The panel included the Managing Editor of one of the leading national daily newspapers, the Washington Bureau Chief of a well-known wire service, the Chief Content Officer of a multinational mass media company that publishes hundreds of magazines, including perhaps the most popular newsweekly, and the vice president of content and news for a daily news broadcast on a large subscriber-based cable network. The topic, loosely organized under the title “Journalism in the Age of Trump,” drew a roomful of national business writers and editors, as well as several students from the Journalism school hosting the event.
Though billed as a discussion on “Fake News” and “Virtual Reality,” the commentary quickly turned to media bias. These newsroom pros were surprisingly candid. The Managing Editor bluntly revealed what we all suspected: Journalism today tends to attract those from only Continue Reading “Newsroom Pros Reveal Candid Truth About Media Bias”
Blackballed Again: Are You Prepared?
The fact is, those modern-day synonyms merely reflect an awful tradition that dates back centuries, if not to the beginning of man’s time on Earth.
Indeed, there’s a really bad 1986 movie called The Clan of the Cave Bear. It stars Daryl Hannah, whose main character is ostracized from her Neanderthal family. As far as I can tell, they blackballed her because, unlike all the brunettes in the clan, she had blonde hair. (Of course, being caveman times and the lack of adequate shower facilities, perhaps it would be more accurate to describe her as a “dirty blonde.”)
In terms of good cinema, there’s always Looney Tunes’ 1953 cartoon “Bell Hoppy,” featuring Sylvester the Cat voicing the phrase “Blackballed again” when the Loyal Order of Alley Catz Mouse and Chowder Club declines his membership.
Most of us have had the unfortunate experience of being left out. It usually happens when Continue Reading “Blackballed Again: Are You Prepared?”