That make sense! What the hell else are they supposed to do? Collect evidence? Look for guns or money? No it’s about who can get their Wii on and be the top bowling scorer! That’s fresh!
And to think folks are tearing their clothes in satcloth and ashes about what the president wants to handle their tax dollars.
I didn’t watch the VMAs last night . But I heard about Kanye’s latest act of ignorance.
I’m just going to assume that this is not staged. If that is the case I got an idea. This is what should have happened when Kanye West went on stage and bum-rushed Taylor Swift’s speech.
Just as they do in tennis, baseball, basketball etc. When Kanye West got up on stage and it wasn’t his turn, four big az dudes named Tiny should have jumped the stage as well and cold body slammed West to the ground.
Then they should have removed him completely from the venue and had him arrested for peace disturbance. Do this and I guarantee you this will never happen again!
The date was June 17, 1994 – An event that changed news and the way it was reported forever. The scene… a Southern California freeway, the 405 to be exact!
Every television station in the country honed in on the signal from the local news chopper following the infamous white Ford Bronco as Los Angles police vehicles pursued slowly behind. Inside the SUV were Al Cowlings and some guy named Orenthal James Simpson. Simpson had failed to show up at one of the police department precincts as agreed upon between his attorneys and investigators to inquire about the double murder of his wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. While there were over a thousand reporters who showed up for what they though would be Simpson turning himself in, now there were an estimated 95 million watching on television. This was “Cops” before there were cops. This was a live pursuit of a famous football player, movie star, sports announcer and rental car pitchman who a large portion of America recognized on sight and adored. He was suspected of killing his wife and her companion, a white woman no less. And word on the street was that he made what seemed like threats to kill himself during this slow chase.
And this my friends is in my opinion the event that changed the way the news is reported forever. The subsequent rumors, innuendos and gossip that followed leading up to the trial became headline news from LA to Boston, from Minnesota to Texas… the OJ trial was the talk of the nation. Names like Kato, Darden, Fuhrman, Garcetti, Ito, Clark, Cochran, and Dershowitz became household. And there was a demand to get the inside scoop on it so they added legal experts like Greta Van Susteren to the mix. She ended up with her own TV show and after the trial a show called Court TV was born. All because of this OJ event.
What I remember most was the verdict. It was broadcast all over radio and television. At the time I worked at a company where our whole operation depended on telephone lines being manned at all times. Each of us operators left our desk and gathered around a radio at the reception area and the boss didn’t utter a word. She was right there with us. When they read the not guilty verdicts the reaction of the White secretary said it all. She burst into tears on the spot sobbing as if Nicole were her sister. Most black folk including myself were not as convinced of Simpson’s guilt, especially in light of the way the police handled the evidence as well as the lying testimony of bigot Mark Furhman. Nevertheless the country was split straight down the middle. White folks were going Hebrew biblical tearing their clothes in sat-cloth and ashes. Black folks who honestly didn’t give a damn about OJ post his Buffalo Bills playing days, felt it was about time a black man wasn’t convicted just because he was accused even as white folks wanted his head passionately regardless of evidence. Opinions ran strong and feeling deeply expressed across offices nationwide. This took the sensationalism of the news media to a whole new level.
Initially we had investigative journalistic shows like Geraldo Rivera. He made the genre famous and paved the way for Hard Copy and from there we got a mild but now notorious blowhard Bill O’Reilly on Inside Edition. By then that Pandora’s Box had been slammed wide open as television producers figured that they could combine the news with the gossip. Stations like CNN and Fox News were popular, but the OJ trial put them over the top as viewers flocked their cable stations to see the latest speculation and opinions of so called experts. Local news cast figured they’d better get in on the mix less they be left out. I mean who wants to hear about local politics and the school board when Cochran was rhyming, “If it doesn’t fit you must acquit?” And if that wasn’t enough, once Princess Diana was killed in that car accident, it was a wrap! News and popular culture would be forever intertwined with mainstream media.
I believe this is the origin of and main reason we suffer from a news media that is so entertainment centered while the important issues get’s dilluted. Bleeding no longer leads as much as scandal sales.
So there you have it!
That’s my take. What’s yours?
Back in the day my first preference in life was to play professional baseball. I was really good at it and had a legit shot at it till life happened. My second choice was to write, specifically to do journalistic work. This birth began with my father who read the newspaper religiously. I remember when I used to carry a briefcase to school everyday where I carried my books and my own personal copy of the daily news. Then I became assistant editor of my high school newspaper “The Lincoln Echo.”
My first article was on amateur boxer Arthur Johnson who was a classmate of mine. Arthur went on to be a three time Amateur AAU flyweight champion, represented the United States in the 1988 Olympics, and enjoyed a lot of success in the professional ranks. Most of all, Arthur is a great guy whom I still have the pleasure of running into every now and then.
I loved the entire production of creating the newspaper. And as an adult I continued to read various morning wraps and there was nothing like reading the Sunday paper over a large breakfast. That was the life! Whenever I would go out of town the first thing I would do is grab the local paper, just to see how others reported. If someone close to me went out of town, I didn’t ask for a shot glass. I wanted the local paper.
Well sadly the newspaper has long suffered a steady demise. There are many reasons for it, but I think along with corporate strongholds taking over the news media, the saddest thing about the news now is that it’s too laden with entertainment and things that just don’t matter. I can hardly stomach the news now because too much of it caters to the most simple of the population. The basic news cast is around 22 minutes plus commercials. Throw in weather and sports and there is not that much time. And yet with all of the things going on in the world and in local communities, we are constantly bombarded with dumb stuff.
Let’s set aside for the moment the old theme of, “If it bleeds it leads.” I can understand trying to turn a scoop on some hot and provocative story. Let’s talk about ‘news’ that isn’t even news. There are some things I see on my news cast and I say to myself, “Why is this crap on the news?” I offer a few examples:
Octomom
Somebody please tell me why this heifer is on my newscast everyday? Who cares that she’s nutty and had all these kids and is a porno candidate? She is clearly a nutcase. And sure maybe the day she blows out those eight kids it’s a news story. But seriously… do we have have to have an eye out for her daily comings and goings? What? Jessica Simpson didn’t want any of that? Is this news? Hell naw!
Levi Johnston, aka Bristol Palin’s Baby’s-Daddy
It ain’t like Palin’s the president. She ain’t the VP, Secretary of State or any of that. She is the Alaska governor who was a disaster as a VP candidate. Her daughter is just another single mother who decided to screw someone for his looks and because he showed all the rebellious aspects of a so-called bad boy. Typical! What else is new? How many teenage girls DON”T go for that? Now that they have gone their separate ways, for some strange reason what he or Bristol says about their relationship makes the “news.” But is this news? Hell naw!
American Idol
I know it’s the top rated TV show. I get it! But is it necessary for every local Fox affiliate to show both daily and nightly updates as to which karaoke singer did what as well as who Randy “dogged” and what Paula and Simon said? Again we’re talking about around 22 minutes right?
I could go on as there are many more un-news worthy stories circulating all the time. This is part of the reason why so many Americans are shallow and unsophisticated. Entertainment and gossip have killed the purity of reporting and journalism. This is why I am glad I did not choose to get into that field. No way I would be able to stand working in such an environment of utter simplicity.
Tomorrow, I will discuss where I believe this all began.
I have a few friends who are police officers. This one give all the good one’s a bad name.
I don’t see what there is to apologize about. The sad thing is that if it’s anything like it is here, they could fire him but he will probably end up in someone else’s police uniform.
This is the exchange that Powell had with Moats as he was trying to see his dying mother in law before she passed. Thanks to this a-hole, it was too late! He is the epitome of what Eddie Murphy said years ago that jerk cops must have been teased and called “buckethead” when then when they get the badge they get all bad assed. Seems he really wanted Moats to know that he was in charge. He needs to be in charge of looking for another job!
Excerpts from Officer Robert Powell and Ryan Moats:
Moats: You really want to go through this right now? My mother-in-law is dying. Right now! … I got seconds before she’s dying, man!
Powell: If my mom was dying I’d probably be a little upset too, but when I saw flashing red and blues, I would stop.
Moats: Did I not stop at the red light?
Powell: You stopped, then you drove through the red light.
Moats: I stopped, I checked the traffic, I waved the traffic off, then I turned.
Powell: This is not an emergency vehicle. You do not have the right to control the traffic.
Moats: OK. All right … just go ahead and check my insurance so I can go ahead and go. If you’re gonna give me a ticket, give me a ticket. I really don’t care, just …
Powell: Your attitude says that you need one.
Moats: I don’t have an attitude. All I’m asking you is just to hurry up. Cause you’re standing here talking to me…
Powell: Shut your mouth and listen.
Moats: Shut my mouth? Is that how you talk to me, too?
Powell: Shut your mouth and listen. If you want to keep this going, I’ll just put you in handcuffs, and I’ll take you to jail for running a red light.
Moats: OK. All right.
Powell: I can do that.
Moats: OK.
Powell: State law says I can.
Moats: Yes, sir. Go ahead.
Powell: If you don’t settle down that’s what I’m gonna do.
Moats: Yes, sir.
Powell: All right, If you don’t settle down, your truck’s illegally parked – I’ll tow that as well.
Moats: Yes, sir.
Powell: OK, I can screw you over. I’d rather not do that. Your attitude will dictate everything that happens, and right now, your attitude sucks.
Moats: Yes, sir.
Powell: OK, I turned my red and blues on as you were going over the bridge …
Moats: You think I’m gonna stop when my wife’s mother is dying?
Powell: You are required to stop. What you’re doing does not matter. Red and blues, you have to stop. I can charge you with fleeing right now.
Moats: Yes, sir. …
Powell: I can take you to jail. I can tow your truck. I can charge you with fleeing.
Moats: Yes, sir, you can. I understand.
Powell: I can make your night very difficult.
Moats: I hope you’ll be a great person and not do that.
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