Two more longtime area journalists lose jobs at WFTS-Ch. 28 and Creative Loafing

Posting will be light the rest of this week -- I'm taking the family to Disney World for my daughter's 5th birthday.

But I couldn't hit the road before noting the departure of two more longtime journalists, both seemingly victims of long tenures and presumably substantial salaries in a deteriorating media environment.

St. Pete Times sports media expert Tom Jones reported yesterday that Al Keck, top sports guy at ABC Action News and at CBS affiliate WTSP-Ch. 10 before that, would not have his contract renewed. The news seems another blow to the rapidly deteriorating state of local TV sports, where WFLA-Ch.8 has seen its regular on-air staff clipped from three anchors to one and WTSP's top sports anchor quit with no new job arranged.

Keck, who left WTSP in 2001 when his contract wasn't renewed, went to ABC Action News that same year.

On the same day, news surfaced that Eric Snider, longtime editor and music writer at Creative Loafing's Tampa newspaper, had been laid off. Snider, who was once music critic at the St. Petersburg Times, was always a fun companion for me at area concerts when I came to the Times in 1995 as its music critic.

He's a raconteur with a sharp writing talent and a good ear for great music; the conversation got so good at shows, I had to be careful about missing too much of the actual concert.

In a blog post announcing the move, Loafing's Tampa editor David Warner expressed his regret over Snider's layoff while maintaining confidence in the newspaper's future and confirming the already slim staff lost four people this year. A judge has set an Aug. 25 date for auction of the in-bankruptcy newspaper chain, following negotiations where its biggest creditor wrote down a $31 million debt to $12 million.

Current publisher Ben Eason is expected to lead one group seeking control of the company, while the biggest creditor, Atalaya Capital Management, will likely be the other. Atalaya has already made a "stalking horse" offer of $2 million.

One hopes the staff won't be cut too much more by then.

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For this wise African-American, Sotomayor hearings unveil the heart of race conflict in America

Never have I wanted more to throw a brick through the screen of my television.

Watching Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor sit stoically through a succession of white men, perched at the head of the whitest, malest, most powerful political institution in the country -- the U.S. Senate -- telling a Latina from a New York housing project that her Hispanic heritage should mean nothing in her work as a judge, was heartbreaking.

“Our legal system is at a dangerous crossroads. Down one path is the traditional American system, so admired around the world, where judges impartially apply the law to the facts without regard to personal views,” said Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions during the  first day of Sotomayor's hearings Monday. “Down the other path lies a brave new world, where words have no true meaning, and judges are free to decide what facts they choose to see. ... I reject that view, and Americans reject that view.”

Or Sen. Charles Grassley from Iowa: “Judge Sotomayor, you are nominated to the highest court of the land, which has the final say on the law. As such, it’s even more important for the Senate to ascertain whether you can resist the temptations to mold the Constitution to your own personal beliefs and preferences. It’s even more important for the Senate to ascertain whether you can dispense justice without bias or prejudice.”

For anyone who knows how the pointedly conservative views of justices such as Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas have shaped their decisions, this posturing was worse than disingenuous. It was a neon sign that said: judges get to use their personal backgrounds to decide cases when they're conservative.

GOP legislators have worked themselves into a lather over Sotomayor’s comment about a “wise Latina” making better decisions than a white male. However true that might be regarding discrimination cases, it’s the kind of in-your-face racial absolutism that was a perfect softball for conservatives bent on twisting her original meaning.

On Tuesday, Sotomayor didn't debate the issue, dismissing the line as a clumsy mistake and insisting she would “state up front, unequivocally and without doubt, I do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judging.”

Still, consider what then-nominee Samuel Alito told the Senate during his confirmation hearings in 2006: "But when I look at those cases, I have to say to myself, and I do say to myself, "You know, this could be your grandfather, this could be your grandmother. They were not citizens at one time, and they were people who came to this country" . . .  When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account."

Anyone who is paying the barest attention knows that this is when Supreme Court rulings count most; when issues of law are debatable and all that's left is what each justice believes in their heart is right.

But yesterday's cavalcade of conservative GOP senators decrying Sotomayor's statements about her heritage and the role of judges in making law -- boldly honest statements she had to know would come back to bite her someday -- also reinforced that age-old Republican canard: conservative white people don't make decisions based on their culture.

It's what I have often called the privilege of being generic. When Chief Justice John Roberts reaches back to his heritage and personal values to make decisions, he's simply allowing timeless principles to guide his thinking. But Sotomayor using the experience of being the first and the only in so many places of power is shrugged off as bias -- an unforgiveable unfairness for GOP senators, mostly because it doesn't benefit their causes.

(Indeed, as blogger Glenn Greenwald points out, nobody asked Alito whether his Italian-American heritage influenced his vote upholding claims by Italian-American firefighters in overturning a Sotomayor-decided affirmative action case.) 

Still, this is the beating heart of most conflicts over race in America. People of color fear decisions made by institutions still largely controlled by white culture and white people, while those white people in power often insist they are just doing "what is right" or "what is just" -- unable or unwilling to admit the role their culture plays in their own decisionmaking.

What we're really seeing, of course, is an elaborate Kabuki theater, in which Republicans complain loudly about a jurist everyone knows is really a centrist -- though you never can tell, once they get that lifetime appointment -- so that when Obama advances a real liberal justice in his next appointment, that person will look even more radical by comparison.

Sototmayor proved Monday she's going to play along, offering a short statement that focused mostly on the facts of her biography and promising "fidelity to the law." It's the Obama strategy -- don't engage these sticky race issues if you don't have to, dodge them.

And so we're treated to another high-profile instance where some people get to pretend they don't have an agenda while others are accused of nothing but.

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Gay activist group plans protest Wednesday against WFLA-Ch. 8 at its front door

More than two weeks have passed since WFLA-Ch. 8 aired as paid programing a controversial documentary titled Speechless: Silencing the Christians, which maintains that a "radical homosexual agenda" has led to unfairly persecuting religious people who find homosexuality morally wrong.

But the statewide gay rights advocacy group Equality Florida isn't willing to let the matter slide. The group has announced a press conference and demonstration at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, in front of WFLA's headquarters at 202 S. Parker St. in Tampa.

Equality Florida spokeswoman Nadine Smith said the group was disappointed that WFLA and executives at the TV station's owner Media General have not apologized for airing the documentary or offered free airtime for a presentation which might offer an opposing view.

Smith said their protest coincides with a local visit by Media General president and CEO Marshall Morton; online materials circulated by the group claim that more than 1,800 people have contacted the station to protest the show's airing in the first place.

The controversy is similar to criticism the St. Petersburg Times faced when it included copies of the controversial documentary Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West with editions of its newspaper.

Though supporters said the film focused on the excesses of extremists, other Muslim advocacy groups said the documentary was an attempt to turn Americans against all Muslims, distributed to newspapers across the country in swing states during an important election year.

Equality Florida has organized around outrage over the documentary, holding a statewide online town hall last week and asking members for $25 donations to help fight future airings of the program. A Facebook page advocating boycott of WFLA has drawn about 500 members.

Turns out, broadcast of the documentary may have helped organize gay people in Florida more than ever -- a rather ironic result.

Check out a sample of the documentary below:

  

Fox News host notes some European peoples stay "pure" by not marrying outside their nationality

I'm sure when South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint recently said America was in the same shape as Germany just before World War II, he wasn't talking about the dunderheaded references from anchors on conservative-friendly Fox News Channel.

But DeMint might want to reconsider his position, following recent comments by Fox & Friends co-anchor Brian Kilmeade noting Nordic peoples from Sweden and Finland keep their populations "pure" by not marrying outside their nationality or race.

 A bit of background: Fox & Friends is easily the most air-headed program in the intellectually challenged world of morning television. This is also the program that aired a caricature of a Jewish journalist who wrote a tough story on the channel that some critics accused of looking like a classic caricature of Jewish people.

According to Gawker, Kilmeade's puzzling theories surfaced during talk about a study showing those with Alzheimer's do better when they're married. The anchor didn't trust the study because it was done in Finland and Sweden, turning a lighthearted piffle of a story into a bizarre treatise on national purity.

Was he implying they have better physical stock because they marry "pure"? Hard to know, because there wasn't much about this brief rant that made any sense. But it does stand as yet another moment when the curtain is briefly pulled back to reveal some of the darker ideas powering what happens on the show. In this critic's opinion.

Check it out for yourself. *

 

Tampa Bay Idol winner and runner-up move up

Samantha Leigh's shot at American Idol fame came down to about 15 seconds; the amount of time she got to blast through Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady during her audition today before American Idol producers in Orlando.

Leigh was the singer I helped choose for a special audition slot handed out through WTVT-Ch. 13's Tampa Bay Idol contest, working with four other judges to sort through 80 applicants and watching 10 finalists sing at a Brandon mall.

Turns out, she and second-place finisher Brad Iturriaga did well, moving to the next stage in Idol's audition process.

Leigh's win guaranteed an audition before the show's producers ahead of the 10,000 people who crowded around Amway Arena today, joining about 50 people who had won similar contests around the region or done well at Disney World's Idol Experience.

 According to Leigh, singers were split into groups and asked to sing when pointed at, standing before four casting producers. Generally, singers got through about 15 seconds of a tune before they were stopped -- nothing like the longer auditions with feedback they show during the Idol broadcasts.

(Here's Leigh with WTVT's Charley Belcher, me, WFLZ's Meredith and singer Belinda Womack last week in Brandon.)

"They tell you ahead of time not to introduce yourself, not to ask for feedback, they just point to you and you sing," said Leigh, 22, who works as a hairstylist and performs at Busch Gardens  in Tampa. "It was crazy, nerve-racking . . . almost surreal."

Leigh and Iturriaga will perform for the show's executive producers later this month -- Fox doesn't publicize those auditions the way they hype the big stadium cattle calls -- and won't face on-camera judges such as Simon Cowell, if they're lucky, until next month.

Leigh didn't even get to meet Idol host Ryan Seacrest, who was there to film some of the opening sequences for the audition shows. "I did get to stand 20 feet away from him," she said, laughing. "Maybe I'll meet him next time."

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My top 11 moments from today's Michael Jackson memorial

Her voice had never been heard by the public before, somehow shielded from the searing spotlight which had turned her father into the biggest pop star on the globe.

But when 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson finally spoke to the world, she brought a simple message about Michael Jackson which cut through all the controversy, gossiping and recriminations threatening to overshadow the memorial service Tuesday for the King of Pop.

“Ever since I was born…daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” Paris Jackson said, sobs catching in the back of her throat after the star-studded, four-hour tribute, flanked by her aunts and uncles. “And I just want to say I love him so much.”

Forget the sniping about who was or wasn’t there. Forget the speculation about who will get his millions, what his drug habits were and why some mourners seemed so eager to find a spotlight after his passing. Paris reminded us, at the heart of all this bombast was a father leaving three children far too soon.

Like he did so often when alive, Michael Jackson took centerstage in one final showbiz extravaganza that was ultimately so moving and momentous you had to give it up, one last time.

Along with Paris’ tender tribute, here’s my list of the other moments that made Tuesday’s memorial a singular, fitting recognition to the pop star:

10. Jackson’s backing singers leading the final song, a soaring version of We Are the World. Nice that, in an event featuring so many boldfaced names, a few unknown talents could shine so brightly.

9. Brooke Shields reminding the audience that it is possible to grow up as a child star and become a reasonably well-adjusted person. Her speech, constantly on the edge of tears, seemed more heartfelt than any but Paris’ words, as she recalled her teen friendship with Jackson and her first reaction to his trademark sequined mitten: “What’s up with the glove?”

8. Al Sharpton delivering a sermon filled with enough thunder and righteousness to remind us all there’s a “reverend” in front of his name for a reason. His best line, to Jackson’s kids —- “Ain’t nothing strange about your daddy; what he had to deal with was strange.” — was true and not in the same moment.

7.Britain’s Got Talent star Shaheen Jafargholi may have been a little pitchy, dawg, but the 12-year-old earned major props for tackling Who’s Lovin’ You in front of  Stevie Wonder and Lionel Ritchie.

6. Magic Johnson marveling that a star big as Jackson ordered in Kentucky Fried Chicken when the two hung out at his home.

5. A very pregnant Jennifer Hudson, rebounding fro the tragedy of seeing her mother, brother and nephew killed just months ago, anchoring a soaring, churchified version of Will You Be There.

4. Motown Records owner Berry Gordy topping an emotional speech by calling Jackson “the greatest entertainer that ever lived.” Almost made you forget he nearly turned down the Jackson 5 when they auditioned for his label.

3. Jermaine Jackson, once the family’s second-biggest star, struggling to get through a version of Charlie Chaplin’s song Smile, his voice challenged by grief and the Staples Center’s cavernous acoustics.

2. Smokey Robinson laughing as he recalled how a 10-year-old Jackson sang a version of Who’s Lovin’ You so well, Robinson had to remind some fans he sang — and wrote it — first.

1. Mariah Carey picking I’ll Be There as the memorial’s opening song and being smart enough to bring backing singer Trey Lorenz onstage, even as grief or lack of practice brought her usually soaring vocals to earth a bit.

Michael Jackson Memorial coverage notes: Will biggest news be who doesn't show up?

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 Watching Smokey Robinson read an awkward tribute from Diana Ross at Michael Jackson's just-underway memorial at the Staples Center, it strikes me: The biggest news from this event may be who doesn't show up.

Already, longtime Jackson pal Elizabeth Taylor has said she won't appear, sending messages through Twitter -- Liz Taylor is on Twitter?!? --  ""I've been asked to speak at the Staples Center. I cannot be part of the public whoopla....And I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word...I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. How I feel is between us. Not a public event."

Snarkier minds may theorize that Taylor just doesn't want to appear before a worldwide audience these days -- she has been seen in a wheelchair in public recently. But I wrote this morning about how Jackson's story can seem to corrode whomever it touches -- perhaps friends such as Ross and Taylor just don't want to share space with obvious parasites like dad Joe Jackson.

Though the coverage has just begun, we've already seen a few interesting moments: an NBC reporter who had to be reminded that Betty White is not buried in Forest Lawn cemetery -- in fact, she's not dead -- but Bette Davis is; Fox news anchor Shep Smith sounding a little irritated as the channel tracked the progress of Jackson's casket through traffic noting "they're shutting down freeways for this funeral?" and ex-MTV VJ John Norris wearing a hairstyle (or hairpiece) which looks like a toupee stolen from Donald Trump and stapled to his forehead.

Commentators are comparing the spectacle to Princess Diana's death -- but this may be even bigger thanks to the worldwide audience funneled in by Facebook, Twitter and loads of Web sites. Shades of coverage seems to vary little -- though black-focused BET seems to be very deliberately avoiding any talk about the seamier sides of Jackson's life or legacy.

And it makes a certain kind of sense that the memorial for Jackson, who always seemed to exist in a time a bit apart from everyone else, would start late and have a huge pause in the beginning.

If she's seeking higher office, Sarah Palin may be flunking her biggest test: Mastering the media

If Sarah Palin wants to a be a serious candidate for president, she will have to master one thing above all else: above knowing the issues, above building her base and above reconciling with the corner of the Republican party's leadership which sees her as a toxic mix of ambition and self-destructive unpredictability.

She must master the media.

So far, it looks like she's been letting the media play her, offering an awkward, stream-of-consciousness rant to justify her abdication of the Alaska governorship that made her look slightly unhinged when carved down to the requisite soundbites for TV and wire copy.

She blamed the media for picking on her -- and there's little doubt she's faced a few cheap shots. But she's also faced some serious reporting unmasking substantial problems in her candidacy for vice president, which she hasn't really addressed (to say nothing of calling a major press conference at the last minute on a 4th of July weekend, then barring reporters who showed up late).

Now, her lawyer has sent a letter to big media outlets warning them they may face legal action if they report on rumors tossed around by some bloggers and pundits that she is being investigated for actions taken during construction of the Wasilla Sports Complex, or may be investigated for embezzlement. Full text here.

Why can I write these words with little fear of a lawsuit? Because I'm just repeating details Palin's lawyer brought up himself. Just as every other mainstream journalist who reports on this letter will do.

Which only makes my point for me: Palin must learn to better master the media, instead of letting it master her.

Tampa Bay Idol winner heading to Orlando auditions: Could she be the next American Idol?

 After a week helping judge WTVT-Ch. 13's Tampa Bay Idol contest, now I understand why Fox is backing up the money truck for Simon Cowell (at last count, a salary of $144-million per season was in the offing).

Joined by MJ Morning Show personality Meredith, area vocalist Belinda Womack and WTVT-Ch. 13 feature reporter Charley Belcher, we slogged through 80 video submissions last Thursday.

Then on Wednesday, we saw 10 finalists sing their hearts out before a crowd of a couple hundred people at the Brandon Mall. But as much as I wanted to unleash my inner Cowell -- best I could do was letting one fella know, gently, that his appearance wasn't quite up to snuff for the gig -- the contestants were just too good.

One kid came looking like a backup singer for Chris Brown and unleashed an amazing take on Somewhere Over the Rainbow (think Jennifer Holiday-meets Sam Harris). Another guy stepped up looking like a roadie for Kid Rock and uncorked a spine-tingling version of Oleta Adams Get Here.

In the end, the crown went to Tampa resident Samantha Leigh (left), who ruled the stage with an energetic cover of Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady.

In addition to having great vocal chops, though, she had a sexy, spunky look, a great outgoing performance attitude and the kind of unexpected act -- punky girl with the soulful vocal chops -- that might make an impression with Idol producers.

Leigh gets a gas card worth $100 and a guaranteed spot before the show's producers when they come to Orlando July 9 to audition Floridians.

We were just hoping to pick someone who might pull a Jordin Sparks and go from local affiliate contest winner to overall Idol champ. (photos courtesy of Fox 13)

Take a look at the video below. I think you'll agree that we may have pulled that off.

 

Local TV graphics bloopers highlights need for proofreaders

It's an open joke in the biz that TV folks -- who often consider themselves less word-oriented than their print-based colleagues -- can be a little spell challenged when it comes to creating onscreen graphics to go with their stories.

Faithful reader David Lubin likes emailing me some of the more interesting errors, so I'm posting them here for everyone to enjoy:

Was this a new area near Progress Village?

July 4th comes later than expected!

What a well ROUNDED graphic!