As we promised at the beginning of 2012, we haven't been myopically focused on the Presidential political horse race much so far this year, and we're not likely to start being super-concerned with it anytime soon. With the GOP candidates faring increasingly worse against a President and an economy that both appear to be continuing an upward climb, the news items that are catching and holding our attention have little to do with who's up and down this week in popularity polling.
No, the story that's got us in its grip has been developing over the last forty years in America, and it's a topic that only one 2012 Presidential candidate has addressed recently.
According to several recently released studies quoted in the New York Times and The Atlantic magazine this past week, the worst battle against inequality in America today isn't between blacks and whites, or any other two racial groups. It's about how America's kids are doing today - and what the economic status of their parents will do to help them out, or weigh them down, in the future.
According to the research, since 1940, the achievement gap in schools has narrowed considerably between white children and black children, while the gap between the wealthy and the poor has increased by 40 percent. Further, since 1980, the children of rich parents are almost 50 percent more likely to complete college than those with lesser financial means.
To put it another way, the oft-told myth of American economic mobility that lies at the heart of many political arguments today - especially those from the conservative right - has become just that: a myth.
American economic mobility is now FAR behind that of many other so-called "First World" nations. According to the most recent calculations, kids born in most of Western Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and even Pakistan have a better chance of moving up the economic ladder, and doing better than their parents than American kids do today.
We won't deny; some of the drag on economic mobility has to do with the failures of our current educational system - specifically teaching to tests, instead of teaching critical skills.
To that end, President Obama last Friday released ten states from the well-intended, but poorly implemented 'No Child Left Behind' statutes. Those states include Florida, Indiana, and Oklahoma, where we know some of our readers are intimately involved with both education and communications. Schools in these states will still be held to a set of academic standards agreed to by both the states and the Federal government, but the specific rules behind the 'No Child' law will no longer apply to them.
That's cold comfort to the children who've already started their school careers weighed down by the weight of their family's economic status.
We all agree that what the studies prove - that American children are less weighed down by their race than ever before - is fantastic news. Racism is still a long way from completely going away in America, but at least American children aren't being penalized against their future success as much by the color of their skin as they once were.
Sadly, those same studies show that even more kids are now being penalized due to the size of their parent's bank account when they're born. The worst part about it is that those penalties don't just get applied during the child's school years. The punishment of being born poor weighs people down for the rest of their lives - and decreased the overall success of America.
If Americans leave things the way they are now in our educational system, the extremists will continue to perpetuate the feudalistic lie that the children of the rich are better people, in large part because they were born rich. That idea is both sick and factually wrong.
Severe economic inequality and economic immobility need to be put back where they both belong: Deep-sixed to the Davy Jones' locker of history.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
As Good As Any Other
In case you hadn't checked your calendar yet - or seen the piles of candy, cards, and teddy bears in stores leading up to today - this is officially Valentine's Day - though it's known by a whole host of other nicknames if you ask some of our friends, colleagues, and clients.
For many men in committed relationships, today is also known as "Guys Can't Win Day" - a day that Hallmark, Hersheys, florists, and jewelers everywhere count on for a boost to their annual bottom line. We say this with our collective tongues planted firmly in our collective cheeks. We're well aware that many women - including our staff member, Amy - don't expect nearly as much from their men on Valentine's day as modern American advertising leads us to believe.
No cars with massive bows needed. Just a small cup of her favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream at home, or a simple night out without the kids, may be just the right display of affection that shows you care and also doesn't break the bank.
Of course, unless your partner is a great storyteller with that kind of gift, we don't recommend that simple course of action.
When she goes on Facebook, or Twitter, or Pinterest, or talks to her flock of friends, you naturally want her to brag about how awesome a gift-giver you are, and how thoughtful you can be. One of our staffers has a gay friend who took his partner to Vegas for Valentine's Day a few years ago - and all of the partner's female friends still remind their husbands of this every year.
Don't worry if you can't afford the lights, glamour, and big tiger shows of Vegas. The fact is, no matter how good a gift you give, no matter how big or how small, there's no real way for men to win on a day like today.
Even single men can get into trouble.
Among certain people we know, Valentine's Day is also known as "Singles Awareness Day" - and that's not necessarily meant in a good way. At one office we know, every year on this day people bring in all kinds of sugary sweet treats and foods, and all the single people eat too much - and then loudly complain in a completely unnecessary display of self-loathing. One guy at the office in question blew all his pocket change, and even a bit of bill money last year, so he could buy every woman in the place a single rose, like in "The Bachelor" television show.
Unfortunately, one of his co-workers was allergic to the roses placed all over the office, and another two read more into his gesture than he'd intended.
We're aware the Valentine's Day tradition has many different historical origins, and has basically evolved - or devolved - into little more than a "Hallmark holiday" (which, we actually appreciate, for those people we know who work at Hallmark). Because of that, some guys just don't want to celebrate the holiday. They think it's crass commercialism, worse than Christmas in some ways.
Commercialism or not, we say if you're gonna be damned - as a guy - one way or another? It may as well be for something you actually DID do, instead of what you didn't do.
So do something nice and get your Significant Other a nice gift - whatever you think will show you really care.
After all, today is as good as any other day to show the person you love - or even just the people around you - that you care. Besides - no matter how good you did? Tomorrow, someone will have done better, and you'll hear about it later. Most probably will have done a whole lot worse, though.
Like those guys buying chocolates at the gas station on the way home from work tonight...
For many men in committed relationships, today is also known as "Guys Can't Win Day" - a day that Hallmark, Hersheys, florists, and jewelers everywhere count on for a boost to their annual bottom line. We say this with our collective tongues planted firmly in our collective cheeks. We're well aware that many women - including our staff member, Amy - don't expect nearly as much from their men on Valentine's day as modern American advertising leads us to believe.
No cars with massive bows needed. Just a small cup of her favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream at home, or a simple night out without the kids, may be just the right display of affection that shows you care and also doesn't break the bank.
Of course, unless your partner is a great storyteller with that kind of gift, we don't recommend that simple course of action.
When she goes on Facebook, or Twitter, or Pinterest, or talks to her flock of friends, you naturally want her to brag about how awesome a gift-giver you are, and how thoughtful you can be. One of our staffers has a gay friend who took his partner to Vegas for Valentine's Day a few years ago - and all of the partner's female friends still remind their husbands of this every year.
Don't worry if you can't afford the lights, glamour, and big tiger shows of Vegas. The fact is, no matter how good a gift you give, no matter how big or how small, there's no real way for men to win on a day like today.
Even single men can get into trouble.
Among certain people we know, Valentine's Day is also known as "Singles Awareness Day" - and that's not necessarily meant in a good way. At one office we know, every year on this day people bring in all kinds of sugary sweet treats and foods, and all the single people eat too much - and then loudly complain in a completely unnecessary display of self-loathing. One guy at the office in question blew all his pocket change, and even a bit of bill money last year, so he could buy every woman in the place a single rose, like in "The Bachelor" television show.
Unfortunately, one of his co-workers was allergic to the roses placed all over the office, and another two read more into his gesture than he'd intended.
We're aware the Valentine's Day tradition has many different historical origins, and has basically evolved - or devolved - into little more than a "Hallmark holiday" (which, we actually appreciate, for those people we know who work at Hallmark). Because of that, some guys just don't want to celebrate the holiday. They think it's crass commercialism, worse than Christmas in some ways.
Commercialism or not, we say if you're gonna be damned - as a guy - one way or another? It may as well be for something you actually DID do, instead of what you didn't do.
So do something nice and get your Significant Other a nice gift - whatever you think will show you really care.
After all, today is as good as any other day to show the person you love - or even just the people around you - that you care. Besides - no matter how good you did? Tomorrow, someone will have done better, and you'll hear about it later. Most probably will have done a whole lot worse, though.
Like those guys buying chocolates at the gas station on the way home from work tonight...
Monday, February 13, 2012
Perspectives And Truth
We're fairly sure that most of you have heard by now that singing sensation and pop music icon Whitney Houston passed away over the weekend. Though the exact cause of death remains a mystery, it was no mystery to us why it took the media as long as it did to report the event.
We and others have mentioned it many times, sadly; corporate media no longer wants to pay for live staff members on weekends and overnights - even in the so-called 24-hour news business. As big a star as Whitney Houston once was, and as much as she still meant to pop music, when Ms. Houston died Saturday afternoon, it wasn't until Saturday evening that the Associated Press released the first official report of her death.
Even in the midst of a such a sad occasion for many in the music business, her death did provide a note of positivity for some of us.
When the AP sent out its initial news blast about Ms. Houston's death, over Twitter, Facebook, and other more standard news channels, the first reaction we saw from those we know OUTSIDE the media industry wasn't to automatically accept the news at face value. Sure, they trusted the word coming from the AP - a news organization that has earned and mostly continues to earn a great deal of trust.
However, a surprising number of our friends also acted like REAL journalists themselves, attempting to verify the news from a second source, unrelated to the first, before accepting it as factual. We saw a blistering flow of Facebook and Twitter messages, and received several texts and e-mails, that said things like, "I checked CNN - no Whitney news. Just recd prgm," or "Saw it on ABC News - but they're just quoting AP. Keep looking."
At a moment of sadness for many, people who have never been journalists were following the old-fashioned journalistic rules that we we hold in very high regard. Trust, but verify. Use multiple, unrelated sources. Make sure the facts are clear before you react. Then, you can react.
From the time the AP news brief hit, until the time ANY of the cable news networks spoke of it was easily thirty minutes. Some of them took nearly an hour. The TV network news bureaus responded more rapidly than their cable partners, surprisingly. Some radio stations around the nation were also surprisingly fast, shifting into playing blocks of Ms. Houston's music by mid-evening, some with produced liners already.
The point of our media self-reflection today isn't to pat anyone on the back, or even to be maudlin about Ms. Houston. It's to point out the need for all of us, in the media, to step up to where our audience is now.
There are so many issues of MAJOR importance happening in our world now, that our listeners and readers want and need us - now more than ever - to be ready to give them accurate, truthful, honest information, at any time.
Just in politics, this week alone, the payroll tax extension will be discussed and heavily debated. It could mean $40 less in every paycheck the rest of the year for working Americans, if Republicans refuse to compromise with Democrats and the President. Today, the President is also releasing his proposed budget for 2013 - which Republicans have been saying will be DOA before they've even seen it. It's actually a fairly balanced plan, with both additional budget cuts and tax increases on the richest Americans, who are the only ones who can still afford it.
The Federal highway budget bill will also come up for votes this week, with the President and the Senate - including some Republicans - on one side, and the highly partisan Republican-led House on the other. In short, the extremist House Republicans want to do to Federal highway funding what they're currently doing with the Payroll Tax; make it a political issue they can hold hostage regularly.
Without a media that's actually taking their responsibilities seriously, Republican extremists will use that same method on everything that comes before them, as they have for some time now. Specifically, they hijack the rest of their party, hold the rest of the country hostage, throw a tantrum until they get all or part of their way, while the entire time saying whatever anyone else proposes is garbage - even if they don't have a plan of their own.
The truth can no longer wait. Our audience is not sitting back passively any more. If we don't do our jobs? People will no longer need us. If that means a media company has to sacrifice the highly bloated salaries of a few questionably worthwhile executives so that they can actually staff the business they claim to be running, that's a small price to pay to make sure the truth arrives before the lies fill the void.
We and others have mentioned it many times, sadly; corporate media no longer wants to pay for live staff members on weekends and overnights - even in the so-called 24-hour news business. As big a star as Whitney Houston once was, and as much as she still meant to pop music, when Ms. Houston died Saturday afternoon, it wasn't until Saturday evening that the Associated Press released the first official report of her death.
Even in the midst of a such a sad occasion for many in the music business, her death did provide a note of positivity for some of us.
When the AP sent out its initial news blast about Ms. Houston's death, over Twitter, Facebook, and other more standard news channels, the first reaction we saw from those we know OUTSIDE the media industry wasn't to automatically accept the news at face value. Sure, they trusted the word coming from the AP - a news organization that has earned and mostly continues to earn a great deal of trust.
However, a surprising number of our friends also acted like REAL journalists themselves, attempting to verify the news from a second source, unrelated to the first, before accepting it as factual. We saw a blistering flow of Facebook and Twitter messages, and received several texts and e-mails, that said things like, "I checked CNN - no Whitney news. Just recd prgm," or "Saw it on ABC News - but they're just quoting AP. Keep looking."
At a moment of sadness for many, people who have never been journalists were following the old-fashioned journalistic rules that we we hold in very high regard. Trust, but verify. Use multiple, unrelated sources. Make sure the facts are clear before you react. Then, you can react.
From the time the AP news brief hit, until the time ANY of the cable news networks spoke of it was easily thirty minutes. Some of them took nearly an hour. The TV network news bureaus responded more rapidly than their cable partners, surprisingly. Some radio stations around the nation were also surprisingly fast, shifting into playing blocks of Ms. Houston's music by mid-evening, some with produced liners already.
The point of our media self-reflection today isn't to pat anyone on the back, or even to be maudlin about Ms. Houston. It's to point out the need for all of us, in the media, to step up to where our audience is now.
There are so many issues of MAJOR importance happening in our world now, that our listeners and readers want and need us - now more than ever - to be ready to give them accurate, truthful, honest information, at any time.
Just in politics, this week alone, the payroll tax extension will be discussed and heavily debated. It could mean $40 less in every paycheck the rest of the year for working Americans, if Republicans refuse to compromise with Democrats and the President. Today, the President is also releasing his proposed budget for 2013 - which Republicans have been saying will be DOA before they've even seen it. It's actually a fairly balanced plan, with both additional budget cuts and tax increases on the richest Americans, who are the only ones who can still afford it.
The Federal highway budget bill will also come up for votes this week, with the President and the Senate - including some Republicans - on one side, and the highly partisan Republican-led House on the other. In short, the extremist House Republicans want to do to Federal highway funding what they're currently doing with the Payroll Tax; make it a political issue they can hold hostage regularly.
Without a media that's actually taking their responsibilities seriously, Republican extremists will use that same method on everything that comes before them, as they have for some time now. Specifically, they hijack the rest of their party, hold the rest of the country hostage, throw a tantrum until they get all or part of their way, while the entire time saying whatever anyone else proposes is garbage - even if they don't have a plan of their own.
The truth can no longer wait. Our audience is not sitting back passively any more. If we don't do our jobs? People will no longer need us. If that means a media company has to sacrifice the highly bloated salaries of a few questionably worthwhile executives so that they can actually staff the business they claim to be running, that's a small price to pay to make sure the truth arrives before the lies fill the void.
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