*The ruckus between Tavis Smiley and Chicago Public Media CEO Torey Malatia was just dulling down, until the other day.
It seems Malatia (pictured below) wasn’t going to let the issue get swept under the rug, so he wrote an op-ed, defending the cancellation of the show.
“I am among those who believe that complete objectivity in journalism and public affairs is humanly impossible, but I reject the notion that public media should veer into advocacy,” Malatia wrote in the Nov. 9 op-ed, posted on Current, a public media trade publication. “Advocacy journalism elevates the voice of one citizen – that of the journalist,” Malatia said.
The letter went on to criticize Cornel and his new found approach to advocacy journalism; saying the show upset listeners from either side of the political balance.
“Those who wrote to us seemed to be arguing that we should shoot journalism in the chest to balance those who had been shooting it in the back,” Malatia said.
(Read the full version of Malatia’s op-ed.)
(Read Tavis Smiley’s open letter to Malatia here.)
Last month, outspoken Smiley went off on the CEO about his decision to remove the show from WBEZ.
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This is the consequence of having an out of touch white man as CEO of PBS, a network which traditionally doesn’t cater to blacks. To say that “advocacy journalism elevates the voice of one citizen – that of the journalist”, shows how clueless and insensitive PBS is to the African American experience in Amerikkka. A black person’s survival depends on advocacy. Without advocacy, blacks would still be riding at the back of the bus. Today we still have to advocate for an end to the warehousing of blacks through the prison industrial complex; employment and housing discrimination which helps to sustain poverty; the driving while black experience; police brutality … White men like Malatia wouldn’t know anything about that because the white experience is one which never requires an advocate.
As Tavis says:
“Heaven help us if public media producers and personalities risk cancellation because we shine a light on the suffering of poor people. If that’s my crime, I stand accused and happily plead guilty.
I’ve been preaching this message for years now, and I won’t stop. I won’t stop raising the issue, and I won’t stop using public media platforms to advance conversations about issues that are relevant and important to people of color and, more broadly, to fellow citizens of conscience and good will.”
Bull Shyt!! This has nothing to do with public advocacy and every thing to do with two self-glorifying egomaniacs who were determined to derail President Obama’s presidential bid so Africa-America would resume paying attention to their rusty arses. The radio station’s floors were covered with sticky, gooey West/Smiley envy glue and it ruined the carpet. All America should see these jokers for what they REALLY are envious, self-adulating chumps who long for the lime light!! Fanteeking
This is why your “they just want the limelight” meme fails. If they had wanted to, they could have EASILY shut up , don’t criticize, and been on the come-up just like –even moreso–than Permed Sharpton. Braids Perry, and Vocab Dyson. All of those people have been blessed with the limelight by MSDNC because they agreed to tow the Obama line and not make waves. Tavis and West could have EASILY done this as they had more credibility/ notoriety than all of the aforementioned. They CHOSE not to. They CHOSE not to sell out, be quiet, dont’ complain, etc. So your “they just wanted the limelight” explanation fails on many levels imo.
Preach man, preach!! And oh yeah….FK the racist haters! Bow & Wow!
Look at Corny & Tavis,. They look like “two N’s trying to “crash”, standing outside the club, without an “invitation” watching errybawdy else go in the “party”! As the bouncer tells them to …..”move away from the damn door”!Land the DJ is bumpin….”Traaaaaaitors, yeah yeah yeah Traaaaaitorrrrs, where are those Traaaaaaitorrrrs, WTF are those Traaaaaitorrrrrs!?(sung like Jay-Z & K-man!) LMBAO!