Is Essence Headed for Extinction with White FD?

Although targeted to black women, Essence magazine’s appointment of a white woman to its Fashion Director helm has rocked its readership’s world. For the longest, the fashion industry lacked a black media slant so is Time Warner currently orchestrating a multi-cultural splash? The mega media machine snatched up 100% ownership of Essence in 2005 and BET is Viacom-owned also.

On Facebook, emotions ran from bewildered to bamboozled. A few sisters did the post-racial bounce by high-fiving Becky’s candidacy. Yet, many believe that the magazine’s key positions should be kept in the family. After all, it was Essence and Ebony magazines that plied black designers with props long before mainstream media granted them attention.

And so what if the new FD formerly worked at “O”? To date, Oprah’s magazine maintains its position of having never been black audience-aimed. She’s ours but Ms. Winfrey’s empire is largely erected on white dollars.

This marks another sad moment for white-owned black media. Under Susan Taylor, former Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director, this line would’ve never been crossed. Should Becky have a blonde moment and contemplate a “Booty Pop” feature or white woman cover, her pale derriere deserves an expedited dismissal. In fact, I’ll volunteer my right foot.

NAACP: Snookered on Sherrod?

Exercising the same voracity when condemning the Tea Party’s racist overtones, the NAACP’s Ben Jealous incurred egg on his face when he co-signed the forced resignation of USDA official Shirley Sherrod yesterday. Less than 24 hours later with the admission of failing to review the video gone viral in its entirety, Jealous
flip-flopped his position. Had it not been for the fact-finding foundation of old school journalism, the sliced and diced video’s sound bites to suit the TP’s purpose might not have come to truth’s surface.

Still, the right wing deserves blame for their below the belt tactics, however, we cannot absolve the NAACP’s young leadership team of errant haste. Jealous’ back slide demonstrated irresponsibility and set back colored people’s advancement. To be taken seriously, the NAACP must do better than this because something is wrong when our own fall short of getting it right.

Here's what the Color of Change organization had to say:
The Obama administration just caved in to the right-wing smear machine, firing a Black USDA official after she was smeared by far-right blogger Andrew Breitbart and his friends at Fox News Channel.

Sherrod's dismissal was based on a selectively edited video that made it appear she was confessing to discriminating against a White farming couple. In reality she was telling the story of how working with that family to save their farm helped her to lose her racial preconceptions.

It took less than 24 hours for the lies to be debunked. But by that time, it was too late — Sherrod was forced to quit. And even now that the truth is known, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is refusing to reinstate her. Worse, Vilsack has President Obama's support. This kind of political cowardice is beyond shameful.

NBA Ballin with OPP Takes a Messy Turn

Move over beach-baked Basketball Wives, Houston’s got its own NBA dish of drama cooked to perfection. C’mon now, when digging for gold, you better be prepared to get your hands and anything else dirty. Am I right, ladies?

Here’s a tease: An NBA-loving jumpoff girl crosses the etiquette line and gets blogged BIG time.

BY CRAIG MALISOW
A ho gotta promote her brand. The sentiment was posted in March 2009 to a forum on the gossip Web site LipstickAlley.com, a popular destination for NBA wives, ex-wives and the adulterous athlete's best not-so-¬secret friend, the ubiquitous jumpoff girl. The alleged "ho" referred to in the aforementioned comment was Houston's own Sakara Ross, an aspiring model, actress and track star. According to her résumé, the University of Houston student has also appeared among the obligatory gaggles of gyrating T&A ornaments populating videos for rappers like Lil Wayne, David Banner, Bubba Sparxx and others. In 2008, a story about her affair with L.A. Clippers baller Ricky Davis blew.

For the rest of the read, see http://www.houstonpress.com/2010-07-15/news/trash-talk/,

A Hot Mess for the Unemployed in Texas

For jobs and no state income tax, a flood of folks are still flocking to Texas according to the Econmist. When you can keep a little change jingling in the pockets and purchase prime property for far less than you’d pay in NY or California, it makes sense – at least on the surface. But if you lose your job, you might get BF’d without the KY.

Equally as asinine and self-serving as Rick Perry’s rejection of federal funds for public education, the gubernatorial-appointed Texas Workforce Commission seems to be stuck on the same politically tattered page. The Houston Chronicle recently exposed the TWC’s accelerated efforts in advising employers how to avoid paying unemployment insurance. (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7105339.html).

According to a 2001 state document, the TWC mission statement read “Our mission is to promote and support a workforce system that offers individuals, employers, and communities the opportunity to achieve and sustain economic prosperity. The mission statement on the official TWC Web site now reads “To promote and support a workforce system that offers employers, individuals and communities the opportunity to achieve and sustain economic prosperity.

Clearly, the service pendulum swings against the unemployed, the core audience TWC once served.

Lights, Cameras, Not Akron

Lindsay Lohan’s profanity-painted nail barely registered a blink in comparison to the Hollywood-hype encircling NBA free agent Bron Bron. Despite overzealous speculation, it’s anyone’s guess whether South Beach’s alluring sands or New York’s bright lights offer sufficient sweepstakes bait.

Winning an NBA ring is not only the King’s cash but the lone certainty in this circus. Considering the absence of a supporting cast, Cleveland renders the dream impossible although planting Byron Scott at the head coach helm appears to be a smooth move.

However, what the media has failed to mention is how Bron Bron’s mama bedding down with one of his lowly teammates, Delonte West, factors into the “The Decision.” Ohio heartstrings aside, wherever King James lands, I’m pretty sure it’ll entail leaving the Quicken Loans Arena building. Hopefully, the city is prepared for the possibility of his departure and it wouldn’t exactly surprise if all hell broke loose.

As the b-ball world and pop culture curious swirl and twirl for tonight’s highly anticipated answer, Gloria James and son have since been hit with a million-dollar suit. For TMZ’s juicy details, bounce over here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/07/leicester-bryce-stovell-s_n_638779.html.

WTF? Are TV News Execs Smoking the Same Batch of Crack???

The copycat brush is smeared all over pop culture these days: If one more rock or pop celeb launches a fashion line or fragrance, my H-town barf will magically land in Hotlanta’s hip hop capital. To my dismay, the same trending is occurring in TV news.

With Campbell Brown, Gerri Willis and Christiane Amanpour jumping CNN’s sinking ship, network execs will attempt to buoy its airwaves with the addition of Eliot Spitzer – the former NY governor who fell from political grace when exposed for patronizing high dollar whores. And if that doesn’t get your fire crackin’, ABC has tapped G-Rod, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, to host a Sunday talk show. Furthermore, the media mantel has been extended to wife-cheater South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford at NBC.

Teaming Spitzer with Pulitzer Prize winner Kathleen Parker and G-Rod with Maureen Dowd, a NYT columnist, salvages a shred of credibility, but pairing Sanford with his lover, Maria Belen Chapur, is not only irresponsible but squashes journalistic integrity. Because news audiences deserve more, the overhyped politico-celebrity quotient in TV news has got to go.

Fire up your knowledge stem here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704911704575326892584169062.html