Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Ralph and the “N” word

jim taricani

The media coverage of the controversy surrounding former Board of Trustees Chairman Ralph Papitto is getting to be a bit much. After the Providence Journal broke the story about Mr. Papitto using the “N” word during a board meeting about diversity, Mr. Papitto called the John DePetro and Dan Yorke radio talk shows on WPRO. Both hosts had a different take on Papitto’s “ mistake.“  DePetro…not so forgiving, Yorke, forgiving. But the issue has run its course. Even though the students and some faculty are now calling for Papitto’s name to be removed from the law school he helped to build, the general public is not really effected by this.
Roger Williams Univeristy is a private school. This issue will be resolved within the school, as it should. While Papitto’s use of the “N” word was stupid and inexcuseable, it is not similar to the Don Imus situation. Imus broadcast his racist remarks to millions of people all across the country. Papitto’s self described “ mistake”-which is hard to believe-was made in a private, closed board meeting to fellow board members.
While the talk shows served as a good platform to discuss the issues involved in this mess, enough already! There’s a war in Iraq, al-Qaida is still lurking, and OH MY GOD, Geroge’s in Narragansett might close its doors.
So let’s move on folks, and let the new board members at Roger Williams and the student body take care of their business, sans the airwaves.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Lap Dog White House Press Corps

jim taricani

So, the White House press corps has a new briefing room. Fittingly named after James Brady, the former press secretary to President Reagan who was shot the same time Reagan was.
It’s too bad so many of the broadcast journalists, who have so much influence in this country, do little to deseve such precious seats in the White House press room.
The White House press corps, at least the broadcast division, is a lap dog operation that is too often concerned more with having friends in the administration that can feed them propaganda tips so they can beat their competitors. Rarely is there independent digging or investigative reporting into White House affairs, or the affairs of the sitting president’s administration. There are exceptions, like Lisa Myers of NBC and one or two of her counterparts on the other networks. But day in and day out, the real reporting is still done by newspaper reporters, who, as they should, keep an arms length away from their White House sources.
A few months ago, there was a disgusting piece of video of aWhite House dinner, where NBC’s David Gregory, the network’s White House correspondent, could be seen dancing and cavorting with the prince of darkness, Karl Rove in some kind of political satire routine.
Many in the broadcast profession who cover the White House, arguably the most important beat in America, get too cozy with those they are covering out of fear of getting scooped.
They need to toughen up, swallow their biases, and get back to good old fashion reporting.
Just this morning, in the Washington Post, that stallwart of investigative reporting, Bob Woodward, broke yet another story that the t.v. guys will be chasing, and plagarizing all day. Woodward reported that the President’s own study group, headed by a top CIA official, concluded months ago that the Iraqi government could not, under any circumstances, stabilize that country.
I suspect if some of the broadcast White House correspondents spent more time developing sources, instead of dance partners for White House parties, one of them may have gotten this story first.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Why we don’t read newspapers

Jim Taricani

There was a letter to the editor in the Providence Journal recently by a man bemoaning the fact that newspaper circulation and readership is at an all time low, and getting lower. He suggests people should subscribe to newspapers and basically read them on a regular basis instead of relying on television and radio news.
What this letter writer missed is the unmistakeable fact that so many Americans have opted for the slick, superficial method of keeping informed. For decades now, young people have been raised in a land of television, Ipods, digital transmission of information and sensational programming. The cumulative effect of all of that is brain-rot.
Shows like American Idol and whatever that dance contest program is dominate the interests of the masses.
While there are plenty of 24 hour cable news shows, the Neilson ratings show that only a fraction of the populace watches them.
I have friends that pay a lot of attention to editorials in the Journal, and other publications. But who reads editorials any more? Surely not the 20-something set. And most of my generation, the baby-boomers, have little time to read anything except their 401k balance sheets or the box scores on the Sports page, or more likely, the internet coverage of sports.
People are turned off by politicians because so many are nothing more than consultant-driven talking heads, without any real conviction on the issues they profess to care about.
There are plenty of people who work in television news, that don’t read newspapers.
I personally believe that newspapers provide the most legitimate form of journalism. Whether you agree with the point of view of a particular story or not, you can be assured that the facts of the story have gone through a vetting process, unlike so many of the web-based writers who claim to be reporters.
Newspaper stories are able to provide the context to stories that televison and radio news can rarely do, becasue of time constraints.
So many of the major newspapers in this country are downsizing. It is depressing to see the staple of the 4th estate wilt away under the hot glare of the so-called “ new media.“
While there are many websites/blogs and other entities that provide useful and factual information, there is nothing like reading newspaper story that is well written, fact checked, and balanced in its reporting.
If the web-based versions of newspapers do take over the printed versions, I would hope that the same high standards of journalism will apply to those who produce those web pages.
But for me, I still look forward to picking up my morning newspapers and digesting them, editorials and all, over a good cup of coffee.
If our citizens are not informed, and more importantly if they don’t take the time to get themselves informed, then this lively experiment we call our democracy is all for naught.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Cianci on the airwaves

Jim taricani

In just a few weeks, Buddy Cianci, the former colorful mayor of Providence who is now a convicted felon, will most likely sign a deal to be a talk radio host.
There is a lot of speculation about where the Bud-Eye will end up, and recently the rumor mill is swirling about whether Buddy will skip little Rhody and head up I-95 to Boston’s WRKO.
Whether Buddy ends up on WPRO of WHJJ or in Bean Town, he would do himself well to conduct himself as an elder statesman.
Cianci has tons of wit, a sharp intellect and a way words that could do much to offer commentary on the day’s events and politics on both the national and local levels.
While the former mayor is most likely very, very bitter about being convicted on one count of conspiracy-he maintains his innocense to this day-he would be doing a disservice to himself and his listeners if he uses the airwaves as a pedestal for pay-back.
It would be easy for Buddy to take swipes at anyone who he thought had “ done him wrong “ during the Plunder Dome investigation. I am included in that list, primarly becasue of the FBI tape I aired showing Buddy’s right hand man, Frank Corrente, taking a $1,000 cash bribe in his city hall office.
I can take my criticism, and so can most people in public life. But the listeners of a Buddy Cianci show would benefit far more from the ex chief honcho of Providence’s insights on current events.
There have been a number if commentaries both in print and broadcast that call for Cianci to basically pack his bags and go away. But I feel that he’s done his time, paid his debt to society, and he has every right to exercise his first amendment right to freedom of speech and expression.
It will be interesting to see where Buddy ends up. And it will be more interesting to see if he continues his vendettas against all those who don’t necessarily agree with how he got things done in Providence.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Jail for the press, free pass for a Bush buddy

Jim Taricani

So, to the surprise of just about no one, President Bush commuted Scooter Libby’s sentence. Bush just couldn’t let this chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney do time for doing what the Prez and his number two wanted him to do: Leak the name of a CIA operative to get back at Ambassador Joseph Wilson for writing that very truthful op-ed piece in the New York Times that debunked Bush’s reason for going to war in Iraq.
Libby is a traitor, pure and simple. He was willing to risk the life of a former covert CIA operative because her husband dared to tell the truth.
You might remember that when the leak investigation began, President Bush said if the “ leaker is found, I will fire that person.“
Not only has no one been fired-even after it was proven Libby and Richard Armitage leaked Valerie Plame’s name-Libby gets convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury and gets a free pass from jail from the president.
So who’s the only person in this drama to go to jail?
A journalist!!  Judy Miller formally of the New York Times…WHO NEVER PUBLISHED ONE WORD OF A STORY on the Plame case, spent 81 days in jail for protecting that traitor, Scooter.
So the next time you hear a federal judge, or a president tell you that no one is above the law in this country, please keep in mind they are only talking about journalists and other common-folk.
They are not referring to those in powerful positions, who do the bidding of presidents and vice presidents who, in the words of actor Jack Nicholson, “ can’t handle the truth.“

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Too Much Left, Too Much Right-Coverage of a Terrorist Attack

Jim Taricani

Watching the breaking news coverage of the Glasgow, Scotland terrorist attack on Saturday was like watching a ping pong match between the extreme right and extreme left wings of the news media.
The well groomed talking head anchor on Fox News, along with his conservative analysts were so hysterical about the foiled car-bombings in London the day before and Saturday’s flaming Jeep Cherokee at the Glasgow airport, the group made this viewer feel as though New York City was about to be bombed. And the talking heads on this right wing network just couldn’t restrain themselves from using the London and Glasgow incidents to promote their personal views on illegal aliens. Yes, that’s right, in the middle of Fox’s breathless coverage of the Glasgow attacks, the anchorman blurted out,“ doesn’t this attack just remind us all of the importance to protect our borders?“ Wow! At this point, no one knew if the attackers were illegal immigrants, or home-grown terrorists who may just be legal citizens of England or Scotland. But I guess if you work for the Fox “ Fair and Balanced “ network, you need to make good on every opportunity to spout out the Repubican party philosophy or risk being labled a liberal.
On the other side of this politically influenced ping pong news table was MSNBC. Its bobble head anchorwoman, who looks like every other bobble head anchorwoman on television, you know, twenty-something, pretty, fashionable hairdo, etc, was so low key in her delivery and voice overs of the flaming Jeep at the Glasgow Airport you’d think she was describing a vacant house fire on a 6 o’clock local evening newscast.
One of MSNBC’s military analysts, a retired Colonel Jacobs, who is decidedly liberal, immediately wrote off the Glasgow attack as “ most likely a local terrorist group, “ with no connection to Al Qaeda. This startling conclusion was made as he was sitting in a studio some 5,000 miles away from the event with no information other than what he was receiving via the Associated Press or the live reports from the BBC field reporters. Jacobs also noted that American had little to worry about in the way of an attack in this country. That may be true, but how would he know? He was sitting on a television news set, reporting live, and I never saw him pick up a phone to call any of his supposed contacts at the Pentagon to get some real information.
Watching Fox and MSNBC report on this terrorist attack was a good example of what’s wrong with the network cable news. Its either too right, or too left. What ever happened to the middle when it comes to reporting? Where is the balanced network? Where are the anchors who act as conveyors of information instead of injecting their own politically influenced opinions into the stories on which they are reporting?
I remember growing up watching the NBC Nightly News anchored by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. On black and white television. I never knew what their politics were. Couldn’t tell by listening to them night after night as they chronicled the events of the day. I’m sure they weren’t perfect, but they certainly came a lot closer to the idea of an “ objective “ approach to reporting the news than anything on the cable, or for that matter, network news of today.
I’ve got an idea. Fox News should openly identify itself with conservatism, and MSNBC, CNN and the rest, fess up to their liberal leanings. Why bother pretending to be “ fair and balanced “ when you’re not.

Monday, June 25, 2007

King Vs. Hilton

jim taricani

  I’m shocked. NBC actually got so much grief when it reportedly offered Paris Hilton $1 million for her first interview after being released from jail, that the Peacock withdrew the tender. Good for that network.  But wait! For all of you in the superficial set, don’t fret. Ms. Hilton will be on national television this Wednesday night at 9pm. The interviewer will be that good ol’ boy never-offend-anybody-t.v. talking head, Larry King of CNN.
  That’s right. King will sit face to face with Paris Hilton and suffer through an entire hour of this mindless young woman as she babbles on about her self-importance and the suffering she faced while in jail. No doubt jail is not a great thing to experience. But Hilton is just like millions of common-folk throughout the country who each year, get nabbed for drinking and driving. She paid her price like anyon else. So, pray tell, what is the fascination with t his spoiled rich kid?
  I guess a lot of people have such a boring, stilted life that they need the Paris Hiltons of the world for their vicarious fixes. I have no doubt that King will pull some handsome ratings numbers with his exclusive.
  But give King some cerdit for not dealing solely with fluff. On Tuesday night, the Kingster will interview Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison. The two ex-Beatles and friends will talk about the 1st anniversay of their “ Love “ musical that has been playing to sold out crowds in Vegas.
  What a contrast between the Tuesday night interview subjects and the twit on Wednesday night.
  The former Beatles will talk about “ All You Need is Love “ and Hilton will pine about “ All I Need is a Brain.“
  Thank goodness the Mr. Ed re-run is on Wednesday.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Paying For Paris Hilton’s Mouth

jim taricani

In the continuing effort to dumb down the American viewing public by the mainstream commercial media, NBC is reportedly offering Paris “ I wish I had a brain “ Hilton $1 million for her first interview after being released from jail.
It might be worth a million bucks just to see if this twit of a rich spoiled brat can actually string enough words together to make a coherent sentence.
But with her vocabulary consisting of mostly “I” and “ me “, it will be a challenge no doubt.
But Hilton is only one example of many in the American public who pay far too much attention to superficial news. Most Americans have an easier time naming the current contestants on American Idol than they do listing the members of their own town council, or for that matter, their own federal representatives.
The commercial media’s need to boost ratings to make a buck, and its irresponsible actions of giving the public what it wants, instead of the information it needs is making a mockery of our democracy.
The local and national newscasts are dotted with celebrity news because news managers are afraid to “ bore “ their audiences with substance.
But the commercial media won’t change it’s course, until the public demands it.
The public’s fascination with celebrity news is nothing new, and in itself there’s nothing wrong with it.
But with so many citizens actually talking about what Paris Hilton might say, it’s disturbing that celeb gossip news has taken the place of critical thinking in t his country.
But there’s little doubt that when Ms. Hilton’s interview is aired on NBC, it will fill the airwaves of all the 24 hour cable networks.
I, for one, will be watching re-runs of the Mr. Ed show. At least the talking horse has a decent vocabulary.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Eye on the Media

jim taricani

welcome to my blog

Welcome to my Eye on the Media blog! Just about every day, I will be writing about and offering commentary on local and national media issues.
Some of the commentary will be serious, some funny, some with tongue in cheek. But I hope to offer some insight based on my 34 years of experience as a print and broadcast journalist.
I hope you enjoy it and please don’t be shy about commenting on my commentary.
—Jim Taricani