Comments on: News and Notes Silenced

By: blacksmythe

blacksmythe — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:08:03 +0000

thanks for this response.

what is the future of cultural production in a jacked economy? if farai and others all of a sudden decided to jump on talkshoe or something how much income would such a move provide for them? during the new deal fdr spent a lot of resources on culture, paying people for example to conduct and transcribe interviews with formerly enslaved blacks.

there is nothing like this coming down the pike. and folks need to eat.

By: gazelledusahara

gazelledusahara — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:15:21 +0000

agree with your sentiments Terry. News and Notes will be missed though and until black folk create venues and enterprises of their own, we will always get the 'axe' when the going gets tough.

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:03:36 +0000

I have a different position in some respects. I wasn't enthralled with 'News and Notes.' I was however glad to run across Farai's show from time to time, and wouldn't listen to anything else if she were on. I was proud of her - but she was to "subtle" for my tastes which is what corporations produce.

So, I'm that while my appreciation of her was not quite what yours would naturally be, I am infuriated with the continuing "business practice" of chopping off Black programming when the dimes get tight.

And that is why, I continue to insist that we need to build our own empires. There are so many talented women and men out here who are as capable as she. If only they would all band together - with a wider variety of perspectives I might add - and start laying those bricks.

Thanks,

Terry

By: MIB

MIB — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:31:15 +0000

The closest thing the D.C. metro area has to a KKFI is WPFW, a Pacifica affiliate. The parent company makes sure its news/talk network programming takes precedence Monday through Friday weekdays. It's a disappointment; back in the day WPFW and WDCU (the latter now owned by C-SPAN) were outstanding community-oriented radio stations.

Morgan State University's WEAA is a much better example of community radio. I get great reception while driving in the northern D.C. suburbs; not so hot in the crib (and I'm maybe 15 minutes from downtown Baltimore).

By: tootsis

tootsis — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:25:25 +0000

I met Farai and family at the baltimore book festival thru my son ,she we will be miss.The economical crises has long tentacles.

By: Temple3

Temple3 — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:53:57 +0000

I like her work. I met her more than a decade ago after she'd written “Don't Believe the Hype.” I was working in East Harlem doing leadership development with teens and I thought she'd be a great guest speaker for them to hear. She was great. The “kids” were definitely feeling where she was coming from. She'll be just fine.

Ultimately, it does boil down to distribution.

By: cnulan

cnulan — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:13:47 +0000

MIB, doesn't community radio subserve that purpose in your locality?

http://www.kkfi.org/

By: Tafari

Tafari — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:59:37 +0000

Getting ready for work today, I thought about the show & what it meant to me over the last few years. The type of reporting they offered is simply gone & not available elsewhere, what a shame.

When they started the Bloggers Round Table, I was all in, because I heard common folk like me on a national program offering their opinion & analysis on minor/major news items.

Tomorrow, I will have to dig around for my own “Africa Update” since they took Ofeibea’s voice away from us also.

I understand why the cuts were necessary but it hurts still.

I like Tell Me More but it is no substitute for News & Notes.

Tafari

By: MIB

MIB — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:44:37 +0000

You raise an interesting point about non-commercial radio versus public radio. NPR now isn't really much different than CBS Radio or Clear Channel in that its programming is just as centralized and lacking in localized content as Top 40 music stations. The network is effectively a monolith; the type of operation 'public' radio was intended to offset.

I'm curious as to what the reaction be of African-American listeners to NPR's (again) marginalization of Black voices.