded in. Regardless of our vocation, lawyer, doctor, beggar, thief, rapper, activist, youth program director or civilian on a path train enjoying New Years Eve; ala Oscar Grant, we are subject to inhumane treatment by “law” enforcement officers that come to the job with a less than human view of black people. This brother had a 7 inch knife (including the handle) in hand. He ran from the police and into his child’s grandfathers home. Police pursued him to the home, he ran out of the back door where he was confronted by several officers brandishing firearms. Of course the official police report says this scared brother who was already running from the police “lunged” at them with a knife? The report says there were more than 20 cops on the scene, police dogs, etc. I can hardly believe that unless police officers are trained to “shoot to kill” they could not subdue this suspect without open firing with multiple gunshots killing this man? Are police officers trained to “shoot to kill”?, or have they through America’s history of devaluing black life, in effect been trained to kill black people? To add insult to injury police officers arrested the grandfather for “giving the suspect shelter in his house” when they admit the suspect “ran” into the elderly mans home? This is colonial era policing! Oppression by any other name is still oppression….

http://www.intelligentseedz.org / http://www.intelligentmuzik.com / http://twitter.com/wiseintelligent

Police shoot, kill suspect
Man wielded knife in incident
Thursday, July 16, 2009

BY ALEX ZDAN

TRENTON — City police shot and killed a man who was carrying a knife on Stuyvesant Avenue last night, officials said.

The unidentified man was wanted following an earlier call reporting a man with a gun, Capt. Joe Juniak said. Based on a description, officers spotted the man on Prospect Street at 7:02 p.m.

Juniak said the man fled from the officers, running to Stuyvesant Avenue, where he entered a house on the 400 block. With marked cars and uniformed officers pursuing him, the suspect fled out the back of the house and onto the avenue, police said. At this point, Juniak said, the suspect was armed with a knife.

In front of 475 Stuyvesant, the man was confronted by officers with guns drawn. Juniak said the suspect lunged at the officers, and they fired, striking the man.

He was taken to Capital Health at Fuld, where he died of his inju ries just before 8:30 p.m.
At the Stuyvesant intersection with Linwood Avenue, people lined their porches in the fading sunlight and watched police pacing back and forth on the street, in and out of the house. The street was shut down for several blocks and lined with crime scene tape.

“They had to shoot him?” one man wondered aloud to his friends sitting behind him on the porch. “Twenty cops, right there.”

The man said the suspect had been carrying a seven-and-a-half inch knife.
A young man on the porch said police had fired three times.

“All I heard was, ‘Toot, toot, toot,'” he said.

Officials confirmed the man had been shot multiple times. One woman who knew the man who had been shot, but not his name, wondered why police didn’t at tempt to wound their suspect.
“You could have shot him one time in the leg. He would have been down,” a woman said. “He’s skin and bones anyway.”

An elderly man in handcuffs sat uncomfortably on the front stoop, guarded by police. Neighbors said he was the grandfather of the man’s child, under arrest for allegedly giving the suspect shelter in his house.
Juniak said that over 30 law enforcement officers were on the scene last night beginning an investigation.

Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@nj times.com or (609) 989-5705.

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White Cops In Philly Refer to Black Kids As Ghetto Monkeys-Black Cop Set to Sue

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daveyd-raider2As you read the article below  please keep in mind several things which make this story even more disturbing. First, Philadelphia currently has a Black Mayor, Michael A Nutter  and had another mayor John F Street, a community activist and organizer who served for 8 years.  This means that the website Domelights used by white Philly Cops to post up racist rantings about the people and the communities they a re supposed to serve was launched and has existed un-challenged on the watch of two African Americans leading the City of Brotherly Love.  How is this possible?

For the past 8 years, Philadelphia has had two Black Police Commissioners, Sylvester Johnson and the Charles Ramseywho is highly decorated and currently oversees the department. How is racism this blatant amongst white officers tolerated on their watch? Do these men not have power or do these men not have backbone to stand up and shut things down? How was Johnson and now Ramsey able to lead officers who feel comfortable enough to embrace and exude the type of unconscionable racism described in the article?  Their inability to have a zero tolerance policy put in place and acted upon when such egregious behavior occurs is a stark reminder that even though we have Black faces in high places it don’t mean a damn thing for the everyday Black person on the streets of  Philly and throughout this country.  

Professor and Fox news Commentator Marc Lamont Hill came across out of control cops on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia just last week. They were making several young men drop their pants in a public place while they laughed and cracked jokes.

Professor and Fox news Commentator Marc Lamont Hill came across out of control cops on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia just last week. They were making several young men drop their pants in a public place while they laughed and cracked jokes.

As I’m reading this story, I can’t help but think about two things. First, is a situation which took place just last week around Temple University in Philly when Professor and Fox News Commentator Marc Lamont Hill came upon some out of control officers who thought it would be funny to harass several young Black men passing through the campus by having them drop their pants in public while being detained. 

Hill tweeted about the incident and described how he stood watching  the officers when he himself got confronted. The officers wanted him to leave the scene. They said he was ‘hovering ‘when Hill was actually observing which he has a right to do as tax paying citizen. Perhaps the only thing that kept him from being made to drop his pants was that he let it be known he was a professor on the campus where the young men were being jammed up.

Hill tweeted about how angry he was because after the cops let the boys go they started laughing and cracking jokes about the incident.  What made this more outrageous was they did this in front of Professor Hill- The message seemingly conveyed by these callous cops was; It don’t matter who the hell you are, we’ll do what we want.  One has to wonder if these cops went home  wrote about the incident and shared a good laugh with other white cops on the racist website Domelights.

The second thing that comes to mind, is the plight of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal. Year after year when his case comes up, the Philadelphia police union Fraternal order of Police #5 leads the charge to block any attempt to free him. Mumia has long talked about the insidious racism and brutality of the Philly police.  The things he’s reported on prior to going to jail over 20 years ago  and throughout his stay on death row have been met with skepticism, rebuke and disbelief by mainstream pundits who simply feel the police can do no wrong.  Perhaps these pundits need to look at the daily, pervasive racist commentary on Domelights from these White officers serving a city with a majority population of people of color and has  Black leadership which is more than unnerving. One can then ask  how much worse and in your face were these racist attitudes  under white leadership, especially when Mumia was free and having to deal with well known racist Police Commissioners like Frank Rizzo. One can only imagine it was even worse.

Lastly one has to ask, how is such conduct tolerated by the Fraternal Order of Police. You go to their website and you see they are alerting their members to upcoming contract hearings on July 24th. I didn’t see anything telling their officers to fall back and set a good example for other officers by not tolearting racism. The FOP want a new contract when they have pretty much remained silent and not reined in their members?  Pay attentions folks and lets see how this plays out.

When will President Obama aggressively address these increasing issues of police terror and the racism that is pervasive throughout many departments?

When will President Obama aggressively address these increasing issues of police terror and the racism that is pervasive throughout many departments?

In closing I will say this.. yesterday we had a huge debate on my website and facebook pages about whether or not President Obama was doing enough to address racial issues that are impacting Black folks daily. Many felt like he was on the case. Others felt like he was falling short. One of the main sticking points in our debate were these increasing incidents of police terror that are happening from Oakland to Mississippi to Houston to Trenton,  NJ with Wise Intelligent to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with Hip Hop pioneer and X-Clan member Paradise Gray. It was not lost on me that earlier this week President Obama went out of his way to offer prayer and praise to officers who were shot and seriously injured in the line of duty  while chasing down suspects in Jersey City, New Jersey. He offered prayer and praise to slain officers in Pittsburgh a couple of months ago and he offered prayer and praise to the 4 officers slain in Oakland back in March.  These things he should do.

At the same time, when is our President going to put out of control police on notice and offer solace to people brutalized by renegade cops?  When is he going to instruct his Attorney General Eric Holder to draft a plan of action to hold police accountable and make sure that there will be zero tolerance for abuse and racist behavior as demonstrated by the white officers on Philly’s police force.  

President Obama gave lots of money in his stimulus package for police-Perhaps he needs to take some of that money bback and treat the polce the way he treated the car companies. Let them know they don’t get any money until they start doing right by the American people.

Something to Ponder…

-Davey D-

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  • Cops claim police message board “infested with racist, white supremacist” remarks
  • Boards reference swim club incident, calls black kids “ghetto monkey faces”
  • One post describes “no car insurance driving, bad weave wearing” black women
  • Lawsuit seeks for site to be taken down or have cops stop posting during work
  • Black Philadelphia police sue over message board, say it’s racist

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/17/police.racism.lawsuit/index.html

    Domelights is a privately run website used by police in Philadelphia where they routinely post up racist rantings including one where they referred to Black kids discriminated at a Philly country club-Ghetto Monkeys'

    Domelights is a privately run website used by police in Philadelphia where they routinely post up racist rantings including one where they referred to Black kids discriminated at a Philly country club as Ghetto Monekeys

    (CNN) — A group of black Philadelphia police officers filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against their department, alleging an online forum geared toward city police is “infested with racist, white supremacist and anti-African-American content.”

    The suit alleges white officers post on and moderate the privately operated site, Domelights.com, both on and off the job.

    Domelights’ users “often joke about the racially offensive commentary on the site … or will mention them in front of black police officers,” thus creating “a racially hostile work environment,” according to lawyers for the all-black Guardian Civic League, the lead plaintiff in the suit.

    A look at the site’s forums Friday for racist comments found several possibilities.

    Reads one: “In urban areas, it seems [African-Americans] living on welfare in paid for housing is ingrained in their culture as well as fighting. … Kids, along with adults can’t speak proper English or spell at a 3rd grade level, but they can sing among “theyselves” the lyrics to a rap song.”

    Said another Domelights user of an African-American woman: “She is a classic example of that exact non tax paying, no car insurance driving, bad weave wearing, all the whitey’s are racist black women.”

    The site’s tagline is “the voice of the good guys.”

    “Every time African-Americans do or say something in our city, we get this backlash of cops who think they’re anonymous on this Web site — just racist, nasty, hurtful things about what we do,” said Rochelle Bilal, the president of the Guardian Civic League and a 23-year veteran of the force.

    The league’s attorney said other black officers echo Bilal’s statement.

    “We’ve heard the same story over and over again, which is that [African-American officers] witness in the workplace Domelights being used and discussed [in a racial manner],” said Brian Mildenberg, whose firm is also representing a Philadelphia day camp that recently gained national attention when its mostly black campers were turned away from a swim club.

    He said it was “a gift from the heavens in a way that the two things happened at once.”

    While Mildenberg and Bilal said they had been monitoring the 10-year-old Web site for years, the pool incident did seem to play into the timing of the lawsuit.

    “When they said something about our pretty, brown, young, innocent children and called them monkeys because they wanted to go swimming, that was enough,” Bilal said.

    She may have been referring to this comment posted on Domelights: “Maybe the people who work for a living didn’t want to swim with a bunch of ghetto monkey faces.”

    The lawsuit also highlights comments made on Domelights by the site’s founder and administrator, a sergeant in the Philadelphiapolice force who goes by the online handle “McQ.”

    A statement from McQ that Mildenberg described as “racially abusive commentary” reads, “Blacks and other minorities frequently don’t have the resources that white people have. Consequently, blacks may not be able to keep their vehicles inspected, registered, and roadworthy.”

    McQ is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. Asked why McQ bears responsibility for the racist remarks of his site’s anonymous commenters, Mildenberg said it was because “he started it.”

    The person known as McQ did not respond to a request for comment, but posted a message on the site citing the lawsuit. McQ wrote that the suit may cause the Web site to be suspended, but added his statement was not an admission of wrongdoing.

    “I categorically deny any wrongdoing on my part,” the message reads. “I did not make racist posts. I did not maintain the Web site on city time.”

    Ideally, Mildenberg said, his clients would like to see the site shut down. Failing that, they want Philadelphia police officers to be prohibited from posting comments on the site, particularly during working hours.

    The plaintiffs in the class-action suit also are seeking unspecified financial damages available under the Civil Rights Act for Philadelphia’s 2,300 African-American police officers, according to Mildenberg.

    Shelley Smith, Philadelphia’s city solicitor, said. “The lawsuit is about a private Web site. It’s not a police department Web site. It’s not operated or overseen by the police department. The allegations against the city and police department are misplaced.”

    Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

    Wake Up GOP: Sotomayor Is This Generation’s Jackie Robinson

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    Wake Up GOP: Sotomayor Is This Generation’s Jackie Robinson

    New America Media, Commentary, Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, Posted: Jul 15, 2009 Review it on NewsTrust

    soniaSatamayor-225Nine years into the new millennium and conservatives and Republicans — with straight faces – insist that it is they who should define the nation’s racial debate and that it is their views that are fair and objective and part of the U.S. mainstream. Nowhere is this fallacy more evident than in their incomprehensible opposition to Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    In their upside-down world, extreme conservatives, including the entire right-wing talk show universe, have gone from defending racial supremacy (by opposing integration and the precepts of “equality and justice for all”) to appropriating the right to define the very words and terms of this debate. Interestingly, Senate Republicans, who espouse virtually the same views as those of their influential talk show brethren, minus the most incendiary language, have failed to denounce their hate and ultra-nationalist demagoguery.

    For instance, Sen. Jeff Sessions’ questioning of Sotomayor regarding her supposed biases, and the Republican demand that she be neutral, is mind-boggling. Lest we forget (aside from his own documented extreme racial views), it is “objectivity” that permitted the U.S. Supreme Court for nearly 200 years to uphold legal segregation and discrimination. Implicit in their arguments is that the decisions by white male Supreme Court justices have always been fair and infallible, while the continued attempts to right the nation’s wrongs – by activists or judges – constitute bias and even racism.

    In addition to a history refresher course, many of these Republicans and conservatives are in need of an English dictionary. They also need to pay a visit to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website to learn who the racists are and what kinds of supremacist ideologies they espouse and carry out.

    None of those that have denounced Sotomayor as a “racist,” such as Newt Gingrich, are in line to win a Nobel Peace Prize for their work on race relations any time soon. And yet, more incredible is that the mainstream media continually turn to extremist talking heads for their opinions on the topic, virtually granting them an imprimatur of impartiality and fairness.

    The Republican conservative effort to keep Sotomayor off the bench seems like a bizarre murder-suicide plot. Regardless of the obstacles put in her way, she will be the next Supreme Court justice. If there is to be any casualty, it will be the GOP, not she. She is a twice-Senate-confirmed moderate judge with 17 years of judicial experience, not the flaming radical they project her to be. She is boricua or Puerto Rican, part of a demographic (Latino/Latina) that is growing and has the potential to lean either Democratic or Republican.

    What GOP leaders haven’t figured out is that, symbolically, Sotomayor represents this generation’s Jackie Robinson. If they had wanted to broaden their political tent, they could have celebrated her nomination, thereby projecting a welcoming party. Instead, they have questioned her impartiality and more important, her integrity. By opposing her these past two months with inflammatory rhetoric, they have poisoned relations with this expanding demographic group, ironically ensuring that the GOP will be remanded to the status of minority party for at least the next generation.

    GOP leaders have the right to oppose her; the problem is that they have failed to do so respectfully. Many Republicans/conservatives have not simply defamed her, they have also unjustifiably denigrated both the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) – respected civil rights organizations she has been associated with as a professional. In the case of the NCLR, the anti-immigrant ex-Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo has likened it to the KKK. This is beyond intellectually dishonest.

    This attempt by extreme conservatives to redefine the meaning of terms such as “racists” either reveals an Orwellian strategy to upend the meaning of words, or it reveals complete political illiteracy and/or lunacy. The consequence is that the GOP continues to send off the message that it is the party of the past, the party of greed, permanent war, hate, intolerance and racial supremacy. Also, because many conservatives equate ‘illegal alien’ with Mexican (or Latino) and view both as vermin and subhuman, the GOP already has a huge [recruitment] problem among these groups.

    The failure of its leaders to disassociate from those extreme views means that this is the way the GOP will be perceived, long after Sotomayor dons her new Supreme Court robes.

    Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, writes for New America Media, including Arizona Watch. He can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com

    Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

    Starbucks Set to Start Swagger jacking Local Coffee Houses by removing Its Name

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    daveyd-raider2Should we call it good business savvy where one is being smart and competitive or should we call it being deceptive, thievery or outright  ‘swagger jacking’ ? In case you haven’t heard in recent months Starbucks has been closing coffee houses all over the country. In this bad recession many people don’t wanna pay 4 bucks for a cup of coffee with names they can’t pronounce. The other story which Starbucks has not been telling folks is that many places, people hate walking into a store that’s not local. In many communities people have been opting to go to the mom and pop/ indy coffee house where they will allow you do poetry readings, give you free wi-fi and basically be a ‘real’ neighborhood hangout.  Starbucks in spite of its nice ambiance  has become simply too Clear Channelish for people’s tastes and hence folks started to bounce in droves.

    So how has the coffee giant responded? First it closed a bunch of stores and blamed it on the recession. Next they did some market research and are now undergoing a sneaky makeover. They are now experimenting by opening coffee houses without the Starbucks name or their green and white logo. They are trying to blend in and make people think they are some small, quaint, corky indy coffee house owned by local people. In Seattle, Starbucks swagger jacked damn near everything a local coffee house was doing down to the color of paint.  Who is next? Will the Starbucks in the hood sudeenly start sporting a Red, Black and Green flag toss up a couple of Malacolm X or Marcus Garvey photos and make folks think its Black owned? Oh yeah I forgot a whole lot of businesses on 125th street in Harlem do that now..lol, but lemme not digress.  

    Will Starbucks suddenly adapt Southwestern decor and toss a Spanish sign here and there, play some Salsa, ranchero or  tejano tunes  and have up a Mexican, El Savadorian or Puerto Rican flag hanging out front to make us think its  owned by folks in the barrio? Should we be  upset by this? Haven’t we been pushing corporations to be more reflective of the community? If the communities needed are being served should we be celebrating this? Or do we want corporations to identify themselves as corporations?

    Now many corporate folks are paying close attention to this latest ‘stealth marketing move by Starbucks because they know, people aren’t feeling the way corporations are doing things, so these entities are falling back and trying to hit us up by pretending to be something that we aren’t.. is this a good thing?

    Time will tell and so will the people

    Something to Ponder

    Davey D

    Can the next Starbucks makeover result in a corporate coffee shop like this without us knowing?

    Can the next Starbucks makeover result in a corporate coffee shop like this without us knowing?

    Neighbor: Starbucks stole my ambiance

    By SARA KIESLER
    SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM

     

    Linda Derschang, owner of Smith neighborhood pub, walks into a meeting in a Starbucks store undergoing renovation next door to her business on 15th Avenue East in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Derschang, who said she worked hard to distinguish her business with its motif, said she was furious that the Starbucks matched its look to the look of her businesses next door. The exterior of the remodeled Starbucks location is color matched to Smith's and uses reclaimed wood on the exterior, similar to the reclaimed wood Derschang uses in her business.

    Linda Derschang, owner of Smith neighborhood pub, walks into a meeting in a Starbucks store undergoing renovation next door to her business on 15th Avenue East in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Derschang, who said she worked hard to distinguish her business with its motif, said she was furious that the Starbucks matched its look to the look of her businesses next door. The exterior of the remodeled Starbucks location is color matched to Smith's and uses reclaimed wood on the exterior, similar to the reclaimed wood Derschang uses in her business.

    http://www.seattlepi.com/local/408205_starbucks17.html?source=mypi

    If imitation is the kindest form of flattery, the restaurant and bar known as Smith is feeling … well … flat-out worshiped.

    Located next to the Starbucks store that will now be called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Capitol Hill, Smith owner Linda Derschang said Thursday that everything from the paint color to the light fixtures inside the coffee shop have been replicated to match her rustic, mountaineer-like bar.

    “It’s got a lot of salvaged wood, it’s the same paint color inside as Smith and some of the wood framed chalkboards look very, very similar,” she said. “If they had decided to do that look in a different neighborhood or city that would be one thing, but trying to position themselves as an independent coffee house? Where’s the independent spirit in knocking someone off?”

    The remodeled Starbucks store, which will serve beer and wine as well its usual caffeinated fare, is making attempts to reflect its neighborhood location, spokeswoman Anna Kim-Williams said. The 15th Avenue store was expected to close last year but is being remodeled instead.

    “We’re continuing our commitment to delivering specialty coffee excellence while refreshing our store design approach with an amplified focus on local relevance,” Kim-Williams said, citing the earthy store at First Avenue and Pike Street as an earlier example of the guise. “Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community and a deeper connection to our coffee heritage.”

    But Derschang said she wishes Starbucks Corp. had approached her to ask if it was OK that the store is painted almost the same deep woods brown color as hers. All five of her restaurants, bars and coffee shops throughout Seattle have a signature look Derschang designed. Managers at another bar of hers, Odd Fellows Cafe and Bar, said they saw Starbucks designers frequent the store to observe its motif.

    “If Smith was Subway sandwiches would they really try to match the paint color?” she said. “It’s definitely more to their advantage to look like Smith than Smith’s advantage to look like Starbucks.”

    Smith manager Keara Matthiesen said she was asked on Wednesday by representatives of Starbucks Corp. about where the awnings were purchased.

    “I told them I don’t know even though I know very well,” she said. “No more!”

    Smith isn’t the first local store to feel it has been copy-catted by another. Two Tex-Mex restaurants duked it out in November after Pesos Kitchen and Lounge in Queen Anne claimed that Matador in Ballard had replicated its theme in violation of civil laws regulating the use of “identifying marks.”

    After a court battle lasted over a month, Matador agreed to a settlement that included changes to its menu and interior as well as an undisclosed sum of money.

    Derschang and Matthiesen will be meeting with representatives of Starbucks Corp. on Monday, Derschang said. She hopes to give the designers a chance to make changes before even considering a lawsuit, she said.

    Other neighborhood bars and coffee shops aren’t as concerned about the change in their neighbor’s appearance and product.

    “In today’s economy, everybody’s trying to stay afloat,” said Caffe Ladro manager Courtney Howard. “If they’re trying to go back to the neighborhood feel … more power to them.”

    Starbucks is planning to open two more Seattle-area stores without the Starbucks name.

    Analyst Patricia Edwards said the move to invoke more of a coffee house aura is a return to the roots of artsy, local shops that “(CEO) Howard (Schultz) has always been so enamored with.”

    If it brings more traffic in during the afternoon and evening hours, she said that is reason to applaud the stock price slumping company.

    Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

    Q-Tip Set to Pen a Book About Industry Rule 4080

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    Q-Tip is ready to expound upon his rhyme 4080 the record business is shady

    Q-Tip is ready to expound upon his rhyme 4080 the record business is shady

    Former Tribe Called Quest front man Q-Tip has teamed with Ballantine Books to publish Industry Rules which will contain the rapper’s thoughts on the entertainment business, fashion, love and morality.

    The book’s concept will expand upon a classic Q-Tip line on A Tribe Called Quest’s classic song “Check the Rhime,” in which he states: “Industry rule #4080/Record company people are shady.”

     The 4080 line became popular in Hip-Hop circles and was even the name of a popular rap magazine in the 1990’s.

    “It was important to me to write a book because on the whole, I feel we could all be more literate, and as an artist, I’m always looking for ways to do something cool, different, and both light and introspective at the same time,” Q-Tip said in a statement. “With so many influences, like Duke Ellington’s writing, or the music played by radio DJs in the 70’s, or just what you see hanging out on Linden Blvd., there’s a lot to say, and I look forward to reaching a bunch of colorful dudes and gals with the project.”

     In addition to the aforementioned subjects, Q-Tip will also reveal never-before-told stories about his personal and professional experiences during his 20-year-recording career.

     Industry Rules will be released in conjunction with A Tribe Called Quest’s 20th anniversary of their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990).

     Q-Tip is also planning to drop his unreleased album Kamaal the Abstract on Battery Records.

    written by By Roman Wolfe

    source: http://www.allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2009/07/16/21807250.aspx

    Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

    Did President Obama Come too hard with his ‘No Excuses’ Speech to the NAACP?

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    People are buzzing about President Obama’s speech to the NAACP the other night. It’s getting a lot of praise for being energetic. It received a rousing standing ovation.  Many are saying he spoke sobering words that really needed to be heard during these hardtimes. He called for personal responsibility. he encouraged parents to step it up and be more involved.

    He basically let us know that times are changing, the world is more competitive and quite frankly with him being in the White House a whole lot of non-Black folks aren’t trying to hear any excuses as to why we aren’t making it.

    He pointed out that there are lots of opportunities for people to take advantage to move forward and its sad that so many are not.

    Minista Paul Scott feels that President Obama glosses over important issues about race and racism

    Minista Paul Scott feels that President Obama glosses over important issues about race and racism

    On the other hand there are those like Truth Minista Paul Scott who emphatically feel that a good speech and false perceptions held by others do not erase systemic conditions. Police brutality, poverty and institutional racism have not disappeared with the election of President Obama. In fact they may have gotten worse as there seems to be a backlash to America electing its first Black president.

    Paul brings to the forefront some other interesting facets to consider including Obama’s tendency to downplay white supremacy when he talks about race. He feels that when Obama speaks to Black people he’s doing so to appease whites hence he adapts a harsh ‘personal responsibility’ tone. Paul points out personal responsibility is a good thing, but it suggests that many of the barriers in front of us are there because we aren’t trying hard enough. Racism is there because we have not educated ourselves enough. 

    Paul suggest that Preisent Obama take a look at Carter G Woodson’s book ‘The Miseducation of the Negro”.

    Anyway take a listen to the two speeches and let us know what u think. Was Obama on point with his make no excuses speech or is Minista Paul Scott correct in pointing out that some excuses are just too damn big to ignore.

    Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

    Radio’s Stupid Consolidation Tricks

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    Radio’s Stupid Consolidation Tricks
    By Jerry Del Colliano

    Jerry_Colliano-225What do you get when you fire most of your local employees, revert to using voice tracking or cheap outside programming, manage from corporate headquarters, spy on stations and treat engineers like they are not necessary?

    No local radio — or as I like to call it — Nocal radio.

    You could call it Knuckleradio because you’d have to be a knucklehead to do what radio CEOs are doing in the name of economies of scale.

    Or Lowcal Radio — because the costs for running consolidated stations are increasingly low.

    Whatever you decide to call it, consolidators are busy at work carrying out their plans to reduce expenses even if it hurts their product and industry.

    The three largest groups — Clear Channel, Cumulus and Citadel — are leading the way (if you could actually use the term “leading” to describe this self-immolation). Believe me, the other small groups are falling all over themselves to adopt the same destructive and shortsighted policies as you will see.

    Here are a few self-destructive examples:

    1. Playing offensive videos at “sales meetings”.
    Turns out one of my Repeater Reporters got wind of an Atlanta GM’s attempt at motivating his sales department. The GM reportedly played Alec Baldwin’s rant from Glengarry Glen Ross, the 1992 movie about the behind the scenes operation of a real estate office. The clip, as submitted by my reader, is full of insults and obscene language — some directed at the alternative life style of other employees with children. Give a listen, but you’ve been warned. Some motivation, eh?

    2. Raising ad rates by 20% to cover losses.
    Recession? What recession? One consolidator ordered a 20% rate increase effective immediately ostensibly to cover his company’s losses. Salespeople on the street are cringing as their prospects are hurting so much many are already skipping radio advertising at existing rates. Talk about being disconnected from your advertisers. Now is the time to cut rates — not during economic booms. Radio, which had decades to raise its rates, stuck to low ball pricing and now you dance with the one that brought you (low ad rates) — to quote Shania Twain.

    3. Clear Channel’s goal: no one in the building on weekends.
    I know what you’re going to say, there’s already no one in their buildings during the week. One CC reader tells me this has been the company’s apparent goal for years now and he can prove it. This Repeater Reporter attended a Prophet System training session in Denver a few years back. Here’s how he quoted the trainer: “…yes, that’s our goal; no one in the building on the weekends.” When this concerned radio exec asked what would happen if the station went off the air, he recalls the trainer as saying, “He replied that Prophet had the capability to page the engineer or PD in that situation. He also said that hopefully station personnel would monitor local newscasts for news events that took place and send someone in if any unforeseen events occurred”. There’s more listeners, TSL and audience interaction on the weekends — guess Clear Channel doesn’t want it.

    4. Father’s Day Weather — one day late.
    Another disgusted radio exec says that on Father’s Day — well, let’s let him tell it, “Clear Channel’s high-rated WSRZ-FM, Sarasota, FL, 60s-70s hits, was plugging along, no back announcing, no local content, totally on automatic, when every hour, the recorded weather talked about the expected high tomorrow- FATHER’S DAY !! Seems someone forgot to update the weather. Another fine example of serving the community’s needs”. No harm done. No one got killed by a tornado this time — just voice tracking egg on your face.

    5. Michael Jackson coverage — with no overtime.
    This has probably happened at a lot of stations in the aftermath of the death of Michael Jackson. As one radio exec put it, “No one else was in the building when the MJ story broke. I put it on all stations (in the cluster) and then pieced together some tribute sets. Got a call reminding me…”No Overtime.” (Did get a thanks from the PD who was on the way to the station.). This is not the way to do it.

    6. Some Mom and Pop stations want to be Cumulus.
    Another eyewitness account from a longtime radio vet who was fired from his consolidated radio job and wound up at a mom and pop operation. His comments remind us why once the genie is out of the bottle, you can’t stuff it back in again: “…your article on tracking hit home…even with this local owner…we have a bare bones staff, everything is voicetrax even the morning shows!!…I took (a few) days off last week and had to track my shows while was gone… plus I put in all spots, write, produce etc”.

    7. “We’re live today and you’re lucky” on-air attitude.
    One veteran broadcaster said, “I heard a personality on the air at a Radio One station on Friday last week who is usually voice tracked. She was on the air playing Michael Jackson songs back-to-back, and said during one of her breaks, ‘Call me in the studio today, I’m actually here taking your phone calls and playing DJ today!’ Nice sentiment, but she said it as though it was supposed to be a bonus for the audience… Almost as if to say, ‘Don’t call me any other day, because I have much more important things to do’.”

    8. Less station identification even in non-PPM markets.
    An insider from Vegas said, “…in recent weeks, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. The voice-tracks are totally generic. There’s no mention of the station by the announcers, just a lot of ‘that was… this is ‘ and ‘hey, did you know Lonestar was coming out with a new CD?’ One can only assume that they’re now having jocks do generic voice-tracks that run on multiple stations, eliminating the need to cut custom tracks for each station. Other than the occasional imaging stuff, the station itself is never mentioned. Plus, there’s no weather, no local happenings, no local comments about artists appearing locally… nothing. That’s you’re new local radio for you.

    Seth Godin, the marketing guru, recently did a blog post on the demise of the sewing machine business and the once mighty Singer Corporation.

    I got the feeling Godin was also talking about the radio industry in a way.

    But I was convinced he was when he added, “The best marketing strategy is to destroy your industry before your competition does”.

    I guess radio CEOs are taking him literally.

    For those of you who would prefer to get Jerry’s daily posts by email for free, please click here. IMPORTANT: Service cannot start until you verify an email from “Feedburner” immediately after you sign up (may have to check your filtered mail).
    Thanks for forwarding my pieces to your friends and linking to your websites and boards.

    Here’s link to original article: http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2009/07/radios-stupid-consolidation-tricks.html

     

    BRAINSTORM WITH JERRY. One or two-day “Solutions Labs” to solve problems and to discover new opportunities based on Jerry’s work as a professor at the University of Southern California where he helped radio companies, music industry businesses and new media ventures develop creative, revenue-producing ideas. You supply the “goals”. Choose the participants in a private setting. Leave with an easy-to-implement “action plan”.

    Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

    First Wise Intelligent, Now Hip Hop pioneer Paradise of X-Clan get arrested on trumped up charges

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    Hip Hop pioneer Paradise Gray is the latest in a string of journalis/ community activist to be arrested on trumped up charges by police from coast to coast

    Hip Hop pioneer Paradise Gray is the latest in a string of journalis/ community activist to be arrested on trumped up charges by police from coast to coast

    Yesterday I received several disturbing phone calls from the city of Pittsburgh informing me that Hip Hop pioneer and X-Clan member Paradise Gray the Architect was falsely arrested by a police department that seemed bent on targeting him. The details are still coming in but from what was conveyed, ‘Dice’ was at a demonstration filming the procedings so he could write and report back the story. For those who don’t know, Dice is also a long time seasoned journalist and documentarian.  During the demonstration a doorway was blocked resulting in a bottleneck which spawned the anger of a number of people who rushed the door, pushing people and creating a situation where a couple of women would be crushed and stampeded if action was taken.  Dice went to the door to assist by creating a path so people could move through the door when he was tackled by police. He was accused of blocking the doorway and preventing people from leaving and later for resisting arrest

    According to witnesses, there were several demonstrators on hand, all of the white who were there at the doorway to commit acts of civil disobedience. They were clearly present blocking the door, yet police ran right past them to attack Paradise who got tagged with the resisting arrest charge when he put his hands in the air to let the police know he was a working journalist and not part of the demonstration. It didn’t matter to the police Dice was hauled off. Later on police arrested the actual demonstrators who were all cited and immediately let go.  Paradise who spent much of the day in jail was later quoted as saying. ” (I was not one of the people who was trying to be arrested. I was rushed by the Police after trying to free a young lady from being crushed by the revolving door that was being pushed hard by a man trying to exit the building) – Paradise

    This incident had a chilling effect on several levels. First Paradise is known for his peace making activities by the police. He’s met with them on anumber of occassions and has long advocated that the community spark dialogue instead of confrontation.  They knew that Dice is a journalist covering the story. Second point was that several people who started the bottlneck and disruption by blocking the door were arrested and let go.  Third this pattern of false arrest and trumped up charges has happened to several other well known people who  are part of the Hip Hop community and do journalism. I hardly think this is coincidence.

     The first is Minister of Information JR out of Oakland, California. During the demonstrations for police killing of Oscar Grant, JR was doing what he’s done for years, covering the story and taking pictures so he can later report back to the community through the SF Bayview newspaper and on his widely heard Block Report Radio show and podcast. He was tackled by 4 officers  and charged with arson. It did not matter that he was standing next to a number of  other people including a couple of lawyers who were also observing the demonstrations.  His outspoken, bold activism made him a target. He is currently fighting the trumped up charges. http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/oakland-pd-brutally-arrests-minister-of-information-jr-at-oscar-grant-protest/

    Last week we ran the story of Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers being falsely arrested by Trenton, New Jersey police. His account of the incident is quite chilling. Wise does a weekly radio show where he brings to light community issues. http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/wise-intelligent-of-poor-righteous-teachers-falsely-arrested/

    If you add to the mix the arrest/kdnapping of former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney by the Israeli government and the outlandish arrest of former gang member turned peacemaker Alex Sanchez  in Los Angeles, you can see just how insidious and this pattern really is. We will keep you posted on the situation involving Paradise Gray. In the meantime check out his website Http://www.1hood.org

    written by Davey D

    Community Benefits Protesters Arrested On North Shore
    Demonstration Held Outside Del Monte Building

    http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20075464/detail.html

    PITTSBURGH — At least four members of a community group were arrested during a protest on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, where they were calling on local corporations to offer more community benefits.The demonstration was staged outside the Del Monte Building on North Shore Drive on Thursday morning. Some protesters held a sign that said “Millionaires Get Our $ While Our Kids Die.”City police made arrests when members of Northside United began blocking the building’s main entrance.Meanwhile, the group chanted, “It’s the North Side, not the North Shore, this land is our land, it’s not yours.”

    Land around Heinz Field on the North Shore will be built up by developers.

    “We keep giving things to millionaires who don’t even live in the state of Pennsylvania, and the residents of the city of Pittsburgh get nothing in return,” said Michael Glass, co-chair of Northside United. “Those of us who live on the North Side are being most impacted by the developers. Our homes are falling down. There’s a high rate of unemployment, a high rate of violence. We have people who work in these buildings making $8 an hour getting no benefits for their families. Develpoment should support the community.”Northside United consists of neighbors, churches, social service agencies and labor unions. The group has been asking for a community benefits agreement with developers who are planning to build up the land near the sports stadiums on the North Shore.”This community was a thriving community years ago. I lived here. You can’t even find the street where I lived. It’s all asphalt now. It’s not reponsible development,” Glass said.Glass acknowledged that the group was trying to publicize its agenda with civil disobedience, and he said the police officers responded appropriately.He wants Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to “force developers to sit down and have a real conversation with people in the community, so their needs can be heard and understood. That’s all we’re asking.”

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