Do You Want To Be Like Jason?

To kind of branch off what Jemele was saying/stating, I think a huge problem in the newsrooms these days are the large percentages of editors/managers who just do not like to step outside their individual green zones. They only do as they do and seek out those only like themselves, for to do anything else could lead to a type of failure they don't believe they can overcome. Many don't want to push the envelope because it's inconvenient to do so. Many are just too uncomfortable to even talk to a minority or interview a woman for an opening. I know there are more than a few exceptions to this viewpoint, but I fear it won't be until our current generation (the thirtysomethings) reach upper management that sports departments will truly begin to resemble society.

I think the reason our young friend wants to be like Jason Whitlock or Steven A. Smith or any of the other quality black journalist happens to be a symptom of what's wrong with the business as well. We've forced the black talent pool into this narrow vision of what's acceptable or expected. I've heard more than a few editors say they're seeking a Jason-type or Smith-type because they want someone loud and willing to, as Jason says, "bojangle" for their race. It's small-minded, condescending and stereotypical and all too common.

With our business undergoing so much talent shear from the burgeoning online empire, we need to get our act together on this soon. If a minority or a woman is still feeling the heat like they are in 2007, they're going to bypass newspapers altogether, head to the WWW, and kick our lily-white male asses (as well they should).

Jason, stay on board with us here. This place thrives on alternate viewpoints and controversial topics. You're a man among men here.

I'm guessing my previous three sentences will overshadow the three paragraphs that preceeded them. Oh well. Flame on!

 

Where did I say I thought she was unfairly criticized? I didn't. What I said, in an effort to refute your claim that we "all feel some journalists are beyond criticism" is that she HAS been criticized on here many times, but for more valid reasons.

Now if you were posting one of her columns and highlighting numerous grammatical errors or misspellings, then by all means that's fair game, much like this young man's column has become. But I find it hard to believe, regardless of Jemele's gender or the color of her skin, that a sports editor the caliber of Van MacKenzie would have turned a blind eye and allowed her to advance through the ranks if her writing was as careless and lazy as you contend. To assume that Jemele has no appreciation for good spelling, punctuation, grammar and sentence structure based on a message board post is just way out there.

 

My sincerest apologies for disrespecting the field of journalism and Van McKenie with my mispellings and punctuations. I type this from a Treo so I am going to apologize in advance for whatever journalism great I may disrespect with my ASSUMED high priced ramblings. After all...ESPN is ALLEGEDLY paying me good money for such posts.

Anyway...there is considerable evidence that supports my assertions about innate skin privilege. While Jesse and Al do a great job of showing up on CNN..they aren't exactly there for job interviews and such. To say that a poor black kid has it better is just not true. I think it was last year there was a study about how convicted white felons had a better chance at getting a job than black men with no record.

 

I can only speak from the female perspective, because I'm not black or Jewish. But when a woman is hired to an all-male staff and assigned to cover girls high school sports, the WNBA, or write a column on "women's issues", etc., it's clear she's being used as a token.

 

Thank you, Mmac I wish I could have put it as well.

It frustrates the hell out of me that all white people get lumped into the same group, Joe touched on this a few posts back. Some of us come from families that -- in the early 1900s -- didn't have it much better off than some black families. Try being Irish in the late 1800s, when people hated you because you'd take a job for cheaper wages than anyone -- even recently freed slaves. Or being Catholic in an all-Protestant neighborhood. Or shit, being Jewish in an all-Catholic town.

Let's help people get started if they need it. As a card-carrying California pinko lefty bastard I'm all for that. I just don't think we should pick and choose who gets help based on skin color.

 

jesus fucking christ. van mckenie? really? van mckenie? you can't even get a dead man's name right when you're being sarcastic about you being a fuck up?

at least you spelled the word journalism correctly. good work.

van mckenie. wow. solid indeed.

 

Dude, she said she was typing from her phone. Don't be a dick.

 

WTF? make a sarcastic point by using a dead person's name, you better get the fucking name right, even if you're using smoke signals.

 

Petty, you're being a bit of a dick today. Stick to the substance of posts, quit obsessing over spelling and grammar errors.

 

For the record, by no means did I mean to imply that all white guys look/sound/think alike. Neither do all black guys.

Also, I realize that poverty and disadvantaged backgrounds aren't problems soley for black folks.

Thank you.

 

My apologies. I do not want this to turn into the who-had-it-worse game. Do not misunderstand me. I'm not saying the reason there are not enough minority voices in journalism is because they are being held back by The Man. But institutional racism is still a factor. Sometimes, it's given too much credit. Other times, not enough. Although, considering what was going on with Reconstruction, the KKK, etc., a 1900s Irishman would have preferred his lot to being black. But moving on...

A poster made a solid point a few pages back that is worth repeating. A lot of minorities in college still carry the tag of being the first in their family to go to college. When you carry that label, you feel obligated to pick a career where the financial gains are more of a sure thing. When I went to MSU, the no. 1 major chosen by African Americans was engineering. No. 2 was accounting. We could barely get a NABJ student chapter going, but the black engineers organization was healthy and thriving.

Considering the dire financial realities facing newspapers, I could see the numbers shrinking even more. That is why the Spike Lee program (and others) are so important.