Media

There are 262 posts filed in Media (this is page 20 of 27).

Some see nothing wrong with reporter being detained

I’m appalled at the number of knuckle-draggers weighing in on the N&O executive editor John Drescher’s column today about the detainment of a reporter covering the take-down of the protesters in the abandoned Chrysler building in Chapel Hill. It seems there are quite a few who see nothing wrong with the police detaining a reporter in contradiction to our country’s First Amendment rights. Some apparently think she got what she deserved.

Here’s what the cops should do in the future: check a reporter’s credentials. If the credentials check out, kindly ask the reporter to move out of the way and go back to your work. Do not handcuff the reporter as the reporter will not harm you. And certainly do not order them to cease taking pictures from a pulic location as this would most assuredly be a violation of First Amendment rights.

I don’t think this will go away anytime soon, and nor should it.

The other side of town: Southeast Raleigh’s problems and promise

The Independent’s Bob Geary takes a good, in-depth look at Southeast Raleigh.

It’s Sunday morning and I’m on my way to Martin Street Baptist Church in Southeast Raleigh. For two years, it’s been the high ground in the political fight for control of the Wake County school system: the church, as a gathering place for the defenders of diversity; and Southeast Raleigh, the historically black area of the city and the county with all its problems and its promise.

via The other side of town: Southeast Raleigh’s problems and promise | News Feature | Independent Weekly.

N&O LTE on Raleigh’s open parks

On Tuesday, the N&O printed my letter to the editor, responding to a grumpy writer who claimed that Raleigh’s Parks department couldn’t properly maintain its parks. That rubbed me the wrong way so I wrote this response.

Kudos to the editors who deftly edited my letter, creating a better one than I submitted.

The writer of the Nov. 6 letter “Dix State Park?” says that if the state chooses to turn the Dorothea Dix Hospital property into a state park it will be “enjoyed by all of the citizens of North Carolina.” While Dix’s future is still being debated, I can say that regardless of whether Dix becomes a city park or a state park it will be welcoming and available to all the citizens of our state.

Raleigh’s parks system is one of the best in the nation and continues to enjoy strong support from Raleigh’s citizens. More than that, our parks are open and available to all, providing recreational opportunities not just for Raleigh’s citizens but for those of Wake County and beyond. I invite the public to enjoy all that Raleigh’s parks system has to offer, no matter where you live.

Mark Turner
Chair, City of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board
Raleigh

SOPA/PROTECT IP acts will censor Internet

Hollywood is pushing bills through Congress right now to give them the power to shut down any Internet sites they disagree with at will. This law would not only apply to American websites but any website with a .com, .org, or .edu domain suffix.

Ironically, the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act go against the very First Amendment rights that make Hollywood possible. Free speech isn’t free if it’s more free for some.

Call or contact your Congressional representatives today and let them know that you care about your Constitutional rights! See the EFF or Mozilla.org for more information!

Andy Rooney

By Stephenson Brown


Andy Rooney, the legendary long-time commentator on 60 Minutes, died yesterday at the age of 92, only a few months after giving his last commentary on the show.

I learned of Andy’s death on Twitter this morning, not on TV or in the newspaper. I wonder what he would’ve thought about that.

I don’t know how much time he spent on the web, but Andy was a blogger before there were blogs. His telling-it-like-it-is style is an inspiration to me. But a blog will never compare to the pulpit Andy enjoyed every Sunday night, in front of millions of television viewers.
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Obama’s conspiracy, revealed

The N&O’s Jim Jenkins skewered Wake GOP’s Susan Bryant today. This had me laughing out loud!

“Susan Bryant clearly is a genius,” said the insider. “I expect Rick Perry will have her on as chief strategist. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the president simply decided not to run for re-election. He said to me just last night, ‘Look, maybe we should get out. If Susan Bryant in North Carolina can read our minds and follow our every move like this, what’s the point in trying to fight her?'”

via Obama’s conspiracy, revealed – Jenkins – NewsObserver.com.

Cemetery cleanup

The deadly tornadic storm (seen right) retreats after laying waste to Raleigh's City Cemetery on April 16, 2011.


The tornadoes of April 16th not only tore through several neighborhoods like the one near mine, it also tore up three of the city’s historic cemeteries. Some folks in the press have complained about the snail’s pace in which the clean-up is progressing.

The truth is that the city’s parks staff would like nothing better than to have these cemeteries cleaned up. It’s just that it’s a monumental task, if you’re pardon the pun.

If you’ve lived around Raleigh for any length of time, chances are you’ve been through one of our occasional natural disasters. The first thing the city and state does after a disaster is to seek federal assistance in cleaning up. This money from FEMA comes with requirements that the city and state must meet if they expect their work to be reimbursed. Throw in a historic designation and you add yet another layer of bureaucracy that must first be satisfied.
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Political, not principled, stand on gay marriage

The Charlotte Observer rightfully takes Gov. Perdue to task for her mealy-mouthed stand on the marriage amendment.

Yes, jobs are important but so is taking a principled stand against constitutional bigotry.

In a press release late last Friday afternoon, Perdue said she’d vote against the amendment. No, not because she supports gay marriage but because “I cannot in good conscience look an unemployed man or woman in the eye and tell them that this amendment is more important than finding them a job.”

We agree that this ill-advised constitutional amendment could hurt the state economically, deterring good businesses and workers from locating in North Carolina. Some N.C. business leaders have begun belatedly speaking out on that issue.

But the governor missed a chance to stand up against the amendment for a bigger reason: The amendment is discriminatory. Her johnny-come-lately assertion came across as spineless and political.

via Political, not principled, stand on gay marriage | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.

Press released

In my inbox today was a request from the City of Raleigh’s public affairs department for my resume and bio. The city is apparently working up a press release about my becoming chair of the city’s Parks board and my fellow boardmember Kimberly Siran becoming vice-chair.

Of course, it would have to take a really, really slow news day for this to get into print anywhere. I’m talking like double-dog slow. Even so, it’s pretty novel for me to be the subject of a press release.

At least one news source will be covering it: my blog! Once it’s released I’ll post a copy!