http://womensvoicesforchange.org/cbs-fires-imus-what-happens-next.htm Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:40:09 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://womensvoicesforchange.org/cbs-fires-imus-what-happens-next.htm/comment-page-1#comment-3005 Katie Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:01:01 +0000 http://womensvoicesforchange.org/cbs-fires-imus-what-happens-next.htm#comment-3005 Well, even if it was a purely financial decision, that would be an accomplishment -- in the sense that there was enough pressure on the sponsors to pull out. What bothered me the most about the week was when I would hear news anchors say to the people they were interviewing -- so why isn't anyone protesting all the same language in hip hop? I heard Tucker Carlson on MSNBC and Anderson Cooper on CNN ask some form of that question. Now, I was certainly bothered by the fact that they were equating what a white news commentator like Imus was doing with what a creative musical artist was doing. That's not to say the sexism in (some forms of)hip hop isn't deplorable -- it's just to say that criticizing/censoring that form of expression requires a different set of tools. But what bothered me more was that I knew of plenty of projects and campaigns -- from the African American and hip hop communities themselves -- that were very active on the issue. Off the top of my head, I can think of Byron Hurt's video project ("Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes") and Essence magazine's campaign. What was unfortunate of the Essence project is that I feel the mainstream (white) media didn't pick it up (and now they don't think it exists, apparently). How do we get a project like that to have the same prominence as, say, NBC Nightly News' "Fleecing of America" segments or Lou Dobbs' immigration obsession? Well, even if it was a purely financial decision, that would be an accomplishment — in the sense that there was enough pressure on the sponsors to pull out.
What bothered me the most about the week was when I would hear news anchors say to the people they were interviewing — so why isn’t anyone protesting all the same language in hip hop? I heard Tucker Carlson on MSNBC and Anderson Cooper on CNN ask some form of that question.
Now, I was certainly bothered by the fact that they were equating what a white news commentator like Imus was doing with what a creative musical artist was doing. That’s not to say the sexism in (some forms of)hip hop isn’t deplorable — it’s just to say that criticizing/censoring that form of expression requires a different set of tools.
But what bothered me more was that I knew of plenty of projects and campaigns — from the African American and hip hop communities themselves — that were very active on the issue. Off the top of my head, I can think of Byron Hurt’s video project (“Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”) and Essence magazine’s campaign.
What was unfortunate of the Essence project is that I feel the mainstream (white) media didn’t pick it up (and now they don’t think it exists, apparently). How do we get a project like that to have the same prominence as, say, NBC Nightly News’ “Fleecing of America” segments or Lou Dobbs’ immigration obsession?

]]> http://womensvoicesforchange.org/cbs-fires-imus-what-happens-next.htm/comment-page-1#comment-3006 Jessica Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:10:25 +0000 http://womensvoicesforchange.org/cbs-fires-imus-what-happens-next.htm#comment-3006 I think CBS gave in to sponsors (or lack thereof). While I like to think this will have an effect on our culture, I wonder if we'll really see an improvement in radio and online discourse six months from now. I think CBS gave in to sponsors (or lack thereof). While I like to think this will have an effect on our culture, I wonder if we’ll really see an improvement in radio and online discourse six months from now.

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