In case anyone missed this, it’s a must read from Jim Romenesko’s blog. A little inside info from a former Fox News editor:
From MATT GROSS, assistant editor, New York magazine:
As a former editor at Foxnews.com — and therefore clearly a disgruntled ex-employee — let me just say that the right-wing bias was there in the newsroom, up-front and obvious, from the day a certain executive editor was sent down from the channel to bring us in line with their coverage. His first directive to us: Seek out stories that cater to angry, middle-aged white men who listen to talk radio and yell at their televisions. (Oh, how I’d love to stick quotation marks around what is nearly a direct quote.)
What followed was a dumbing-down of what had been an ambitious and talented news operation. Stories could be no more than 1,000 words, then 800 (I heard it was reduced further after I left, in March 2001). More and more effort was devoted to adapting FNC “scripts” into Web stories, which meant we were essentially correcting the errors of FNC “reporters” who couldn’t be bothered to get the facts.
To me, FNC reporters’ laziness was the worst part of the bias. It wasn’t that they were toeing some political line (though of course they were; see the embarrassing series on property rights from 2000), it was that the facts of a story just didn’t matter at all. The idea was to get those viewers out of their seats, screaming at the TV, the politicians, the liberals — whoever — simply by running a provocative story.
The bizarre and sad part of this was that, at the Website, most of the reporters, editors, and producers were liberals — and not only liberals but young, energetic, ambitious, talented journalists. Some of my friends still work there, and some of them no doubt wish they could leave for a better job elsewhere. Why don’t they (and why didn’t Charles Reina)? Well, despite the Bush administration’s clear success in revitalizing the U.S. economy, the job market for journos is still pretty poor, especially if your portfolio is full of badly reported 600-word clunkers. (Sorry, guys.)
But what do I know? I haven’t worked there in two and a half years — I haven’t voluntarily watched FNC since then — so maybe things have changed. But from what Reina wrote, and what I experienced, it doesn’t sound like it.
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(note: “dark clouds” is a reference to this earlier post)
More from Atrios
Hajji
Yay! Yet another cute nickname!
BAGHDAD, Iraq — World War II had its “krauts,” Vietnam had its “gooks,” and now, the war on terrorism has its own dehumanizing name: “hajji.”
That’s what many U.S. troops across Iraq and in coalition bases in Kuwait now call anyone from the Middle East or South Asia. Soldiers who served in Afghanistan say it also is used there.
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Among Muslims, the word is used mainly as a title of respect. It means “one who has made the hajj,” the pilgrimage to Mecca.
But that’s not how soldiers use it.
Some talk about “killing some hajjis” or “mowing down some hajjis.” One soldier in Iraq inked “Hodgie Killer” onto his footlocker.
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To me, this was not a surprise, as I’ve traveled through this general area of Florida on a few occasions and have always experienced a sense of being unwelcome. Strict blue laws and a general sense of intolerance are the things I remember most about those trips. On one occasion, some rednecks in a Ford passed slowly by me as I walked toward a local WalMart (the only choice: the giant blood-sucking retailer had already run all the local businesses into the ground) from my hotel.
They must have decided that my long hair indicated a tendency toward homosexuality, because they turned around, swerved toward me, and pelted me with empty beer cans while screaming “FAGGOT” at the top of their lungs. (Or maybe this was just part of a bizarre mating ritual?)
Now, perhaps this incident colored my perception, but when I reached the WalMart and went inside, not a single store employee so much as smiled at me. I got the distinct impression that while they were grudgingly willing to take my tainted money, they were absolutely not going to make me feel welcome.
Similar incidents dogged me for the rest of my stay in this part of Florida: rude waitresses, SLOW service, to the point of being almost no service at all, and lots of sideways glances. Maybe it was just what I ordered, but plenty of people who came in well after I did were served well before I got my simple sandwich and chips.
Now, I’m a white male. Granted, I have rather long locks, and I sometimes dress a little funny, but for the most part, I resemble the people who were fucking with me. I coulda stuck my hair up into a John Dear gimme cap and fit right in. But they still fucked with me. ‘Cause I looked and acted a little different. A large portion of the population in theses parts of Florida are this backward and closed-minded. Believe it.
SPTimes:
At the crossroads of three major highways, this small North Florida town has spent two weary years erasing the stain left by allegations of racism.
It’s not done yet.
A South Florida man has complained to Attorney General Charlie Crist that he was kicked out of a motel swimming pool in July because “coloreds are not allowed in the pool.” Crist has begun an investigation, he announced Thursday.
The owner of the Southern Inn said he merely told Dwayne Parker the pool was reserved for registered guests. He said he is shocked by the allegation.
“I don’t discriminate against anyone,” said Raj Patel, who immigrated to the United States from his native India in 1989 and displays four American flags in his lobby.
Patel’s words echo those of the former owner of the Perry Package store, who lost his liquor license after a black man, who happened to be a Maryland lawmaker, complained he was denied service in 2001.
Although Parker was a registered guest, the children swimming with him and their parents were not, Patel said. With no lifeguard on duty, Patel said, he can’t risk letting local kids swim in the pool. “I told them nicely and they left the pool,” Patel said.
Crist isn’t so sure. “I decided it was time to issue the subpoena and find out what was going on,” he said.
The attorney general is using a new civil rights law he sought and lawmakers passed this year. Several witnesses say they heard the racial slur, according to subpoenas issued in the case.
Reached at his home in West Palm Beach, Parker declined comment.
Perry (pop. 6,847) is 55 percent white, 41 percent black. Home to the Buckeye Cellulose mill and the polluted Fenholloway River, the town is still dealing with the aftershocks of the 2001 incident involving Maryland lawmaker Talmadge Branch.
Branch stopped for a drink at the Perry Package Store on his way to a political meeting in Tallahassee and said he was told he could not sit at the bar. The bartender told him to take his drink to a back room, Branch said.
“It’s one thing to read about it happening in the ’60s or the ’50s, and it’s another to actually live it,” Branch said at the time.
That case sparked civil and criminal investigations, as well as intense interest by the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which set up shop in Perry and used the $15,000 fine the state charged the bar to set up race education workshops that lasted almost two years.
……
Greg Parker, a lawyer who served on the Perry race relations committee and represented the owner of the Perry Package, said things have improved.
……
The negative attention the town received in 2001 made it “an easy whipping post” for future complaints, Greg Parker said. Just because an allegation is made in Perry doesn’t make it true, he added.
Wayne Dunwoody, president of the Taylor County NAACP, disagrees with that assessment.
Things in Perry have soured since 2001, he said.
“People want to make it look like things are getting better,” Dunwoody said. “I think things have gotten worse.”
Black students are punished more severely than white students for the same infraction, Dunwoody said, causing tension in local schools. And although some businesses, such as Buckeye, made a real effort after the Perry Package incident to hire blacks, many others continued to hire only whites, he said.
“More-qualified blacks are not getting jobs that are being given to less-qualified whites,” Dunwoody said. And the race relations committee wasn’t aggressive enough, he said.
……
“I don’t have any idea why they are accusing me,” said Patel.
Patel’s two-story, orange-brick Southern Inn with its sky blue doors sits on U.S. 19 in Perry. In the lobby, a large American flag hangs in the window where drivers can’t miss it. Two plastic flags are stuck on the front door and a large picture of a flag and an eagle hang over the front desk with the words God Bless America. Formerly the Villager Lodge, the motel was renamed the Southern Inn two years ago by Patel.
The St. Petersburg Times reported two years ago that a black guest of the Villager Lodge complained of poor treatment at the motel’s pool in 1999.
Jeanette Flowers was enjoying the pool with family members when she said “the owner came out and started pouring bleach in the pool.” She filed complaints with state regulators, but nothing could be proven and Patel was cleared of wrongdoing.
Now, the Tribune’s headline reads ”Cloud Back Over” Perry, which is kinda like saying “Nigger back over Perry,” as I’ve heard the term “dark cloud” used as a subtle derogatory description ever since I’ve lived in Tampa.
……
But that same motel stands accused of perpetuating a darker side of small-town Southern life.
On Thursday, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist issued a subpoena to the Southern Inn as part of an investigation into allegations that the owner told black guests that “coloreds'’ were not allowed in the swimming pool.
The case has again put the national spotlight on Perry’s racial divide, which was exposed two years ago when a Maryland legislator who stopped for a beer at a tavern was told that he would have to drink it in a back room reserved for black patrons.
……
Crist’s subpoena seeks records on rates charged to motel guests, length of stays and other information. It could lead to the first official complaint filed under Florida’s revamped civil rights laws.
……
The attorney general said his investigators have interviewed “five or six'’ witnesses who have corroborated Parker’s version of events.
“Based on that, we felt it was appropriate to issue the subpoena to further establish what the facts are and what was happening at the Southern Inn,'’ Crist said.
Crist said the fact that Thursday’s subpoena was served in the same small city as the 2001 incident was irrelevant.
……
But to Perry residents and others, it instantly brought to mind the incident at Perry Package Store & Lounge.
On Feb. 3, 2001, Talmadge Branch, a Maryland legislator, asked for a beer at the bar on U.S. 19. He was told that he would be served in a back room.
Branch filed a complaint, and everyone from Florida lawmakers to Gov. Jeb Bush to the Rev. Al Sharpton entered the fray.
……
“It aggravates me to think that a misconception would bring this cloud back over Taylor County,'’ said Sonny Buckhalter, owner of Buck’s Perry Package & Lounge. “We don’t need this label. That’s not the way we are. Not just me - the city.'’
But a group of black men gathered at the 98 Bar disagreed.
They told stories of discrimination on the job, of “black bars'’ and “white bars'’ and of harassment by police.
“Ever since I’ve been here, it’s been like that,'’ said Jonathan Sellers, a truck driver who has lived in Perry for 15 years. “Ain’t nothing changed.'’
Shirley G. Scott’s position is somewhere between the Perry Package owner and the 98 Bar patrons. “We have made progress since the last incident,'’ said the three-term Perry City Councilwoman. “And evidently there is still progress to be made.'’
(emphasis mine)
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UPDATE 12/31/2003
Who’s playing? Here’s a list of the 7 bands who have been invited to perform at the Tampa Music Showcase in Austin this March:
Here are the 7 bands with 2 alternates:
Shotgun Wedding (private chinaski)
Rebekah Pulley
Crippled Masters
Anna O
Red Tide
Auditorium
Willie Lomax Blues Revue
John McNicholas
Four Star Riot
On Saturday, February 7, we will be hosting a fundraiser at Skipper’s Smokehouse: Cash for Ca$h… Johnny Cash covers and original songs inspired by JC.
Thanks to all the bands who applied through BlogWood and elsewhere. See you at Skipper’s!
(end of update)
Here’s a press release from a group I am heavily involved in. Feel free to email me with offers of support . Bands should email bands@blogwood.com to let us know that they are interested.
Know a band that deserves to go? Let the band know, and posat something in the comments section at the end of this post too!
SXSW Band Roundup
2nd Annual Tampa Bay band showcase in Austin seeks applicants.
The SXSW music lovers group (SMLG) is once again going to put on a showcase of bands/solo musicians on the opening day of the SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas. Last year a group of regular SXSW attendees, SMLG, raised money and helped send 6 Tampa Bay area bands to Austin to perform for conference attendees, music media and music fans. This year the group is looking for bands to perform on the opening day of the 2004 SXSW Music Conference. All interested bands should email the SMLG at bands@blogwood.com with a letter of interest stating their interest in being considered for the showcase on March 17th 2004 in Austin. All types of music are welcome. Bands can go to blogwood.com for more information.
All letters of interest must be received by November 30th.
The group is looking for bands that are already considering going to SXSW. Last year the group was able to raise money to fund the showcase and contribute a small amount to help fund the band’s expenses. Participating bands will be required to perform at 1-3 fund raising shows and supply their own back line. The group will select 5 bands from all submissions.
Preference will be given in order to the following:
Performers that have been selected by the SXSW Music Conference to perform
Performers that have applied to the SXSW Music Conference. (Deadline is November 7th. See sxsw.com for details) SMLG is NOT affiliated with SXSW.
Performers that have not already performed at the showcase
Performers with a retail quality CD
Performers with a track record of Tampa Bay area performances
All money raised after the showcase expenses will be split among the participating bands. SMLG does not guarantee any amount of support other than the showcase. Bands will be responsible for their own travel and accommodations and probably have to supply the back line and may have to supply sound.
Due to the expected volume of emails, SMLG will only be able to answer the emails of the bands they are considering. Hey we all have full time day jobs.
SMLG is a group of folks who LOVE music, goes to SXSW every year, and want to introduce Tampa Bay musicians to other like-minded people.
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TT:
Contamination of city land that once housed a chemical company threatens groundwater supplies in a Tampa neighborhood, officials said Wednesday.
High levels of petroleum, heavy metals and dry-cleaning solvents have been detected at 1529 W. La Salle St., former site of the defunct Tarpon Chemical and Supply Co. east of Rome Avenue and south of Interstate 275.
……
The city acquired the property along with hundreds of others after affordable housing efforts collapsed in the wake of the scandal surrounding former city housing chief Steve LaBrake.
A house moved from a south Tampa lot to make room for a home LaBrake had built was relocated to the contaminated property. The unoccupied house sits near a concrete foundation and two pipes that are the remains of the chemical company, which vacated the land in the 1980s.
……
Contaminants that exceeded state standards in soil tests included chromium (62 milligrams per kilogram), ethylbenzene (1.6 mg per kg), tetrachloroethene (1.1) and vinyl chloride (.0089). Contaminants that exceeded state standards in groundwater samples included chromium (0.6 mg per liter) and lead (.056).
……
The city normally checks for contamination before acquiring property.
But it didn’t know about the La Salle pollution when it took control of the land in June 2002 from Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan, the nonprofit agency that had been involved in the city’s housing loan program.
THAP had acquired the La Salle site and others with federal help. But the city cut ties with THAP after the agency was accused of doing favors for LaBrake and Lynne McCarter, who was his girlfriend and a subordinate employee.
City officials have said improper use of federal grants in a low-cost housing program run by LaBrake and involving THAP might force the city to repay $4 million.
……
Moving the house to the La Salle property in 1998 to make room for LaBrake’s south Tampa home didn’t cause the contamination, Salmon said.
No, the house did not cause the contamination of this lot, but it may complicate the cleanup, and it’s illustrative of how the city conducted business under LaBrake’s slimy tutelage. The house was moved to the lot in 1998 to make room for a house LaBrake was having built for himself in a much more expensive neighborhood in South Tampa. LaBrake acquired the South Tampa property and then had his construction buddies (to whom he gave tons of city work) build him an expensive house and charge him much less than market value. At the very least, he used his position of public trust to profit financially. A grand jury is meeting to determine if any other malfeasance was involved.
It cost $24,000 to move this house to a contaminated lot where it sat for 4 years before anyone knew that the lot was polluted. Obviously, there were never any plans to rehab and sell this house - it was simply parked on this lot to make room for LaBrake’s new mansion.
And, you know, it’s just possible that Steve LaBrake might have known something was wrong with this property, since a chemical factory once occupied the site and all the neighbors seem to have had their own suspicions:( continued from today’s TT article)
Tarpon Chemical and Supply, incorporated in 1962, operated a storage and retail facility on the property. Records show the company was dissolved in 1986, and former President Fred Schlichte died in 1992.
“If there are any vestiges of the company, our attorneys would like to talk to them,'’ Salmon said.
Debbie Tramel, who lives in a nearby apartment complex with her two children, said a man who used to live on the property told residents that chemicals were buried near his house.
“Everyone knew something was there,'’ she said, “but we still don’t know what.'’
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TT:
An 18-year-old student has sued a Christian school, alleging he was expelled three days after he told a teacher he was gay.
Jeffrey Woodard said a teacher pulled him out of Bible class at Jupiter Christian School in August and asked him in confidence whether he is gay.
When Woodard answered “yes,'’ a school official called his mother, Carol Gload, and told her Woodard could not attend an upcoming school retreat unless he and Gload met with the school to talk about Woodard’s sexual orientation, according to the lawsuit.
Gload said the school told them Woodard could get counseling for his “problem,'’ voluntarily withdraw or be expelled.
……
Karen Doering, an attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights in Tampa, said the school broke no law.
“Unfortunately, in the state of Florida, discrimination based on sexual orientation is not specifically prohibited by any law,'’ Doering said. “When it comes to public schools, it is clear the Constitution protects youth based on sexual orientation; however, that does not apply to private schools.'’
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Jeb and the sugar industry managed to get the long-serving judge who was overseeing the court ordered Everglades cleanup fired, figuring that they’d do better with someone less familiar with the case. Oops…
A federal judge agreed with environmental groups and an Indian tribe Wednesday to appoint an expert to monitor Everglades pollution cleanup, in a defeat for the Bush administrations in Washington and Tallahassee.
Government agencies and politically powerful sugar growers vigorously objected to the appointment of a special master to consider whether an 11-year-old Everglades restoration pact is being violated or will be soon.
“To delay action would be irresponsible,” U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno said in an order issued after business hours. The special master “will offer additional assurance that the Everglades cleanup will proceed in a timely and efficient fashion.”
An environmental lawyer will be named in two weeks to supervise all sides, examine the science, monitor cleanup construction projects and report to the court.
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SP Times
The Port of Miami refused to allow a Greenpeace ship to dock Monday, saying it poses security problems.
Greenpeace, an environmental activist group, requested a one-week berth for the 237-foot Esperanza, a retrofitted Soviet navy icebreaker used to highlight its campaigns. It wanted to resupply the ship, change its crew and conduct onboard tours.
……
The request to dock originally was denied in early October. Juan Kuryla, an assistant port director, said port officials decided the ship poses “undue security concerns.”
In an Oct. 14 letter to Greenpeace, port director Charles A. Towsley cited the ship’s intention to hold tours in a restricted area of the port and “an apparent inability, or unwillingness, to abide by applicable laws and security regulations” to explain the denial.
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Live? on community radio: WMNF 88.5FM in Tampa, and streaming at wmnf.org. 4-6 am.
The MourningWood Halloween Special, featuring DJ DeadWood!
MP3 List hour 1
MP3 List hour 2
Live playlist
The Gashlycrumb Tinies - by Edward Gorey, to be read between 4 and 5am.
Tractatus Ridiculous, by Adam Engel, to be read between 5 and 6am:
Pipe Dream
1.0 Suppose — it’s difficult — but suppose we were to become men and women rather than the little boys and girls the plutocratic pedophilic Pharaohs have been shtupping from Day One. What would life be like? Would we still worry more about cholesterol and tooth decay than global warming? Would Real Men still wear ties and dread the possibility of gay genes swishing furtively throughout their DNA? Would women still be too fat or too thin or too something (hairy, maybe?) to be forty without surgery or Photoshop?
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