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President Barack Obama was dead-on to declare that Sgt. Crowley "acted stupidly..."

2009-08-04T07:59:00.002-05:00

My brethren in the news and entertainment industries deserve at least half of the blame by ignoring and omitting the president's statement in context: "...in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home."

The news conference was about health care reform. It is sad and problematic that, in emphasizing the last few minutes of the event, the journalism comes off as irresponsible and poor.

President Barack Obama had already acknowledged that he knew only some of the facts and the context. I know that his candor probably shocked viewers, because politicians and executives rarely lay their thoughts or opinions out like that. Viewers are used to executives' and politicians' typical and chronic fear of candor or bluntness, as they fear a public misunderstanding and even wrath.

The president’s declaration was newsworthy, but it was a little less important than the purpose of news conference. It is old, frustrating, and problematic to have my brethren, or future brethren, in the news and entertainment professions choose either easy or lazy options. Those options emphasized what is “sexy” and sensational over what is substance, well-informed, and well-reported This may be the most pleasant way to describe.

From what I noticed from three and even four different news room TVs, the talk program producers and print editors conspicuously chose voices that admonished the president's candor; some doing so in subtle voices, others in blunt ones, and others in voices that force one to ask oneself if they were watching a whole other show. It has been bizarre to see and hear those dominate the conversations as they have.

The Chicago Sun-Times' Mary Mitchell, a woman of color, admonished, "...how does the same man who spent his campaign running away from racial issues jump into this convoluted incident when he clearly has much bigger fish to fry?"

In a comment section at the Detroit Free Press, Eddie Johnson of Royal Oak, wrote, "President Barack Obama acted stupidly when he stated on national television that while he did not have all of the facts in the case he still accused the police of acting stupidly. The police acted on an eyewitness report from a concerned neighbor. They had no choice but to bring him in when he would not cooperate and became abusive."

Also in the Free Press, someone who identifies themself outside of the "racial" binary, with which North Americans are most comfortable, thinks that Sgt. Crowley was wrong. "I am neither black nor white but outraged all the same. The officer should have apologized, at least after knowing the facts."

"My next-door interracial couple met with the same treatment...The man investigated a noise in the back of his house and was arrested. The man told the officer, "This is my house," to which the officer responded, 'I have heard that before.' Later, when facts were clarified, he was released, but without an apology."

That I only found the pro-Obama tack being taken on the Addicted to Race podcast, that the Manhattan diversity training firm, New Demographic, produces, might be telling. One must wonder if it's simply too bold and too unpopular, even heretical, to speak from the pro-Obama corner of this heated-up soapbox? (It's very disappointing that, the podcast's sound quality is meager. But that does not taint the insights or wisdom.)

The president's declaration did not stir the tumult.

Editors' and producers' decisions to emphasize one striking and off-topic part of the healthcare reform news conference played a pivotal part. I am convinced that the incessant coverage, analysis, and over-analysis stirred more of the tumult; at least, they kept the embers of the story from losing their glow. Please, someone kindly and cogently explain why "everyone" has hopped upon this one corner of the soapbox!

NYT's Dargis and Scott on Black men in film leading to Obama.

2009-01-18T18:34:00.006-06:00

The mainstream press is comparing icons, events or phenomena of African-American history to Barack Obama's meaning, real or symbolic, to North American culture. Each outlet is doing so in their individual ways, so that they can remind their audiences about President Barack Obama's meaning and relevance. It is rarely simple, or easy, or forgiving to try to compare the history of a people to a record of the films which were made about, for, or by them. The New York Times' film critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott wrote a column that attempted this. It's also to forecast Obama's ripple effect.

Writing this kind of a column is rarely wise because is it so hard to do it well - with skill and style. This was well-written, providing vital and compelling cultural, historical and political context. In acknowledging only the titanic and iconic filmmakers and actors they omit many of the distinctive and unconventional talents. But Dargis and Scott wrote it very well, demonstrating a deep knowledge of their subjects and the critical, though conventional, players. I must level one criticism to the part that made me wince.

Referring to Obama as "only half-black" is strange and awkward. Why would you make a point of that? I doubt that I am the only multi-ethnic man of color or multiracial person who winces at that concession or quiescence. I imagine that to speculate on their reasons why they emphasized his bicultural heritage would only blow an even bigger hole in the large can of worms that that point has already opened.

A bigger question come from the proverbial left field: In the face of this fascination, it is interesting...even sobering, to have to acknowledge a morose and frightening story that reminds us of how far behind the audacity, promise and hope of which Pres. Obama is a new American symbol.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a story about a documentary film that is at the Sundance Film Festival; it is vital and relevant because actor Morgan Freeman is paying for an integrated high school prom...in a Sundance documentary.

Somehow Charleston, Mississippi, where Freeman lives, has not kept pace with the rest of the United States' attitudes about people of different colors and different cultures finding friends and love among one another. The best way to summarize the crisis is to provide this excerpt from The Journal Constitution: "The heart of the film is candid interviews with black and white Charleston students, who speak passionately about the racism that lingers in their town. The filmmakers follow a core of students, among them a black boy and white girl who date despite her father's objections, a white couple whose friendship with a black youth causes them grief, and a black girl who suspects racism cost her the class valedictorian honor."

That out-dated attitude, that bizarre fear of miscegenation, must remind us of a critical - and chronic - lesson. North American culture is still immature.
Writing a well-intended, but arbitrarily organized analysis of how African-American men have been portrayed in American films in the last 50 years is interesting. Trying to connect that to Barack Obama's assent is a stretch - an interesting one.

It is morose that with a brown and biethnic man becoming the the president of the United States, that this remains.

What - or how does Dargis' and Scott's film analysis contribute to knocking down the fear and ignorance of which cultural divisions and prejudice are made? That is neither the New York Times' duty, nor Dargis', or Scott's duties. It's too important to simply be their duty. When you want the answer to the question of the ultimate responsibility, please go into your hallway, into your bedroom or into your bathroom. Look into the mirror.

A response to Sun. NYT's "Black directors look beyond their niche"

2009-01-12T11:12:00.006-06:00

The Sunday New York Times ran a story which updated readers about the world of or progress of films made by people of African descent.

This story basically recycled the facts of how we have the same old story of snail-paced progress, which accomplishes too little and not nearly soon enough; it's like our artistic communities are jogging in place. It also begs the routine questions of when people of color are going to have enough clout and cash to consider white money as an after thought!

I don't understand why The New York Times ran the story; there is no information or news that advances this story which runs at an every-so-often frequency. The chronic questions about access and clout, about the politics of boldness or aggression vs patience, and about compelling talent pools remain.

The institutional Hollywood mentality and attitude.

Why must niche be interpreted in an ignorant and discriminating narrow way? I think this issue rests chiefly in which assumption the Hollywood's power people make about what their mainstream viewers want and will accept.

The filmmakers in the Times' article said that they have to hustle as much as their predecessors, but they hustle toward those doors that those predecessors knocked or charmed open. There's a tiny bit more access.

Where is the mass artistic and financial force that can propel bolder stories for and from communities of color? The ill economy only worsens the situation.

In pioneer African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux's era, the 1910's through 1940's, his conniving competitor's swindled enough money from the African-American community to trigger their suspicion and tight grips on money. That is probably the original the biggest obstacle. Even though more of our stories are being made, few of them are the kind that force viewers to think or to shift in their seats from uncomfortable thoughts.

Our media artists still fear the politio-economic consequences of making the stories and taking the stands that venture outside of easily assimilable ideas and portrayals. Those for which both Sidney Poitier and Will Smith are famous and often revered.

Where our power rests, but our aggressiveness and militancy is restless:

Will Smith, who has produced some delightful, highly-intelligent stories is simply one brother. He is also akin to the next generation of the Sidney Poitier type: neither he nor his best-loved characters make anglos shift in their seats. That's wonderful...sometimes.

When will we viewers be treated to someone whose vision, artistry, mission and style are as boldly, militant and aggressive as Spike Lee was when he came on the scene 23 years-ago? Other than Spike's 1992 "Malcolm X," Ken Burns' 2004 "Unforgiveable Blackness" provided the most high-profile presentation of a deviant and militant image of an African-American in recent memory.

The newest, latest from a college radio student.

2008-10-29T09:49:00.002-05:00

It's hard to write consistent journal entries while you're a full-time college student and you try to file a few public radio stories in the mean time.

In the last update, in the summer, I mentioned that I had applied to be a scholar at the Third Coast International Audio Festival. I got in. It was my first time. I earned brilliant kudos for some of my stories. It wasn't all great, but a lot of it was. I met one of my role models, Ira Glass; that was surreal!

Now I am in the middle of the first cycle of the Gordon Parks High public radio project; because of that I have created a separate journal for it. Are you interested in an experiment where the University of Minnesota shows "at-risk" high school students what public radio is and how to produce basic stories using sound? Well, here's the latest update.

What will liberate filmmakers of color, like Spike Lee?!

2008-08-27T10:45:00.013-05:00

Are you interested in or concerned about Miracle at St. Anna and why Spike Lee must still struggle to bring his proud and uncompromising views on people of color to viewers?

O.k. You love Spike Lee or you don't; whichever you feel is fine. But when you read the article in the Washington Post about how much Lee had to hustle to make his next film, Miracle at St. Anna, you have to ask how skrewy Hollywood is.

Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It came out in 1986 and blew many people away. It was fresh.; it was new; it was made by African-Americans. After he invested two years in hustling and marketing it, he used each of the next four years to make and release a new film - Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever, among several other - by and about black people. He earned a lot of controversy, some of it reasonable and warranted. He made himself coincidentally a role model for artistic people of color, especially African-Americans.

Is it naive or reasonable that after having made a career, a following and an irrefutable resume, he would need to hustle less because he is a known commodity, a "brand?"

As BBC News confirmed, Lee's last film, The Inside Man had the biggest opening of any film Lee had made or Washington had starred in. Still...

He should not have to do this. But there are no studios which people of color run which do films like "Miracle." Robert L. Johnson's company, Our Stories Films (part of the Weinstein Companies), is geared toward family-friendly stories, those that entertain, but barely challenge how or what you think. Anglos remain much more comfortable with watching stories about themselves than of people who may barely look like them.

In a balanced world, every one's experience and stories receive equal respect and recognition, as long as they are interesting, or amusing, or both. Few Anglos want to be reminded wrongs they or, more likely, their ancestors, committed against people of color. Many of the most important stories about communities of color must acknowledge a history of those wrongs as part of their context. This story is old, chronic; as old as Oscar Michaeux.

It remains morose that, even when people of color, especially African-Americans, want to put their stories into the wide world, they don't have a system in place. Johnson, whose Black Entertainment Television (BET) perpetuated many more problems than those which, many people thought, it was created to solve hasn't helped Lee yet. Perhaps the big question to ask is why affluent or wealthy African-Americans - those who sign peoples' checks and don't wait for someone to sign theirs - and other wealthy people of color haven't decided to make a system to shrink the stresses.

Those artists who challenge their audiences, like Lee and his peers, can focus more on their art and work and worries over money. Have Lee and his peers not given a compelling business (profit) case for supporting these films? How old and chronic is that problem?

What has Will be up to?

2008-08-12T10:40:00.008-05:00

One of my entries from June here earned the attention of leaders at American Public Media's Center for Innovation in Journalism. I wrote about my concern over Minnesota Public Radio's interest in their next generation of reporters and storytellers. Because of the critique that I leved with entry, I feared that I was in for it when one of them called me. It was cool, though I was told that they agreed with me wholy.

Also I have applied for Third Coast Audio Festival's (TCF) "minority" student scholarship, so that I may attend the October event with fewer expenses. We'll see what the gods decide about that. To prepare for TCF I filed a brief piece for their radio ephemera competition. Who wants to show up for the biggest radio storytelling event without something to share and "show?" Please listen to it here.

There's other news about my concern for people, voices and sensibilities of color in public media, especially public radio: my basic, but candid question to the DirectCurrent forum at Current.org was important enough for them to acknowledge and link to it. I had to ask why so few people, of color and not of color, knew how well public media are doing in recruiting and hiring people of color. One crisis that remains is the terrible lack of programs that attract and reflect us.

Also, that experiment with the story what would commemorate Malcolm X's 83rd birth is still in flux. You can keep calling it an experiment! I could have been kinder and gentler on myself, and not opted for a seven-minute cut, but X's legacy receives too little due from people; I will not be one of them.

A rush toward a “post-racial” world?

2008-08-11T11:38:00.013-05:00

New York Times magazine’s 8-09-08 cover story, "Is Obama the end of Black politics?” reminds us of the need to move beyond and away from “race.”

Perhaps 16 years ago, on Oprah, during an episode from her monthly series "Racism in (this year)," an Anglo from the audience pleaded “when is this (racism) going to stop?!” Jane Elliot of “Blue Eye, Brown Eye” fame blurted, “racism’s gonna stop when white people decide to stop it!” The woman who had asked looked hurt; Elliot did not give her the answer that she wanted.

Elliot is the elder Anglo who pissed off a lot of her peers when she conducted the blue eye, brown eye psychological experiment on elementary-age children forty-years-ago.

One must wonder about the fascination and eagerness toward “post-raciality.”
Who needs it? Do Anglos need to say it’s here so that they will feel less obligated to perform or genuflect on the agonizing topics that African slavery and its products spawned?

Most people of color - don't call us "minorities" - want to be known for "the content of our character," not our color or the kinks we may have in our hair. Here's a what if. In a "best of times, worst of times" situation, what if racism dwindles and only affects some quarters of the communities of color; what will the people of color and those not of color, who run things, do then..?

By the way, why "Anglos" and not "white people?" Why not choose a vocabulary that tries to remove color and other such traits from conversation? If you find a smoother way to do go, please go ahead. A "post-racial" world is a delightful and worthy goal, in some ways.

Who wants it? Are americans of African descent, especially those who have made or claimed financial comfort, desperate for this era? Do they await the day when their less-fortunate, less-educated and far less-satisfied brethren will find their own ways to rise above that social and psychological swamp of “race” and color-obsession?

Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) once declared, “…they (Anglos) haven’t even begun to pull the knife (racism) out…" During the last minute of a clip from Youtube.com, X observes what was then and what remains the context of intercolor or "racial" relations in america.

Will the losses or gains be worth it? One of the perhaps 200 subtopics or layers to this question is entitlements. Private, non-profit and federal government statisticians will be pressed to understand how the entitlement programs must change or evolve to truly reflect and serve the needs of those who will be the "new Blacks."

Anglos - if you insist on it, call them white people - have proven throughout human history that they are much more satisfied and comfortable when they can argue that some group must be beneath them. Anglos are not alone in this, but they sure seem to be the experts and the most accomplished at oppression.

Bottom-line: “race” or color-based thoughts and interpretations will only stop when those people in power foresee an overwhelming profit in it. No socio-cultural balance sheet has forecast those numbers yet.

Everyone and everything in public media is online these days.

2008-08-04T15:09:00.012-05:00

Journalism has certainly figured out that that’s where one pillar of success lays. Unfortunately, public broadcasting seems largely satisfied with using sound slideshows as the definition of an online presence.

Some slide shows are great and give you just enough to make you hunger for more, like what WNYC's The Takeaway did at July's UNITY convention for journalists of color. Others are just nice uses of the slideshow technology that provide the audience with little. NPR's Tell Me More gave a nice and stylish one; it celebrated the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; that was nice. It had style and it provided some insight and context for the listener.

Audio slide shows have their places and uses, but thorough, dynamic and funky web presences provide the audience, the listener with more.

Please look at PBS’ American Masters (AM) and American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith's web presences as bench marks for what can be done on the web. This is what AM gave us for Marvin Gaye. This is what Speaking of Faith gave us to understand Muslims better

One of the thoughts or rationales for web content is marked by the frustration or exasperation that used to vex producers: darn it – if only we had a perfect world where the rest of this conversation could be included.

Speaking of Faith has oodles of extra content - Oodles is a technical term, right? They provide the rough cut of that week's conversation; to outside web sites; provide an annotated transcript or description of the many elements that go into each program; refer you to books for further reading. It's clear that their web producer, Trent Gilliss, is very talented; the webbys and other awards that he and the show have earned confirm this.

A website while useful, typically give you information: text, images, content, but rarely context, interpretation that advances the original material. These shows or series have each invested in having a presence on the web; each one is a whole production.

American Masters provides a feature essay, the masters' career timelines, the filmmaker interviews, links to more footage. In this social-networking-preoccupied world, there is also a link to the series' Facebook.com group page.

It can be a marvel to know how much work goes into American Masters' and Speaking of Faith's web presences. A web presence gives you something; it can transport you. These presences provide depth and background. There are probably many people who are thrilled or even awed when they arrive at either of these sites. The more thoughtful and perceptive visitor probably feels obligated to notice: "holy crap, they put a lot of work into this. This probably required a whole team to bring this off."

I remember that one talented web producer said that you need to focus on the user experience. Exploit the technology. Experiment. It's clear that the programs that will do better than the others will have a strong presence on the web and a philosophy about advancing their shows and segments in innovative, artistic and unconventional ways.

So how will public broadcasting revert to the boldness with which it was born?

2008-07-13T16:20:00.006-05:00

Cleveland’s ideastream public broadcasting house, which came as a merger of that city’s public television and public radio stations, in 2001 is an interesting idea. Sadly it doesn't do what Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) does. It may be inevitable even in the Twin Cities - MPR has a tighter belt. After you converge you must remain independent and bold! Oops. Remain is the incorrect word. Revert is correct.

What about afflicting the comfortable often and consistently? That could be especially effective when the story lends itself to presentation across all media, especially the "new" ones.

Maybe you’d like to hear about a multiplatform story idea that insists on being told with text, images, sound, video and intercreativity? A hint: compare communities of color in 1968 to those in 2008.

American Journalism Review has mentioned, even sworn by, the need for journalists and journalism that take risks like they used to a generation ago. Many revered journalists are convinced that the Watergate stories could not happen now.

Do you remember the controversy that arose when 60-Minutes fell in line with CBS News’ decision to shelf the Jeffrey Wigand story, on which the 1999 film “The Insider” was based, ten years ago? Too few newsrooms can boast the audacity, the support, or the money and other resources to afflict the comfortable without fear. This is one of those founding pillars of journalism that has trembled into a shambles.

Yes there need to be troublemakers or innovators! The average person hates change because it disturbs or upturns their comfort zones; most people are very attached to those zones.

The Center for Innovation in Journalism (CIJ), at American Public Media (APM) houses the troublemakers – the good kind! Of course APM and MPR are conservative so that fulfilling CIJ’s mission can seem Sisyphean. They want to do scary stuff; ideas that challenge people and shove them out of the bounds of their comfort zones.

One must wonder, as one plants seeds for this change, this reversion from business as usual, if public radio funders will install the same defacto editorial influence that commercial funders do? It’s a vital question because that could be the first and largest sinkhole MPR would meet aside from the anticipated internal hesitance and wariness.

MPR is revered and feared as a leader (and in other ways). The best leaders do some scary stuff; they make people change or make them change things or change what they do.

Back when Gene Siskel was alive and working with Roger Ebert, they talked to influential and bankable African-American actors about the “New Black Cinema” on a special program. One of the actors was asked what she would do if she had the great good fortune to run a film studio (or the grave misfortune depending on how you see it)

She said that half of the films she would green light would be “obvious” hits. The other half that she would green light would take chances – great and big ones. Her suggestion was simple, bold and ballsy.

It would be great if MPR would take that chance and take that lead. I would like to help them with that.

They’ll be frantically busy with this year’s historic presidential election. It would be understandable if that story idea - to compare communities of color in 1968 to those in 2008 – were pushed into 2009. 1969 is equally memorable. The United States may become astonishing change makers by having elected Sen. Obama their president.

How have DVDs distracted & detoured children from the pleasure of reading?

2008-07-02T12:02:00.003-05:00

There is an auto commercial on TV that should raise the eyebrows of everyone who is concerned about traditional literacy (versus multimedia and multi-platform literacy). In the commercial, a woman is at an auto plant talking to designers or whomever about the features that she needs when she’s toting her children. The designers leap at the opportunity to boast about the individual DVD screens on the SUV.

It’s a cute commercial until you start to ask yourself why the heck that’s a selling point. How many children and young people are trained to count on reading during family car trips, instead of watching a DVD or playing with electronics? I am simply an uncle and fine with staying that way. But parents used to want their children to read, read well and pursue more and more difficult books. How many parents still do something about that? How many advocate it?

Stories and studies abound about how many fewer young people are reading; you know – books and stuff! One book that mentions this is “Boys and literacy: Rhetoric and Reality.”
www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/uploads/approved/adt-QGU20040623.140850/public/02Main.pdf

This addresses traditional literacy in both boys and girls. It establishes that the mother figure is vital to training and setting the standard for children to develop a taste for the pleasure of reading.

One must wonder what our intense emphasis on web-bound lifestyles - those that are based around technology - has wrought. It’s common for parents to shove their children in front of a video screen to keep them quiet and occupied; it happened to me (I’m still digging out and deprogramming myself from that.) It used to be called – and needs to be – the boob tube.

Many questions about lifestyle choices and parenting priorities lay open, right beside the baby monitor; perhaps the reader will see them there. Perhaps the parental figures will turn away from the video screen and ask themselves those decisive questions.

How can public radio woo listeners of color without changing their signature sound and brand?

2008-06-16T17:09:00.004-05:00

A lot of people of color love public radio. Whether they tune in for the spot news, All Things Considered, the upstart Tell Me More, or This American Life, many people of color are appointment or on-demand listeners. Still, too few of them have heard of those shows or of public radio. Maybe it’s because few of the programs or voices explicitly echo lives and attitudes of color.

Tavis Smiley left NPR in 2004, after three years. During and since Smiley's time at National Public Radio (NPR), the programming and marketing executives faced a major and distracting concern about how different, culturally-specific and non-NPR his style and tone was. Member stations worried about Smiley's boisterous and casual way of talking, which is typical in African America, but foreign to those who are used to NPR’s ethnically neutral sound.

Observers noted NPR wanted to have ethnically diverse that didn't kept their core listeners in place.

That won't work. It didn’t work.

Keeping highly-educated Caucasian listeners, those who are core listeners, while mustering the courage to do as Smiley urged NPR to do to woo listeners of color, seems like a Catch-22.

It might be a matter of courage and vision.

What does public radio fear; how do those fears ham string or blind their actions? How will they expand the sound and the bounds of their brand if they fear losing their bread and butter audience?

In December 2004, KRT Campus Columnist, Leah Samuel, at http://www.bgnews.com/, bluntly described one part of the mismatch: "during Smiley's time at NPR, the network and its stations reportedly questioned his openness with his liberal political views, his irreverent style and his willingness to ask challenging questions, as well as to allow a few arguments to break out on his show.”

Several of you might be sighing “it’s been four years; get over Smiley departure!” That’s reasonable until you think about that. Remember how social and political progressives and their friends felt when Antonin Scalia said something similar on the April 27, 2008 edition of "60-minutes?" Yep. It sounds familiar. It remains a valid question. One must wonder why NPR thought that using their conventional and routine marketing strategy, on which most of their programs rely, would attract the listeners of color whom they say they want eagerly.

When communities sound different, then the radio programs and voices that want them as listeners must sound more like those communities; it makes basic sense.

As Eric Deggans, of the St. Petersburg Times asked, “is the organization unable to sustain quality programming for black audiences?” about Smiley's program.

One must wonder what consequences the public radio community fears if they pursue and groom voices who represent African-America, Hispanic America or the myriad tones of Asian America (there are at least 35 different and distinct Asian and Pacific Island countries) or other voices that could add strong, vital and beautiful flavor to a soup that seems too conventional or bland to spark the appetites of communities of color?

Consider this question: what do you do when people of color might want public radio, but they don't know it yet? If you are public radio and you seem distant, remote and foreign, then what good is that? Please think about how well you play with others. These are people who, if they knew you, could easily like you and connect with you.

Who will groom Minnesota's new public radio journalists of color?

2008-06-10T00:28:00.005-05:00

Who will lead the movement and heed the challenge to groom young public radio journalists of color? Many questions lay in my head – restless.

When I check Minnesota Public Radio (MPR’s) web presence for internships or any other opportunities to grow and learn, I see they’ve added more station logos to the top margin of that web page. With each new logo, I assume that, this means they’ve added a new radio station to their network.

I wonder: if they changed their investments, from that of adding more arms to their network, to investing in the next generation of public radio storytellers wouldn’t that be a path with better foresight?

Both National Public Radio (NPR) and Chicago Public Radio have a person of color who is charged with grooming the next generation, regardless, but cognizant of their color. The more local question (in Minnesota’s Twin Cities) is why MPR or American Public Media Group (APMG) doesn’t act as NPR, or even Chicago Public Radio, does?
I admit that I understand little of the money and the machinations of MPR. They have one down-to-earth human resources person, who handles internship hiring. I have spoken to this person; she’s nice enough. She seems to be a straight shooter. They focus very basically on the next generation; every year they post a minority fellowship.

Public radio’s flavor, verve and vitality have often rested with the local community. These stations, like KFAI, are where you can hear many stories that public radio member stations may not understand. African-Americans, and communities of color in general, have often had these stations – their programs, voices and sensibilities as a community anchor. The community radio stations were a source of pride. I use the past tense because those stations seem to dwindle.

While those community stations are important and have their own place, they have a meager reach, especially as their ranks shrink. When journalists and storytellers of color want their voices and concerns to go beyond the avenues of their neighborhood, they need to file for larger houses, like MPR.

Granted the public radio system has returned to an awkward phase; its audience is barely growing. On one hand, which the “New York Times” regularly acknowledges, on April 27th and May 3rd, there are fewer young people who listen to it. They would like to attract enough young people to assure the system that a new generation might be set; also few young people have historic memory or an interest in what radio meant to the twentieth century. I want to believe that boldness and a will to risk what might start a new avenue will help.

That’s why I am working with Prof. Catherine R. Squires, at the University of Minnesota, to design a project that will introduce public radio to students at storytelling Gordon Parks High School. I hope, trigger a desire and acknowledge of this craft, so we can create and fill that need for these public radio voices.

A radio essay to commemorate Malcolm X's 83rd birthday.

2008-06-01T10:02:00.003-05:00

Often when I think about filing a radio essay or a story to mark the 83rd anniversary of Malcolm's birth, I feel pressure to do it very well. I feel that with any story that I file, but there's extra and special pressure with this subject. As one of my sources acknowledged, "he was being wronged constantly." Additionally as I acknowledge, in the story opening, what Malcolm means or meant to you and who he was or is to you depends on where you're from and how you were raised.

This is a thorny subject.

This has been a strange story for me to file in other ways. I finished the stories that I was obligated to do for directed study this spring. For the summer, I decided to experiment with different genres and forms. Malcolm X was supposed to have been done as an essay. I pretty literally go about my stories playing by ear. Guess what? I must have been stuck, like a vinyl record, in a reporting groove. This story didn't turn out as an essay. I have heard few essays that moved or inspired me try my hand at what they've done. I understand little about producing an essay. So, I don't know when I'll be comfortable with that experiment.

03/20/08

2008-03-22T18:49:00.003-05:00

I spoke with Kate for 20-minutes while I learned more about her and she told me hot to improve my Gordon Parks HS story. There are mixing/ levels problems and other concerns of clarity. Be sure I credential Gordon Parks fully, Make explicit connections with The Learning Tree, its relevance and the theme.

03/18/08

2008-03-22T18:49:00.001-05:00

During my last meeting with Kate Moos, I asked if I could sit in on an editorial meeting. She mentioned that they have “cuts & copy” meetings. There, they listen to a rough cut of the program while looking over the script. SOF’s format and aesthetic is unconventional.

Kate allowed me to sit in that editorial today. Much of the 90-minutes flew by as I listened to her, Krista, and three other producers and an intern discuss how to finish or improve a problematic story, or both. I asked a few questions and remembered how much I missed working on a show; the creative process.

As I confided to Kate, I almost forgot that I wasn’t their intern. After their intern offered to help find great readings to fit with the show, I had to prevent myself from volunteering!

03/17/08

2008-03-22T18:48:00.001-05:00

The main problem – what vexed me with this story, about Gordon Parks High, is my volume, my levels. There are many technical skills or techniques at which I must become comfy and skilled. I’ve mentioned voicing. I’ve mentioned organization of sound clips “actualities.” Now, it’s having the levels match from track to track, even if I do that by boosting them in Pro Tools.

03-13-08 the road to a capstone story about Gordon Parks HS.

2008-03-14T20:59:00.001-05:00

Wow. Public radio work is like French studies. Sometimes I love it (I guess,) but just when I think I’ve licked a problem, or I’ve found a smarter way to work and then some issues or mutated problem smacks me in the snout like it was a rolled-up magazine.

There’s still so much I must learn! In some ways, this directed study has become an extension of my internship! Holy heck.

I covered the Gordon Parks High School’s official dedication on Thursday, March 6. I organized my event sound on Friday and planned to start cutting on Sunday. Well, a technical situation prevented that.

I cut for three hours on Monday, but had to do most of it on Tuesday. I can’t cut on Wednesdays because my class schedule precludes that. Before I could put the whole piece together I had to get different ambi. sounds from the web and St. Paul Public School’s community relations office.

I had to finish this thing by the end of the day. I cut for seven hours. That was a first! I did it because my news director gave me a tight for a full-time student (generous, in professional terms.) I didn’t do that at NPR. Somehow I remained focused and lucid. I had to deliver.

There’s a snag here. My ears and story sense faded greatly after that many hours. I needed a break if I were to deliver quality – my best story. That, or a producer with whom to work.

Yes. I have a producer. I am amazingly fortunate: I have MPR’s Kate Moos as a consulting producer and editor. I deliver two different cuts. I was preparing Tuesday’s cut for KFAI. Kate receives a higher quality cut. Kate is cool, delivering to her unnerves me. It feels like a job interview.

02-29-08

2008-03-07T20:32:00.000-06:00

I feel like I’ve been neglecting this journal. Since I wrote last time, I have just been cutting something that I record two weeks ago. A Univ. of Mich prof. spoke before the SJMC. There were 50-minutes of material and clips to listen to and first it was hard to isolate what I was going to keep. There were several fascinating segments to make into a story.

After my meeting with Kate Moos, I noticed that I had begun to stray away from the values or rules, or both, that I learned at NPR. Basically, I had forgotten to keep just what I needed to tell the story. Keep it simple. After I chose the best bit, it was easier, but then I found a different problem: how to transition from clip to clip? Did I want to voice between bits or not?

I don’t like tracking (voicing) more than I have to, more than twice at most. Tracking is its own pain in the butt – or I need to write that it’s a special skill that I’m still working at. It’s still too new to me – all the energy that I must put into it for me to sound interesting! It’s a broad vocal performance and I have only my subjectivity as the arbitrator of what was good.

Kate Moos noticed my obvious blind spot. I need a producer, someone I can trust to produce me. I need a set of fresh ears, thoughts and approaches to produce a great story.

When I report on Gordon Parks High School's dedication, that will be an interesting two or three steps up on complexity from what I’ve been doing. It will be the closest to what I did with Intern Edition. There will be many voices. I will include Park’s music and a student’s voiced poetry. I want to use the poetry; we’ll see if it makes the cut.

I keep attracting amazing opportunities.

2008-02-23T15:41:00.005-06:00

I have interned at NPR. My friend, Barb Bradley, eased me into a meeting with an influential person upon returning. That person is Kate Moos of American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith (SOF) show. Kate runs it. It’s a show that I love and respect. Though I must steal time to listen to it, it edifies me often.

When we met, Kate and I wound up with half the time than she had set aside to talk. She introduced to her small staff. I made a good impression. She said that she’d like to talk to me some more; to help me to learn and grow in the craft of radio storytelling. Neither her days, nor her job are forgiving. Still she wanted to spend more time with me. My friends in public radio are slowly teaching me what good fortune or grace I have in my life.

She had to help with an SOF-related book tour, but we could hook up after then.

We met again and she reintroduced to her small staff – warm people. Kate and I began talking about the first story that I filed for the Twin Cities’ KFAI radio. After she appraised my story, she began asking questions to find the answer an important question for me: do I have a producer or an editor partner? At the end of her questions, I told her that I am alone in my work with KFAI. “I ship my stuff off to Washington”, so that a great friend there with “picky ears” can give me her candid critique.

I don’t have a partner who can provide me with fresh ears, perspectives and insight that my friend can. There are several story elements and considerations that are vital to making a great and compelling story.

I opened this entry by mentioning amazing opportunities. Kate offered to produce and edit my story with me! I was shocked. I was moved. I didn’t want to seem like a bumpkin, so I didn’t drop my jaw – Gosh, I hope I didn’t. After chatting about the logistical details and how we would coordinate this, I remained incredulous. I reminded her: "You don’t have time to do this." She shook her head. I don’t know why I’m doing this either, she said. Then she paid me some decisive compliments

I’m still processing the meaning, the bounty and the prestige of her offer. “I feel like I’m back in Washington,” I said. There’s great pressure to perform in Washington. (Maybe it’s just healthy and reasonable motivation to work at the peak of your talent and potential.)

I spoke to Sheryl Lee Ralph on Feb. 5

2008-02-14T16:45:00.002-06:00

I interviewed Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph about her one-woman play “Sometimes I Cry” and her connection with National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on Feb. 5. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day fell on Feb. 7. This was a different story for me to report and produce than the one about Interstate 35W’s bridge collapse. One difference: this was the first story that I was assigned to file. Another difference: the news department had two days to turn Sheryl Lee Ralph conversation around. I had to cut it on the day of the conversation because my classes imposed their own demands on me. When I produced the bridge collapse story, my due date was several weeks away. I had plenty of time to cut. That suited me for a few reasons: I had to learn Pro Tools and how KFAI’s news department works.

When I produced the Sheryl Lee Ralph conversation, I couldn’t finish editing it because I had other work to do. I’m confident in my Pro Tools skills, but when the News Director, Lauretta Dawolo, teased me or chided me about having “spent enough time” cutting the 13 minutes into the five-minutes for the story I became sensitive. My lone frame of reference comes from National Public Radio (NPR) where I interned in the fall. There you work quickly and precisely. I just learned how to use Pro Tools. People tell me that I don’t forgive myself for my shortcomings or learning curves. I’m working on this.

I was almost finished cutting it, so Lauretta said that she would finish cutting it. She had done this for many other reporters.

Many of the tasks that seasoned sound editors do concurrently, I do sequentially. I have a specific comfort level; part of this might be anxiety. Ironically Lauretta said that she wants me to undergo KFAI’s Pro Tools and reporter training. One might think that I had already learned that through NPR’s “Intern Edition.”

35W story: reflections after air.

2008-02-03T19:47:00.000-06:00

I filed my story, finally, on Thursday, January 31. It is about one man’s compulsion to help others when the 35W bridge collapsed. I reported this story for Twin Cities’ KFAI radio. This is the first story that I have reported since I returned from Washington. This took longer than I wanted it to, but I learned a lot. In addition to learning Pro Tools, I am less dependent on my news director for technical help.

After I listened to my story was narrowcast and again two days later, I noticed several small problems. There were details that I wish I had caught before the narrowcast. Before I upload this story to my radio portfolio I want to correct these and tweak the ambient track’s volume. There’s a difference between what I heard while I was cutting and what I heard on my radio at home. Also there was at least one piece of tracking that begins abruptly. One of favorite friends in Washington, D.C. said that after a lot of cutting work, you get “picky ears.” Mine are not so choosy yet.

The ears at NPR are pickier than I think is necessary. Those at KFAI aren’t picky or precise enough. I am shocked at what passes for the narrowcast there. There are two different even disparate worlds. I, and my work, sit uncomfortably between the two.

I am learning. I am progressing. I’m following up on an assignment to speak to a B-level actor whose work I like and respect.

Updates on the 35W feature radio story.

2008-01-31T07:27:00.001-06:00

It is interesting how officially beginning a semester puts a road bump into reflecting on my radio progress.

From 01/28/08, I spent another four and a half hours at KFAI... I don't feel like I accomplished much! I spoke to the communications person for Minneapolis and left a voice mail with the appropriate Deputy Chief of the fire department. My news director asked me if I wanted to interview actor Sheryl Lee Ralph about National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and the one-person play that she is performing about and coincident with it. I am interested. She has done some strong work.

From 01/22/08, I invested another four hours just to straighten out the rough cut and matching the script to it. I did call to get the last interview for this story. I wonder how simple it will be to talk to the source that I prefer?

From 01/18/08, I invested four hours in cutting and finding ambient sound and recording that for use on this story. I had hoped to spend only two and a half hours. I am reminded of how long it can take to cut a piece. I believe that I have only the Minneapolis Fire Department's point of view to record now.

The good news; what I did in 30-minutes today would have taken two hours earlier in this process. This is because I have used Pro Tools enough that I know more of what I am doing. I know hot to do what I need to do without "futzing" around. I can work more quickly. ...It's annoying that the evidence isn't obvious.

A learning curve in the 35W six months story.

2008-01-17T07:54:00.000-06:00

The last three cutting sessions at KFAI have been interesting, frustrating and useful. I’ve begun to feel competent with ProTools. I’ve also been learning my rhythm. I want to be able to hit the ground running to produce my stories with little learning curve stall. ProTools is its own pain in the butt. Like an engineer friend, at NPR, would gently remind: it’s all basically the same tool. They just have different ways to do stuff. I know enough to put together a strong story.

I still want to improve how quickly I can pare down the redundancies in my audio. I had some inspired and ruthless help from my Intern Edition mentor. My rough cut with much of the stammers and crutch words cut is 6:30-ins. My news director says that the longest she wants it to be sis 5:00. That’s hard, but not so hard. Hard comes when I speak to the MFD or emergency management spokes person to respond to my source’s criticism of their response to the collapse I have to cut nearly ½ of my tape to make length and room to fit that voice.

I also don’t know whether to go with the NPR standard of clean sweeping all crutches and stammers or to retain some to keep the flavor of my source and the story.

Will's latest story

2008-01-05T17:53:00.000-06:00

I’m working on the personal feature story about a young man who was or might have been a hero when Minneapolis’ 35W bridge collapsed on August 1, 2007. That evening I was at Dinkytown’s Kitty Kat Klub with my French class reviewing for our final examination. Meanwhile my cousin was bee-lining into the middle of the chaos –some Twin Citians have probably called this their own version of September 11th. My cousin did what many others probably want to claim; he risked his to life help another. The story peg is being geared for the six month marker of the event on February 1st.

When my sister told me that our cousin had had a two-fold experience, I wanted to confirm and file that story. It originally seemed that he had helped to save one person’s life and then had the opposite event happen. Well that opposite and hard to swallow story was his.

Traumatically, he had to watch someone die. He has a strong and compelling story about wanting to do the right thing – what your character and conscience demand. His story is similar to movie thrillers where an ordinary person is pushed by his moral calling to attempt the extraordinary.

The story is moving along. While the interview audio and the narration is laid down, important and transcendent elements are missing. I don’t have the audio to create a scene or a full enough sonic, transportational experience.

This is an interesting change from story building in Washington to doing so in Minneapolis. The software and team are new to me. I mentioned, in the prior post, that ProTools was confounding me. I have a different and new learning and working curve.

The good news: I’m free to pursue and file stories and use the skills and knowledge that I got from NPR. The bad news: I haven’t the familiar support network, expertise and software that was my advantage at NPR.

Moving from National Public Radio to KFAI radio.

2008-01-01T18:32:00.000-06:00

Wright’s Journal and I are at a cross roads. Some new and old friends check Wright’s Journal as they would their old favorites. I wrote at the beginning of my internship at National Public Radio (NPR). That was in September. Upon arriving there, I worked and noticed the learning curve. I found that it was wiser to just keep my nose to the grindstone than to wonder whether a posting was going to jeopardize my time at NPR. There are rules and customs to web log journalism that I don’t understand yet; I haven’t found the real or proverbial manual yet.

I’ve returned home to Minneapolis. I will resume classes at the University of Minnesota; when I do so I plan to independently study at KFAI radio. I want to identify, report and file stories so I can continue to learn by doing. A part of this process will be me reflecting on what I’m doing and how well it is going at KFAI. I will write these reflections here. This, so that my advising instructor will have reliable updates.

I’ve noticed already that producing stories at KFAI will be very different than doing so at National Public Radio – Pro Tools is a pain to learn! NPR’s Dalet system wasn’t easy to learn, but I did have a bunch of great people whom I could ask for help. I don't relish changing sound editing software just when I had become competent with one!

I mentioned a cross roads; I see myself as a traditional “top down” story teller. I’m accustomed to sending queries to editors and following up with them to publish stories. I understand, however grudgingly, the attraction of having a web log.

I find it lazy and absurd to keep drilling the name of a web-based journal or column down to one syllable though. I suppose people think it’s cool and hip to dumb the name down.

Some people have a special or even unique journalistic voice and they can self-publish that for free and earn a following, credibility and a career. I’m happy for them. I have only recently had that light of realization go on in my head. A decisive question popped into my mind: what is the difference, time line-wise, in sending and following up on queries vs. simply writing well–informed and well-reported stories on a web journal? Either path can take just as much time when you’re building a resume, a reputation and a career.

I don’t know what my next step is.

The treats & tricks of being a temporary Washingtonian #1

2007-09-08T11:42:00.001-05:00

This is an anecdote from my experiences as I reorient myself to D.C.

Unwittingly, I played out a scene straight from "Children of a Lesser God." You see I'm in D.C. to intern at National Public Radio. I'll live in D.C. for three months. I need to find a "permanent" place to live. The Hilltop Hostel won't suffice. It doesn't have that much magic. On Friday the 7th, I followed-up on an advert for a room to rent. It was near Gallaudet University. Now, the hostel has a PC. One with DSL. But it has no printer. I could have printed the mapquest page at the DC public library, but I didn't think that I'd become so lost.

So, because I couldn't print the map, I wrote reasonable directions relative to what was perpendicular from Florida Ave. Whoops! Who knew?! By the way, I'm not good with directions. I thought in terms of it being North East from Florida Ave. I walked in the heat for twenty minutes in the wrong and opposite direction. I was tired already and frustrated, wearing a layer of sweat that was drying in patches. At the end of the twenty minutes I asked some of the brothers for directions. The common response was, "Jeez, that's all the way over there!" His tone and gesture boded poorly for me. I start my internship on Monday. My first hunt for a room is going this poorly from the start?

The guy suggested a bus. I'm comfortable with the metro rail. Not with the buses. In my condition, I can get lost again or finally find my way on my own - I hope so, truly. I don't want my ignorance of the bus system to compound my stress.

I call the building owner to confirm how far on or off base I am. She gives me useful directions, but not overtly explicit. I divert from the avenue that she told me to follow. I've seen the street number and I want to turn to find the matching street name. I want to find Neal St. Well, I bump into Gallaudet somehow! I know from MapQuest, that the room is near there, but I don't remember the map showing it that near by!

I walk onto the campus. After a few people pass by me, I try to stop one. I ask her if she has two minutes to help me. She just keeps walking and looking like she can't be bothered. I figure that she's either in a hurry or she's just rude! A few steps later, the reality of where I am comes to me. Why does Gallaudet Univerity exist? Whom is it here to serve? The deaf! "You idiot!" I admonish myself.

I reminded myself of the scene from "Children of a Lesser God" where Bill Hurt's character yells after Marlee Matlin's as she walks away from him. The headmaster notices this and marvels, yelling, "Yelling at the back of a deaf person. Very good!"

I am on my way to NPR in Washington!

2007-09-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

There is little to write about this. ...Well, that's not accurate. There's much that I can write, but I'm been very busy and focused on subletting the apartment and other logistics.

I have the honor and privilege of working at NPR. I will learn. I will absorb. I will connect. I will excell.

Perhaps you will ask me about the process and my experience. That supposes that you are reading this.

So, I’m in the middle of the woods when National Public Radio calls…

2007-08-19T12:59:00.000-05:00

I’m vacationing with my sister and her family in a small Wisconsin town. I’m pushing my youngest niece, Gita, on the swing when my mobile phone rings. Wow, there’s a cell phone tower near by. I answer the phone, "Hello, this is Will Wright. How can I help you?” Then, I hear “this is 'so and so' from National Public Radio.”

I say, “Good. O.k.” Thankfully I just responded by reflex with a “business-friendly” response.

I am told that they want to schedule a phone interview with me for the internship for which I applied! Whoa. …You apply for it, but frankly, you don’t expect to receive the call. It’s extremely competitive.

So, I am told to expect an E-mail that will detail how the interview will go. It’s just going to be 15-minutes of conversation. Yeah, but that conversation could set the course for my public radio journalism career.

Before I received the E-mail, I simply knew that NPR wanted to talk to me. I mustn’t write “simple” because it’s a big deal. Questions remained. For which program was I being considered? I knew that someone would interview me, but that was all.

Later that day, back at my sister’s house, I checked my university E-mail account. I learn that a Ms. Walker, a Sr. Supervising Producer, will talk with me. Whoa. I don’t know how senior that is, but it sounds impressive and intimidating enough. I also learn that she works with Michel Martin’s “Tell me More” show. I do some research. I learn that Ms. Walker was a producer for Tavis Smiley in California.

The next day, I had to go to my day job. I started at 10am. My interview would be about four hours later. I would still be at work. I felt poorly for my employer. It's very hard to concentrate on the day's work and my learning curve when I'm facing a decisive interview.

I felt a combination of feelings. I’m cool because NPR called me. I’m anxious because NPR called me. I’m also nervous. Guess why?

During the phone interview, I calmed and found a comfort zone, after a while. I broke down the biology of a radio conversation and her response was telling. She sounded very satisfied and said, “Exactly.” It seemed like I had nailed the interview.

I had not expected to be called. I had not expected to satisfy the interviewer. You hope. You don’t expect.

What did I expect? I don’t know. That’s a longer discussion.

My reflections after having listened to thirty minutes of “On Topic.”

2007-07-28T08:50:00.000-05:00

Questions are vital when I produce a radio conversation. My friend and researcher wondered if I had enough questions to fill the hour I had. Filling the hour is and isn’t my major concern. If I were wanting to fill it, then I need to find a different passion. When I think fill, I think fluff. I think filler. I think “absent of substance.” Wright’s Words are supposed to start conversations. They are not supposed to be escapism.

When I was in the midst of the conversation, I was focused on making sure that I asked great, evocative and information questions. These questions would keep the conversation flowing well. I would try to stay out of the way of the story. “On Topic” is about a story.

My second goal, after ensuring that I’ve prepared the best questions, is to make sure that there’s a story being told. I don’t want to bore my listeners. Boredom doesn’t start conversations. Well, if you’re boring enough, that will start a conversation. That conversation is not worthy of Wright’s Words, though.

When I’m in the studio broadcasting or recording and guiding a conversation, I’m completely ignorant of flow and pace. I have no objectivity when I’m in front of that “hot“ mic. Then, everything seems to move slowly, very slowly.

When I listened to this Gordon Parks conversation, I heard how well it all stuck together. There were good questions and great answers.

I am fresh from the fog of live radio narrative production.

2007-07-23T07:43:00.000-05:00

My reflections on the latest “On Topic.”

I finished recording an hour of “On Topic” on Minneapolis’ KFAI radio on Sunday night. That focused on Gordon Parks’ life. It’s so hard to cover the topic of Gordon Parks’ legacy and life lessons in an hour of live radio. There was no post-production, just “hot” mics. There are so many stories from his life, and the nieces’ and nephews’ recollections, that will amuse, inspire and intrigue listeners. The pre-interview process helped me there.

I have not yet listened to what I produced.

The Comparisons...

It’s difficult for me to compete and compare my work to Terry Gross’ “Fresh Air”, Dick Gordon’s “The Story” and Ira Glass’ “This American Life”. They are all on National Public Radio, where I want to do, at least, some work. I haven’t the staff or technical competence or practice to compete with my role models. Should I want that? What I want is to do excellent radio narrative journalism to improve my skills and also have more clips to promote my talent. A former co-worker reminded me of the words of Saturday Night Live’s Stuart Smalley, “compare and despair.”

I am sure that, sometimes, my inquisitive nature gives me a bigger mouth or appetite than that which one hour of live radio will accommodate. Still, “On Topic” is a different program that often has a different editorial standard and objective than those of my role models’ programs.

I’m eager to listen to the latest “On Topic.”

For me to cover any of Gordon Parks’ films, literature, photography, paintings or musical compositions thoroughly, or even just enough to demonstrate respect, is arduous. I would need to have at least fifteen minutes, easily! I would prefer thirty minutes to present a great conversation that is "On Topic."

"On Topic" with Will Wright was promoted, generously, by Minneapolis' Al McFarlane

2007-07-17T12:59:00.001-05:00

Today I was scheduled to plug my program,"On Topic" with Will Wright, on Twin Cities' KFAI radio on Sunday July 22. Al McFarlane said I could take a few minutes at the beginning of "Conversations with Al McFarlane." Al publishes "Insight News" in Minneapolis, MN. I expected to have two to three minutes. That's the typical run time. Brother Al was extravagant. He gave me 13-minutes. It was very nice and a great compliment to Wright's Words and me. Please tune to 90.3FM Minneapolis and 106.7 FM St. Paul for "On Topic." Also look at InsightNews.com and Kfai.org.

Gordon Parks will be "On Topic" with Will Wright On July 22, 2007 at 6:00pm

2007-07-13T12:59:00.000-05:00

On July 22, 2007 at 6:00pm, Will Wright will discuss Gordon Parks' legacy. On Twin Cities' KFAI radio - Minneapolis 90.3 FM/St. Paul 106.7FM

Icon. Artist. Family man. Role model. He was a man from an era before the web, the i-pod or You Tube. He led a life of timeless challenges and awesome peaks. These make us smile, laugh and awe. Gordon Parks is revered as a former St. Paul resident. He was also renown as a filmmaker, photographer, memoirist, music composer and much more. Will Wright will focus on how Parks overcame personal obstacles to create a life of artistry and inspiration.

There will be approximately four segments:
[1] an introduction of Gordon Parks' life,
[2] how he defined himself and his work,
[3] how he persevered and overcame his many obstacles, and
[4] the legacy and inspiration his life and work have for young people of color. That final segment may focus on one of his works.

Scheduled guests are Dorothea J. Burns and Bobby Hickman who are Mr. Parks' niece and nephew, respectively. Robin P. Hickman, Mr. Parks' grand niece and Mr. Hickman's daughter, is also scheduled.

Gordon Parks will be "On Topic" with Will Wright on Sunday July 22nd at 6:00pm.

Where is the creative and personal leadership youth education?

2007-06-05T20:15:00.000-05:00

To operate on a global platform one must be conversational in at the very least one language other than English.

Many North American colleges and universities have decided that they must create or improve their leadership training programs. Among the reasons why this change is needed are the many corporate ethical and criminal crises that these North American companies created in the last twenty years. Serious cultural changes are needed. We need a generation of people who can lead outside of business life. We need leaders in cultural life. There is much more to life than business. It is often acknowledged that the potential that lay with the youth must be recognized. Specifically the potential they have to become stellar leaders and ambassadors for good. Has anyone considered the necessity of beginning leadership training in elementary or middle school?

Why does personal leadership education wait until perhaps college level or high school?

The necessary competencies and training can take root, especially quickly in children. All people, but especially children must be taught the behavioral, communications and cooperative skills that are vital foundations to developing into a leader of merit. Why is this need rarely mentioned or acted on?

It is important to ask where children can be taught to be open-minded, a language other than English and behavioral values that are common to the world’s disparate and divided cultures. At which schools are children taught this and then tested with gradually more difficult small unit leadership exercises.

Is it a problem of overly simplistic thinking? Is it nihilism?

Most people know that the earlier a child begins studying a language, the quicker they’ll learn it and the more languages they can learn just as quickly. Toastmasters International has speech craft curricula that is provides to high schoolers. Do the Brownies and Cub Scouts have small unit leadership exercises to assess, challenge and motivate the children?

If Toastmasters International, the Brownies and others could be combined with language immersion classes and be brought to bear on the children, this country and its international relations would improve.

It is often acknowledged that it all begins at home. So can lessons in personal and creative leadership.

2007-05-25T20:57:00.001-05:00

How does an Hollywood studio cast an anglo woman to portray a living person who is of color?

2007-05-25T20:20:00.000-05:00

How does an anglo woman get cast in the role of Mariane Pearl, a multi-ethnic/multi-“racial” woman of color in A Mighty Heart? Aren’t there basic sense and typical questions, along with a grasp of historic context, that must be considered? It must be basic sense to cast a woman of color to portray one. Apparently the studio ignored that basic sense.

Being a multi-ethnic/multi-“racial” woman of color in an era where they straddle the traditional community boundaries requires an actor who understands that life. That is necessary for her to portray it accurately and convincingly. There are few anglos who understand, in their skin, the life of color. There are many questions that must be asked; they are complex and uncomfortable.

How did no one consider the history of African-Americans in film, before it became less dangerous for one to self-identify as multi-ethnic/multi-“racial” and of color? The phenomenon of blackface comes to mind, which Racialicious has also invoked. Is this blackface in reverse? Granted that Jolie may look a little dark in the trailers, but that might surely come to the viewer, given that credit as he or she might strain to grasp how she was so cast. How did the film’s producers inadvertently consent to offend an entire community of color; actually all communities of color?

One needs to wonder why there has been meager mainstream news attention paid to this. All evil (or ignorance) needs to succeed is for moral people to stand by and do nothing.

This analyst cannot help but take this personally, but he tries to be as objective and reasonable about it as possible. “…either you’re part of the solution or you’re part of the problem.” Eldridge Cleaver

I'm now a...poet?!

2007-05-14T18:33:00.000-05:00

Sunpiper Press has finally published their poetry anthology: “Whispers of Inspiration – Spiritual Inspiration”. I submitted the script for a motivational speech that I performed before my Toastmasters club approximately four years-ago. Sunpiper Press decided that that script, about the out-of-body experience I had while counseling a distressed female stranger, was poetry. It’s nice to announce an addition to my writing resume. But you may wonder: since when is Will a poet. I agree; I am not, but Sunpiper found my words to be poetic.

Sadly there's no web link to "Call to Action, Call from the Heart". There is a link that shows you the book: http://astore.amazon.com/sunpiper-20/detail/0977005003/103-8974301-9635826

Wright's Words are on page 37. It's neat.

It was published on: 2007-02-06, but released on: 2005-12-06.