All of "our" radio stations were down at the "other" end of the dial...
We were surprised when a TV commercial came on and there was a person who looked like us.........
When we all thought it was a big deal cause "Julia" was on.......
There were almost no Black newscasters or sportscasters...
All of "our" radio stations wentnt off the air at sunset...
Tarzan was the most "visible" resident of Africa...
....Today things are very different ....aren't they ???
Read on to see the viewpoints of others that we hang out with online
Subject: BLACK MEDIA
Here is something I've been wanting to talk about.Let me know how you feel about it.
THE RESPONSIBLE BLACK MEDIA
You know for a long time I have heard a lot of folks say that Black broadcasters and journalists have not been responsive to the African-American community. People point their fingers at established newspapers, magazines, in addition to radio and television stations. What folks don't acknowledge however, is the fact that they do have alternative media sources to depend on. I personally have been a broadcaster for the past 20-plus years, and the majority of my work has been on non-commercial radio. You know.... that's the stations on the lower end of the FM
band. Some are run by colleges and universities, and there is a small percentage that are independent.
Stations around the country such as WBAI, WYEP, WMNF,WRFG, KPFT,KPFA, KBOO, WPFW have had very responsible staff such as myself, Ricky Vincent, Malika Lee Whitney, Amir Rashied, Wrett Weatherspoon, and numerous others keeping the information flowing and keeping us in touch with our culture, past and present. There is also the example of my man Dwayne Redus in Springfield,Ill. at Zoom Black Magic who has not given up the fight. From my last contact with him, about six months ago, their pirate station is still on the air. What I'm getting at is this. While at lot of people are pointing fingers and saying the information is not getting out, all you really have to do is search a little.
A lot of the time our efforts in the trenches go entirely unnoticed, and we are put in the category with those Black broadcasters and journalists who have "made it". Have we really made it ? Look at the amount of radio and television stations that are actually owed by African-Americans. How strong are their signals ? How many Black owned radio stations broadcast at 50,000 watts or better ? Who actually buys advertising on the commercial stations ? Are they Black businesses ? Do we as listeners support non-commercial and commercial stations that cater to our needs by sending in donations or advertising on the stations ? Do we protest the stations that don't have enough of us on the air or those that don't have Black anchorpersons ? Do we have control of our music ?
Who makes the formats like "Smooth Jazz" ? How come stations only limit our music to weekends ? (ie.Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Reggae,African) You see, the responsibility for all of this is not just in the hands of the broadcasters or journalists, but it is in your hands also. You actually own the airwaves and you purchase the newspapers and magazines, therefore you can control the results.....the responsibility is yours. The psychological response is for us to feel powerless..... but I'm not going for it !! Question the so-called authority and fight those who oppress the weak. Just a few thoughts, words from a "TRUE SOUL REBEL" .
Yes........a "soul rebel" for sure !!! He always has been........and always will be !!! Most people don't want to take the time to find an alternative news source. You know how it is in the Black
community, we tend to believe what the main stream media report because they are white and we all know that "white folks" don't lie. It's a vestige from slavery. We will always buy our sugar from the white man because his is sweeter. I support NPR--although it has a liberal bias to
it--because they offer views from various segments of our society. In the past we supported Black media because that's all we had. Once intergration came we figured white was better and left our newspapers to languish. We allow White america to absorb our culture and then resell it to us.
So, how long must we we allow this to happen? What would be your solution? Must we continue to accept the status quo?
We have to start at a local level--introduce kids to black culture in their communities and then branch out from there. As Rev Abernathy said, "We have to stop laughing when nothing's funny and stop scratching when we don't itch". Perhaps volunteering in local schools to teach kids about African-American contributions to the world is a good way to start. I have no idea as to how to stop the media onslaught against Black america. Maybe Farrakhan and Chavis will hold
a summit!! Well not Farrakhan since he called Black journalists slaves. He needs to slide back into the fringe subculture from which he rose.
You have pointed out several potential solutions...
1. I agree with you about "Brother Louie".
2. Maybe Black could start by doing two things at once:
- Begin boycotting iresponsible media outlets such as BET.
- Starting their own independent companies.
just a thought...
I certainly hope everyone doesn't let this subject "rest". The responses from two of our members are fine, but I'm quite sure many of you have something to say about this also. Let's see how many folks have been holding back and really tell me how you feel.
I think keeping the people informed is really a thing of the past. I noticed the way the Media is handling the "CIA drugs for Guns",you never hear much about this terrible miscarriage of justice.
To me the news I hear nowadays reminds me of a File Cabinet I file away certain things with facts and trash the rest.
I tend to disagree with you. The general public really does want to be kept abreast of everything. The main frustration is the nature of the stories. Most news stories in the mainstream media tend to reflect on the negative, rather than the positive. Most folks are really frustrated with the government, and are tired of the politicians who are not looinking out for their constituants
I have waited to respond to this subject because it bring forth many thoughts to mind. We can always brainstorm and come up with good ideas and thoughts. Implementation, ahhhh yes that certainly seem to be the key. So far, I have agreed with everything written here from your top note to the end. Questions come to mind and I have yet to find the solution, tho I advocate to the highest that we must educate ourselves to take better control of our lives. Do we rely too much on others to make most of our decisions ? Have we gave up on questioning the decision that are being made ? There is a lack of doing our own research, preparing ourself for whatever mountain we have to climb. I ask myself, once climbing that mountain....how many share the resources to help another ?
-->
