I always enjoy the NFL draft with its drama and intrigue. I have to admit, I was a little surprised (all right, shocked would be a better word) when I saw the front sports page of the Houston Chronicle.
Now I realize Ed Oliver is a local guy and its a great story, but one wonders what the Houston Texans (who had the 23rd pick) felt about that. The chronicle did include a photo of Tytus Howard (postage size) and a story by John McClain on the cover. Admittedly, I am a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan, but even I have to say…
Monthly Archives: April 2019
A job well done
Kudos to the Houston Chronicle for producing original reporting that makes a difference in our community. Their coverage of how the state of Texas funds public education has woken up lawmakers who are taking a serious look the way the school endowment is funded and what can be done to improve it.
When you include their other investigations, You understand the importance of going beyond the headlines and uncovering what is really taking place.
Abuse of Power
Heart Failure
Denied
Was it something she said?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjyn Nielsen recently resigned. The besieged top person charged with protecting our borders often butted heads with President Trump and his desire to enforce tougher immigration.
“I hope that the next Secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws which have impeded our ability to fully secure America’s borders and which have contributed to discord in our nation’s discourse,” Nielsen wrote in the two-page letter. “Our country — and the men and women of DHS — deserve to have all the tools and resources they need to execute the mission entrusted to them.”
What I find interesting is the timing of her resignation. It has been reported that Nielsen had no intention of quitting when she went to the meeting Sunday with the president and that she was forced to step down. The announcement of her departure came shortly after the meeting.
So why now? I wonder if Trump watched her interview with CNN’s Chris Como.
During the interview (which was not included by CNN in this clip), Como acknowledged the very difficult job border agents have and how he witnessed many of them showing compassion and working hard to keep everyone safe in the shelters. Como also pointed out how the current immigration laws often impede border agents from doing their job.
Nielson responded by thanking Como for recognizing the work being done and appreciated him making that point. She also agreed that immigration laws have to be improved to help solve this issue.
So was that the preverbal straw that broke the camel’s back? One has to wonder what Trump thought of his secretary appearing on CNN and thanking the host. The president and CNN have butted heads since he announced his candidacy and if history is any indication, it had to go over like a lead zeppelin.
Maybe it was time to for Nielson to go, but it sure seems like her CNN appearance did not do her any favors.
Return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear
iHEARTMEDIA is at it once again, this time trimming down news departments at radio stations in what appears to be an attempt to reduce expenses as they prepare to launch their initial public offering. The company was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2018 and are planning to use the net proceeds from the offering to pay off its debt.
Now as an old radio guy, I could get on my soapbox and preach how radio isn’t what it used to be (I’d be right, but that’s not the point). Check out this promo from NewsRadio 740 KTRH…
The point is things change. Over the past 50 years, media has changed from people turning to print for their information, followed by radio, television and now the internet.
With each passing new phase, the demises of the former media channels has been predicted with great gusto. The internet alone has been predicted to kill off newspapers, radio and television as we know it!
The Washington Post posted an op/ed piece in 2018 written by Douglas McLennan, founder and editor of ArtsJournal and Jack Miles, a Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur “genius” award-winning author that in part said…
Thomas Jefferson saw newspapers as so fundamental a democratic institution that they were the only alternative to repeated violent revolutions: “This formidable censor of the public functionaries, by arraigning them at the tribunal of public opinion, produces reform peaceably, which must otherwise be done by revolution.”
I wonder what Thomas Jefferson would have thought about radio, television or Twitter. Oh, and this was the same person who started a “partisan” (which is a nice way of saying “fake”) newspaper, the National Gazette, to attack his rival Alexander Hamilton and the policies of the Washington administration.
There is no doubt the newspaper industry is changing and faces serious challenges. In the same op/ed piece the authors claim…
Weekday print circulation has shrunk from a high of nearly 60 million in 1994 to 35 million for combined print and digital circulation today — 24 years of decline. Advertising revenue has cratered, falling from $65 billion in 2000 to less than $19 billion in 2016. Newsroom employment fell nearly 40 percent.
I do think it’s important to remember part of the issue is the growing number of media outlets in general. Long gone are the days when there were five – seven radio stations, three TV stations and one newspaper. The world of media has expanded to where nobody can get the kind of circulation or ratings they once enjoyed. It doesn’t mean they are going away, it just means that a Washington Post or CBS Evening News audience is being more and more split up and thus shrinking.
Which brings us back to IHEARTMEDIA and their plans to cut newsroom staff. The problem is, there is no money to be made in radio news. Many stations that brand themselves as NewsRadio, are mostly talk stations that offer a bare amount of morning news.
So, this should not come as a shock to anyone longing for the thrilling days of yesteryear when radio was king and and you turned on the receiver to find out what was happening in the world.
Exonerate
Here is a question for you; what do President Trump and actor Jussie Smollett have in common? The word “Exonerate”.
Merriam-Webster defines it is as…
- to relieve of a responsibility, obligation or hardship
- to clear from accusation or blame
When the long awaited Mueller report came out (we’re still waiting to see exactly what it said), U.S. Attorney William Barr, in letter to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary wrote…
The Special Counsel therefore did not draw a conclusion – one way or the other – as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction. Instead, for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as “difficult issues” of law and fact concerning whether the President’s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. The Special Counsel states that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
The president immediately took to Twitter saying…
It is not surprising the president would interpret the memo to his advantage, while others have looked at this saying there was not enough evidence to prosecute collusion, which people much smarter than me say that charge is very difficult to prove in court.
Now let’s head from Washington D.C. to Chicago where Empire actor Jussie Smollett claimed to have been attacked by two people in what was thought to be a hate crime.
When Chicago police investigated the attack, they determined he orchestrated the alleged hate crime in January on himself because he was unhappy with his salary on the show “Empire.” Smollett was arrested and charged with felony disorderly conduct, but the story does end there.
A representative for Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx, whose office was prosecuting Smollett, said,
“After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case.”
This of course led to the actor saying (through his attorneys)…
“Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him. Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on January 29th. He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgement.”
After the evitable fire storm hit the internet, First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Mages (the lead prosecutor) told CNN affiliate WLS that dropping the charges did not mean the actor was exonerated. When asked whether he considered Smollett to be innocent, the prosecutor said “No.”
So where does that leave us? I would suggest on the road to nowhere.**
**a plan, project, development, or course of action that appears to have or offer no meaningful, desirable or useful conclusion.