Deconstructing TBT and the Gangsta Rapper Story

One of the toughest tasks a media writer faces is trying to report on the institution which employs them.

So, initially, I was going to pass on writing anything about the story on the gangsta rapper who ran from gunplay featured on the front pages of the St. Petersburg Times and TBT*. But then I read an item on the issue on Creative Loafing's Tampa Calling blog that seemed a little off base, so I figured I'd weigh in.

Regular readers may remember I wrote months ago about my dismay over a TBT headline and cobbled-together story which I felt was unduly harsh regarding the suicide of WFLA-Ch. 8 meteorologist John Winter. That item and this more recent controversy speaks to a problem we regularly face in Timesland: What to do when TBT slaps a saucy headline and blurb on a sensitively reported and written story?

As the Loafing item indicates, reporter Ben Montgomery tried hard to write an even handed story about 24-year-old rapper Anthony Blocker, also known as Black Reign, who wrote a song called Gun Shine State but didn't recognize a gunshot when it was fired at his show. As the Times story leaves Blocker, he's admitted hiding in a women's restroom when panic erupted and is struggling to cope with the consequence of knowing a woman was shot to death at the concert.

Unfortunately, the TBT headline -- "Street Cred? Shot"! -- states something that was never directly addressed in the story, amping up the idea that Blocker's real-life response undercut his onstage image. This, it seems, was the reward Blocker got for being honest with Montgomery about what happened.

It's a problem I also had when TBT featured a story I wrote about WFTS reporter Don Germaise, who agreed to provide an interview to a white supremacist in exchange for getting the activist to speak with him on camera. Though I tried hard to keep the story evenhanded, the TBT headline was simply "Idiot," which belied the careful way I laid out facts so viewers could make that judgment for themselves.

Where I part company with Loafing's analysis, is the contention that rappers are held to a different standard than artists in other genres who create songs about negative fictional characters.

One of the reasons the story resonates so powerfully, is that anyone who knows rap music knows some artists go to great lengths to convince fans that they personally live the lives depicted in their songs. Snoop Dogg doesn't claim the player depicted in his songs is a persona; instead, he tells Rolling Stone that he served as a real-life pimp to working prostitutes just a few years ago.

Ben's story shows an artist who was brought face-to-face with the possible consequences of that culture, and as a result, he's questioning many things. Suggesting that this isn't a valid issue feels a bit patronizing; as if rap artists can't be held to account for their obvious behavior.

To me, the real story here is that TBT's headlines, blunt as they are, sum up what many of us are thinking about these stories, anyway. Consumers increasingly want journalism which doesn't tip toe around the story's central message; people want journalism which states obvious truths.

But sometimes being fair to sources means letting the public take that step on their own, if they so choose. And I have a feeling the friction between that old school fairness doctrine and TBT's in-your-face frankness will be a continuing problem, as long as both outlets share stories. 

Comments

[dration]

Wade (Mr. Tatangelo),

I've always noticed (and appreciated) how Wayne Garcia seems to consistently make note (sometimes even repeated note if it's something he's written about before) in his columns about his past associations/friendships/relationships or employment whenever he's writing about something where even the possibility of "conflict of interest" might rear it's head. I admire his honesty. Whether or not Mr. Jones still works for Creative Loafing might not relate to this story in your view, but from my perspective, including that fact (regardless of it's having been in a past issue) would have been appropriate. You say not. Okie-Dokie. You're the journalist, not me.

[Wade Tatangelo]

Dration:

We disclosed that Durium worked here in my Umbrella Corporation cover story. This article was about tbt* and Black Reign, not the network to which he belongs. Plus, by the time I wrote this piece Durium was no longer employed here.

Here’s the link:

http://tampa.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A301584

[dration]

I couldn’t help but notice that Wade somehow “forgot” to mention in his commentary that Black Reign is a member of the Umbrella Corporation, as is Durium “Deacon” Jones, who (by pure coincidence?) is (or at least was, at one point in time) employed by Creative Loafing as a Marketing Director. So much for full disclosure.

[Eric Deggans]

Dude...If you're going to be irreverently sarcastic, you gotta do better than that.

[Brian]

I think Wade and Eric should have a foot race. They will represent their respective employers and the winner of the race wins the argument. We'll have Black Reign fire the starting gun. We'll just have to make sure that there is a Port-O-Let nearby in which BR can hide.

[Eric Deggans]

Also, just a note to Scott: TBT* is actually doing very well. A very small percentage of each day's papers are returned and the newspaper is on the verge of being profitable -- far ahead of schedule.

So, in TBT's case, when you create a new platform which reaches readers in a new way and ropes in some people who probably wouldn't touch your product otherwise, you have a project which is working out pretty well....

[Eric Deggans]

Wade, if your point was that this particular rapper had no street cred to be destroyed, then you should have said so in your post.

Making the argument about rappers in general taking criticism for creating violent personas pushed your argument into the i-don't-think-so zone.

Sorry.

[Wade Tatangelo]

Here's the link:

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/21/news_pf/Music/Meet_the_Band__Black_.shtml

[Wade Tatangelo]

Here's the profile Tbt* ran on Black Reign in June. Nowhere in it does the the man born Anthony Blocker suggest that he's a real life thug.

Meet the Band: Black Reign

By Julie Garisto, Times Staff Writer
Published June 21, 2007

Name: Anthony Blocker

Age: 23

Hometown: Brandon (born in Tampa and grew up in Tampa Heights)

Major musical influence: Chamillionaire

Soon to be released: In August, he'll release a mix-tape recording called Calm Before the Storm that will be available at his shows. He's also working on a full-length CD.

Day job: Collections at Asset Acceptance.

Does he sing? "No . . . but when I'm in the shower, I'm Gerald Levert!"

People he likes to work with: Hip-hop artist Aych, who hosts the Da Cypher hip-hop nights Wednesdays at Full Moon Saloon in Ybor City, and producer Chief. "Chief is like a pineapple. On the outside, he's got some prickers, but on the inside he's got some sweet beats. He can be really rough and hard, and he's into synthesizers."

How he got his name: For being the best rapper in his high school lunch ciphers (groups of freestyle rappers). "They said, 'We should call you Black 'cause every time you rap, the scene goes dark, people start leaving.' . . . I did so good, nobody wanted to rap no more!"

All over the map: "I don't do just one style of music. I'm very versatile. I'll go from an up North kind of style to a down South to a Midwest to a West Coast. Most people can't do that. Me, I'm pretty much good for whatever. . . . I know how to approach every situation."

Words about words: "I've never rapped about selling drugs because I've never done it. I use my wordplay to touch on different subjects, such as homelessness, or for somebody having a bad day, a pick-me-up song."

Setting himself apart: "I think there's an advantage to doing something different from everyone else. . . . (At a local show) there'll be a bunch of artists rapping about the same thing over and over. I'm like a breath of fresh air. There's many times that Aych will put me on last at the Full Moon Saloon because he knows I'm the home run hitter. It's not dope boys; it's not gangsta. I bring a smile to their face."

Doing his own thing: "We're killing ourselves over who's the best or who's tougher. You never hear about Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci arguing over who was the best painter. Hip-hop is a craft. People need to come together if it's going to grow. There are too many egos, too much gimmickry. All this blinds the world to the artists who have something unique going on in their performances. Me, I write songs that are interesting, without a gimmick. I'm just doing me."

Check him out: 5 p.m. Saturday with D'Visitors and more at Summer Jam 3, New World Brewery, 1313 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. $7. (813) 248-4969.

[Scott]

Memo to dreaming: Doesn't matter that the rag is free, if people don't pick it up then circulation numbers will not attract higher ad rates (or any advertising at all), hence decreased revenue. Circualtion cannot sell something that is not attractive to the buyer, and it's the editor's job to make sure it can sell. Sorry, but that's the reality of it all. The structure and content reflect that reality.

[dreaming]

memo to scott: tbt is free, so no one is trying to 'sell' anything.

most reporters and editors would not know how to sell a 5 cent glass of lemonade, let alone newspapers. thats the job of the circulation department, and most of those are not doing such a hot job of late.

[scott]

"It is the reporter's job to dig out all the facts and figure out how to report them in a way which creates a compelling story fair to all involved."

Problem is, many times it never ends up that way. Many times the story is just as misleading as some of the headlines that you mention, because the facts and words are twisted in such a way as to present a slant, yet protect from slander.
In many cases, I get the feeling that the reporters' job is being determined by an editor who's purpose is to increase the sale of the end product. It's no secret that many Americans do not trust the media....maybe because of the fictional content of the many "stories". Just my $.02... Keep up your hard work. We all appreciate it.

[Eric Deggans]

Every news account tells a story.

The very act of selecting which facts to include and which to leave out involves storytelling decisions.

It is the reporter's job to dig out all the facts and figure out how to report them in a way which creates a compelling story fair to all involved.

Stories are not designed to mislead readers. they are the way humans have communicated since before the written word. The best example of that, of course, is The Bible.

[Scott]

Eric: If I remember correctly, there are people who's job it is to create the headline for the story...I assume in a bid to attract attention and sell the media product/newspaper. While I must agree that a headline that negates the value of the story content, I have a stronger distaste for the term "story". Why can't a "reporter" repot the news with facts in a clear, consise manner instead of resorting to arranging facts to create a "story" that is designed to mislead a reader? Every media oulet, no matter the bias, is guilty of creating "stories". Stories are not news....neither are headlines.

[nancy]

I always prefer my news to be provided free of biased opinion. And really, c'mon, is snarky even considered edgy anymore?

[Ron]

Why did the SPT decide to get in the tabloid business anyway?

[Eric Deggans]

this is a different situation. You have a tabloid newspaper and a more conventional mainstream newspaper sharing the same reporting material and handling it in markedly different ways upon publication.

Can't comlain about tabloidy news coverage and then get upset when media try to think out loud about the issue....

[dreaming]

well, ask yourself this:

if this incident had occurred in nyc, do you think the post or nydn would have not had the same field day w the head?

rapper flees to crapper when guns go off?

hey, i like that better....

[Eric Deggans]

Ah...dreaming - so blunt and cynical. I love it!

Maybe it seems liek we're obsessing. but I can assure you that what I wrote about -- the concern about what happens to a well-balanced story when a snarky headline gets put on it - is a real and serious concern for many writers here.

I don't know how to resolve it. But we won't be able to earn sources' trust with our reporters anmd stories in the Times, only to slam them in TBT, without eventually paying a price...

[dreaming]

as i commented on creative loafing's self-serving blog, this manufactured dust-up about a headline, of all things -- a topic usually reserved for little old ladies who don't know better -- is amusing to anyone old enough to recall when local weeklies were the rebels whose mission was to poke sticks at the stodgy 'establishment.'

here, we have the corporate-controlled creative loafing waxing indignant that the local big mainstream daily wrote an edgy headline.

one wonders if they really just wish they'd written it themselves?

that silliness aside, i thought tbt's head was pretty funny, as tab heads should be. i mean the dude admitted he ran off to the ladies room when he heard a shot while rapping about the glorification of shooting. let's not cry too many crocodile tears for this here-to-fore unknown rapper. he'll be getting more gigs as a result, i'm sure.