Criss Angel survives Clearwater implosion; His show - not so lucky

Gothed out magician Criss Angel shares one thing with fellow youngblood prestidigitator David Blaine:

He's not just about the trick. He's about the foreplay.

And Wednesday night's live broadcast of Angels' escape from an imploding Clearwater resort hotel was no exception. The trick itself took seconds and was disturbingly anti-climactic; cameras showed Angel struggling to get a door inside the building open, the explosions dismantling the building went off, and seconds later, the magician was stumbling across the ground in front of the building, miraculously yards away from the newly made pile of rubble.

Of course, we knew Angel would survive the implosion; the big question, was how would his escape surprise TV viewers and the 15,000 faithful who crowded onto Clearwater Beach to watch the trick in person? The giveaway here was the even tone of announcer Tim Vincent, even when the helicopter which was supposed to spirit Angel away had to leave the building with 30 seconds before detonation without the magician on board.

(My guess -- the video images showing him inside the building were delayed or fake, hiding how he actually escaped from the building. But what do i know?)

Most of A&E's bloated broadcast Wednesday featured Angel performing smaller feats of wonder, like a scruffy roadie for Motley Crue who decided to whip out some tricks for the fans. In one, he turned a car into six hot chicks -- a creepy metaphor for the odd blend of Las Vegas-style showmanship and biker bar attitude he brings to many of his illusions.

The program also doubled as a tribute to and commercial for Angel himself. Viewers got to hear from the backers of his Las Vegas show -- why is every big performer in that town now the recipient of a $100-million deal? -- who were understandably appalled at the implosion trick. Nevermind the acres of free publicity it's developing for his Vegas show -- what if Angel twists an ankle during the trick?

Angel also received a tricked-out car during the show, which is a ritual I've seen before on his Mindfreak series. Indeed, the real trick here may be Angel's talent for getting custom car and motorcycle shops to hand him exquisitely detailed vehicles in exchange for brief appearances on his show and the honor of starring in one of his illusions.

In today's post-modern media universe, we expect magicians to pull off their tricks -- you judge them, instead, by the foreplay. And in this case, Criss Angel brought his A game to Clearwater, filling an hour's worth of TV time with a dramatic escape which took seconds to actually implement.

TCA flashback: The five weirdest things I witnessed during the TV Critics press tour

I'm still driving back to the Sunshine State from Chicago as I write this, so I'm a little short on new material. instead, let me present you with a flashback to my time at the TV Critic's press tour in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago:

Five most oddball things I witnessed during the TV critics press tour:

1) Rapper Coolio swearing to me that one of the ladies from Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta was “on his jock.” Whatever that means.

2) Damian Lewis, the British actor who stars in NBC’s Life, speaking almost exclusively in his character’s American accent because “speaking to Americans, my British accent sounds fake.”

3) Howie Mandel, the host of NBC’s Deal or No Deal and a renowned germophobe, insisting on simply bumping fists when meeting journalists.

4) Jay Leno, disguised in a bald cap and fake moustache, taking the microphone to grill NBC executives during a press session.

5) Hearing Wipeout host John Henson joke about hitting on co-host Jill Wagner so much, you wondered if he was really joking.

New study: Prime time cable news shows are much too white

  I noted some time ago that the three big cable TV news channels featuring the most election coverage were also woefully lacking in diversity -- featuring prime time lineups hosted almost entirely by middle-aged white guys.

Now the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters has issued a study noting that the racial imbalance extends to the guests, tabulating more than 1,700 appearances by guests on 12 prime time cable news shows in May. According to their calculations, 67 percent of the guests on these shows were men, while 84 percent of the guests were white.

Though Fox News, the recipient of a Thumbs Down award from the National Association of Black Journalists last week, was considered the whitest network at 88 percent white guests, CNN and MSNBC came close with 83 percent white guests in May.

Curiously, the racial imbalance doesn't seem to come from a lack of black people. According to the study, black guests appear in numbers close to their 12 percent share of the population. But Latinos and Asian Americans are horribly under-utilized, with Native Americans, literally, nowhere to be seen.

Also of note: Media Matters contends that MSNBC's answer to Fox News-style conservatism, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, ranked among the most male and most white cable TV news shows, with 84 percent male guests and 91 percent white guests. Liberals who have turned to Olbermann as their hope for challenging conservative domination of cable TV news may find these totals troubling, and a signal that opposing the GOP doesn't automatically put you on the right side of every issue important to liberal people.

What this means, is that the primary platforms for continuous news coverage in our country continue to be dominated by white males. Which means the issues discussed, perspectives presented, information delivered and soluitions considered may be coming from a seriously selective demographic.

Here's hoping the cable TV news channels take a hint and work harder to add a wider range of voices to their signature shows.

NBC admits the obvious: one man can't fill Tim Russert's three jobs

NBC News' decision to hire onetime Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker as its Washington D.C. bureau chief (he has been the Number Two guy at NBC News since 2007) means many things:

1) For the first time, a person of color will head the network's Washington D.C. coverage, an appointment which comes as America may elect its first president of color.

2) NBC has taken the first step in finding someone to take over former bureau chief Tim Russert's most visible role: hosting the Sunday political show Meet the Press.

But the most important news from this announcement is that NBC has officially served notice that one person will not hold all the jobs Russert did before he died last month of a sudden heart attack.

Medical experts can explain the circumstances of Russert's death -- that plaque which built along the sides of his arteries slid into a sudden blockage, stopping blood flow -- but the most casual observer couldn't avoid noticing that NBC's best-known political reporter actually held three different full-time jobs.

By handing executive supervision of Meet the Press, the D.C. bureau and the network's political coverage to Whitaker, the network can focus on finding the right on-air face to front the venerated politics show while former Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw keeps the seat warm until after the 2008 presidential election.

Of course, one look at Whitaker's new duties -- he's also continuing as a senior vice president at NBC News and planning to make occasional appearances as an on-air analyst -- show he may also have a couple of extra jobs in his portfolio. Still, one of the biggest gigs has been spun off the Russert replacement list.

I also have hope that Whitaker -- who appeared in Chicago at the UNITY: Journalists of Color convention last week -- will diversify the lineup of pundits appearing on Meet the Press, particularly beyond the three or four people of color Russert regularly used.   

Here's the press release:

MARK WHITAKER NAMED NBC NEWS D.C. BUREAU CHIEF

Position Includes Executive Oversight of "Meet the Press" and Network Election and Political Coverage

       NEW YORK - July 28, 2008 - NBC News announced today that Mark Whitaker has been named Chief of the network's Washington, D.C. bureau.  His appointment fills a vacancy left by the untimely death of Tim Russert in June.  Whitaker, a veteran, award-winning journalist who is currently a Senior Vice President at NBC News, will assume his duties immediately. The announcement was made by NBC News President Steve Capus, to whom Whitaker will report.

"The enormity of filling this position was by no means lost on any of us, given the significance this job holds, particularly on the eve of an extraordinary presidential election," said Capus.  "But the truth is, he is the ideal candidate for the job, and that was evident the minute we took stock of potential replacements.  Mark's got all of the components that will assure his success - a commitment to journalistic integrity, political savvy, a keen eye for the future, and a management style that is inclusive and fair. He is exactly what the bureau needs."

Whitaker will continue in his role as SVP at NBC News.  His day-to-day responsibilities will include executive oversight of "Meet the Press," as well as of all of NBC News' network election and political coverage.  As D.C. Bureau Chief, he will oversee all bureau management and administration, as well as work closely with NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd, and Deputy Bureau Chiefs Wendy Wilkinson and Brady Daniels.  Whitaker will also make occasional appearances as an on-air analyst.

"I am looking forward to keeping our coverage of politics and government the best in the business," said Whitaker.  "I am honored and humbled to succeed Tim, whose commitment to journalism without fear or favor is a beacon for us all. And I am thrilled to get to work with our unparalleled team of NBC reporters and producers in Washington."

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Lessons learned from the TV Critics press tour

The Lambourghinis and Mercedes have rolled away. The paparazzi have moved on to the hip new restaurants and rehab facilities. And Teri Hatcher has been packed back into her cryogenic stasis chamber.

Yes, the TV Critics Association’s summer press tour has completed another wild, informative run.

And while the blizzard of celebrity-fueled press conferences, network TV parties and soundstage set visits has come to an end, this critic rolled away from the Beverly Hilton Hotel after eight days on Tuesday with a few important lessons learned about the state of the TV business heading into the dog days of 2008.

Lesson #1: The writer’s strike fallout continues – Even though the walkout by the nation’s film and TV writers in ended in February, it continues to screw up the television industry by limiting the amount of new shows any network could cobble together for this fall.

The broadcast networks problems emerged during press tour, as every outlet struggled to articulate the plotlines and story arcs for new series put into production without filming an initial “pilot” episode – leaving executives (and critics) with little evidence whether these lofty ideas might actually produce watchable shows.

Lesson #2: Without new shows, old shows face more pressure – Several series have promised big changes in trying to “reboot” returning shows which need to regain audience’s attention after months in reruns or worse. ABC’s Desperate Housewives is moving five years into the future, while NBC’s Heroes is focusing on a new cadre of villains and even Fox’s blockbuster American Idol is promising major changes.

“We’re all in this elevator – CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives – and the elevator’s going down,” said Housewives creator and executive producer Mark Cherry. “As a result, we’re willing to do anything to keep our audience base…There’s intense pressure to come up with something that gets everyone’s attention.

Lesson #3: TV has pretty much accepted its lack of diversity – Time and again, the question emerged – Why are there no new shows starring a person of color this year? – and the answer was mostly a shrug with promises to do better. In a down economy, networks are more willing to hand new shows to British and Australian actors than anyone with a skin tone darker than a light tan.

Obama's new media message: You're too tough on me

CHICAGO, Ill. -- After watching a collected Barack Obama discuss his whirlwind overseas tour before a throng of mostly adoring admirers at the UNITY conference here, I've discovered his new answer to the allegations that media is too enamored, too deferential, too distracted to really dissect his candidacy for president.

Obama's response: You guys are holding me to a different standard.

When Obama was asked whether it looked as if he was "running for president of the world" by giving a speech in Germany attended by 200,000 people and meeting with major heads of state overseas, Obama replied that John McCain had done the same thing when he clinched his party's nomination without criticism.

When asked whether his repeated denials of rumors that his Muslim might boomerang by feeding the notion there is something wrong with being Muslim, Obama said he has noted the anti-Muslim tenor of the allegations and complained that the question was a "no win" query.

"I would ask that I am treated like other candidates in terms of expectations," he said. It was a mostly smooth performance by a candidate in a much different position than the last time he faced members of the National Association of Black Journalists. Back then, in August 2007, some still questioned whether the biracial, assimilated Obama was "black enough" to win the electoral support of black people.

"Now I'm TOO black, he said, drawing laughs and applause. "There is this sense of going back and forth, depending on the time of day, about where I fit."

This time, the biggest issue elated to Obama's appearance didn't have much to do with the candidate directly. Instead, in discussions before Obama took the stage, journalists wrestled over the notion of whether members of a journalism organization should be applauding or indicating their support for a candidate -- in the way some members expressed disapproval of President Bush when he appeared at UNITY four years ago.

Pulitzer Prize winner Les Payne, a founder of NABJ, noted journalists shouldn't applaud, but that journalists applaud politicians all the time -- getting chummy with the politicians they cover at the White House Correspondent's Dinner and other events.

It's a measure of the lack of news Obama generated that this debate would prove one of the more compelling elements of the appearance, which capped the weeklong UNITY convention here of more than 5,000 attendees, mostly from journalism organizations representing black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian American journalists.

To bad moderator Suzanne Malveaux of CNN didn't press Obama a little to back up his recurring statements that he is treated differently. I also wondered why she didn't ask Obama about things journalists might care about -- like why he seemed to punish a writer for the magazine which published a satirical cover about him, leaving the reporter off his press plane. Or why he misdirected reporters into jumping on a plane he wasn't flying in, when he wanted to meet secretly with Hillary Clinton..

Instead, she let opportunity after opportunity pass to push back against a candidate who has shown surprising toughness with the press, despite widespread allegations that mainstream outlets are in love with him. 

Fox News, Pat Buchanan get 'Thumbs Down'

As part of the UNITY convention, the National Association of Black Journalists have released their annual Thumbs Down awards -- handed to individuals or media organizations taking actions at odds with the efforts of NABJ to spread fair and comprehesive coverage of minorities.

As head of the NABJ's Media Montoring Committee, I led the committee's work to draft nominees for the awards, which were voted on by NABJ's board of directors. The group is releasing the details of its pick at 11:30 a.m. today in the UNITY convention in Chicago.

Check out the press release here:

Fox News, Pat Buchanan Receive Annual ‘Thumbs Down’ Award from Black Journalists Group.
Racist and Insensitive Commentary join the News Organization’s Disregard for Diverse Political Reporters at the Association’s Annual Presentation.


CHICAGO, July 25, 2008 - The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) named FOX News, columnist Pat Buchanan, and news organizations with little to no diversity in its political coverage the 2008 recipients of the Thumbs Down Award.

The award is given annually to an individual or organization for especially insensitive, racist or stereotypical reporting, commentary, photography or a cartoon at odds with the goals of NABJ. The announcement was made at a mid–day news conference taking place at the UNITY: Journalists of Color Convention. Past recipients include columnist Armstrong Williams, former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, and most recently, Black Entertainment Television.

Said NABJ President Barbara Ciara at the news conference, “If I had to list the atrocities committed by FOX News this election year, we’d be in this room all day. No other network has a worse record of inaccurate portrayals of African-Americans than FOX News.”

In a written statement, Ciara cited FOX News’s characterizing Michelle Obama as ‘Obama's Baby Mama,’ and FOX's E.D. Hill addressing her well-known fist bump (or pound) as a ‘terrorist fist jab’ on the airwaves.

NABJ also cited Buchanan’s column “A Brief for Whitey” where he asserted that white Americans are tired of complaints of racism from black people, including that “America has been the best country on earth for black folks.”

A frequent broadcast analyst, on May 2, he wrote a column titled “The Way Our World Ends,” concluding that "the Caucasian race is going the way of the Mohicans" because of a "baby boom among these black and brown peoples" that will bring an end to Western Man in the 21st Century.

“Exactly what rock is Pat Buchanan living under," said Ciara at the conference of Asian, black, Latino, and Native American journalists. “The Western World was born off the backs of black and brown people.”

NABJ also named news organizations across media platforms that have failed to provide a diverse pool of people covering elections as recipients of the annual award. “This is apparent in print, radio, television and online,” said Ciara. “This lack of diversity, especially for African Americans, has allowed far too many miscues and insensitive comments this election season.”

An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation, with more than 4,100 members, and provides educational, career development, and support to black journalists worldwide.

Embargoed until Friday, July 25, 2008 11AM

Deggans on NPR's Tell Me More from Chicago

Is it fair to refer to a bench clearing brawl during a WNBA game as a catfight?

Should I be insulted if someone asks me about GOP presidential contender John McCain, referring to him as "your boy McCain?"

Can anyone agree on whether it made sense for McCain to complain about  lack of media coverage, and then blow off attending a convention attended by nearly 6,000 media people of color?

These questions and more can be answered by clicking on the link below to hear my appearance with columnist Reuben Navarrette, freelance writer Jimi Izrael, BET.com overlord Nick Charles on former ABC correspondent Michel Martin's National Public Radio show , Tell Me More.

Recording in WBEZ studios at Navy Pier in Chicago, it was probably the nicest environment I ever opined in. The perfect atmosphere for playing the dozens and discoursing about the effect of brawling on the WNBA's ticket sales.

Check it out here    

Taking on Jena, Jeremiah and Barack Obama

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Since Tuesday evening, I've been basking in the aura of the UNITY: Journalists of Color conference -- a gathering of 6,000 attendees from the National Association of Black Journalists, the Native American Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association.

It's something we only do every four or five years -- uniting the country's four largest organizations representing minority journalists. And even though cost-cutting, layoffs and economic uncertainty have reduced our numbers, everyone from PBS' Gwen Ifill to New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger is in the house for this most important event.

Normally, I would have been blogging like crazy about the events here, but I've been working overtime on the convention itself. Today, for example, I will appear on Michel Martin's NPR show Tell Me More from the Navy Pier in Chicago, trading barbs and ideas on the issues on the day during her show's "Barbershop" segment.

Hours later, in my capacity as NABJ's Media Monitoring Committee Chair, I'll be at a press conference announcing our annual Thumbs Down award criticizing the worst impact to diversity in journalism and our Best Practices honor singling out a wonderful advance.

At 3 p.m. today, I'm on a panel, "Jeremiah Wright and Jena: Who Reported It and Who Got it Right?" which will dissect the media frenzies surrounding these two hot-button race-based issues. I'm the lightweight among the panelists, which includes nationally known DJ Tom Joyner, NPR's Michel Martin and Rev. Michael Pfleger, the priest whose incendiary sermon about Hillary Clinton at Wright's Trinity church led to national headlines. The moderator is Michele Norris, host of NPR's All Things Considered. I was told as one point that this discussion would be aired on C-SPAN, so tune it in, if you've got time.

Finally, on Saturday, I'll be organizing a party here to promote next year's NABJ convention, which is scheduled for Tampa in August 2009. As president of the Tampa Bay area NABJ chapter, I'll be working hard over the next year to bring 3,000 journalists of color to the area next year.

Check out my posting on Sunday, after presidential candidate Barack Obama addresses our group (presumptive GOP nominee John McCain was also invited, but despite aggressive efforts to make space for him to address the convention, he declined, citing scheduling conflicts).

It's a crushing schedule, I know. But after spending an evening at dinner with a host of NABJ compadres last night -- including Ifill and Norris -- it's obvious how important it is for journalists of color to support each other in a media universe which still sometimes has trouble understanding our people and our work.

First look: Promo for Tampa native JoAnna Garcia's new CW show, Privileged

Critics haven't yet seen a pilot episode from Tampa native JoAnna Garcia's new CW show about a Yale graduate roped into serving as tutor/keeper for a pair of rambunctious Paris Hiltons in the making, Privileged.

But the CW released a bunch of material from their new show on YouTube recently, including a promotional trailer for the program, set in Palm Beach. Check it out and judge for yourself whether the former Reba co-star has landed in a program worth her time and talent.