CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Catch the video on YouTUBE, where the Rap tune performed by students at Cincinnati Christian University is drawing attention to their changing West Side neighborhood. CityBeat's Kevin Osborne spotted it last week and wondered if it was salacious or insightful, two adjectives he sandwiched between some other highbrow prose. Said Osborne:
"CCU is located in Price Hill. Watch the video and tell us whether you think the video is good-natured ribbing on the students' neighbors or an offensive attack. If nothing else, the lead performer in the video should audition for the next season of VH-1's White Rapper Show."
To which a commenter responded: "Ease up, KO: It's a parody, and if you weren't taking it so seriously, you'd'a seen the spoof." For the record, Osborne says he got it and loved the video.
Showing posts with label Cincinnati City Beat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cincinnati City Beat. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Convicted Cincy Anti-War Protestor: The Real Criminals Are Still Free
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- An Iraq War protestor who was found guilty of tresspassing over a sit-in at U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot's office said after the trial that the true criminals are those who irresponsibly led the nation into an unjust war. Greg Flannery, news editor at the alt/weekly City Beat, blogged HERE about the sentence he faces and the appeal that is coming.
And he crafted a simple, single, powerful line that summed up the six-day trial:
"The real crime -- the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq -- went unpunished."
And he crafted a simple, single, powerful line that summed up the six-day trial:
"The real crime -- the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq -- went unpunished."
Friday, March 09, 2007
Cincy's Alt/Weekly, City Beat, Exposes More Cincinnati Enquirer Shortcomings
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The metro daily that is the largest news-gathering organization in SW Ohio is accused of straying from its mission to keep the public informed. City Beat's Kevin Osborne lays out some evidence for a compelling case that could explain a lot. His report, a must-read, follows:
"People who only get their news from The Cincinnati Enquirer don’t know about leaky ceilings in the recently renovated Fountain Square parking garage or how some groups are complaining that new rules requiring liability insurance might keep them from using the redesigned square.
"Also, except for a single article run last week, Enquirer readers probably won’t see another story that questions how much the cash-strapped National Underground Railroad Freedom Center spent on its nationwide search for a new CEO, Donald Murphy.
"But Enquirer readers did get an article earlier this year highlighting the low grades of many University of Cincinnati basketball players, coincidentally published on the same day that fired ex-coach Bob Huggins returned to town.
"The story about Fountain Square’s leaky parking garage after a $500,000 makeover by the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) was first reported by the Cincinnati Beacon blog, then WLWT-TV. The Cincinnati Post reported the controversy over 3CDC’s more stringent rules for Fountain Square demonstrations.
"Here’s one possible — and troubling — reason explaining The Enquirer’s coverage decisions. Margaret E. Buchanan, The Enquirer’s president and publisher, sits on 3CDC’s board of directors and helps with the group’s marketing efforts. Buchanan also sits on UC’s board of trustees.
Additionally, The Enquirer was an early supporter of building the Freedom Center and influenced the decision to locate it on Cincinnati’s riverfront. Newspaper executives were so enthusiastic for the museum, in fact, that it let its staff use an office in The Enquirer’s building for two years while the project was built and hosts the museum’s Web site on its Cincinnati.com site.
"The relationships also help explain why university officials and 3CDC so frequently give The Enquirer exclusives on certain topics.
One recent example being talked about among reporters in The Enquirer’s newsroom is a Feb. 27 article about the Freedom Center and how museum officials don’t believe they must comply with state open records laws despite receiving $41 million in public funding to build the center, and seeking another $10 million in state funding over the next five years. Scuttlebutt has it that after lower-level editors approved the article, word came down the next day from higher-ups that no future articles on the topic should appear in the newspaper.
"Good newspapers write stories about potential conflicts of interest when they crop up among government officials, figuring the public should know if business or personal relationships could affect public policy or how taxpayer dollars are spent. Newspapers should be mindful when their own conflicts affect their coverage.
"While in college, most journalists-to-be learn the quote spoken by Gene Kelly’s character in the 1960 film, Inherit the Wind: “Mr. Brady, it is the duty of a newspaper to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” (Actually, the quote is a paraphrase of a line by Finley Peter Dunne, a 19th century muckraker.)
"James Risen, a New York Times reporter, put the newspaper’s role in simpler, starker terms during a recent interview on the PBS show, Frontline: “The job of a reporter is to be the curmudgeon who raises questions that nobody else wants to raise. That’s what the best reporters try to do.”
"Even if there are reasonable explanations for some of the incidents covered by the other media, as 3CDC has argued on the Beacon blog, then a publication holding itself up to be a “newspaper of record” for Cincinnati should report the stories and clarify events for its readers.
"A newspaper’s primary job isn’t to be a community booster or support civic organizations; it’s to provide information to the public. Any other duty that interferes with that should be jettisoned.
— Kevin Osborne
"Explore posts in the same categories: Porkopolis"
"People who only get their news from The Cincinnati Enquirer don’t know about leaky ceilings in the recently renovated Fountain Square parking garage or how some groups are complaining that new rules requiring liability insurance might keep them from using the redesigned square.
"Also, except for a single article run last week, Enquirer readers probably won’t see another story that questions how much the cash-strapped National Underground Railroad Freedom Center spent on its nationwide search for a new CEO, Donald Murphy.
"But Enquirer readers did get an article earlier this year highlighting the low grades of many University of Cincinnati basketball players, coincidentally published on the same day that fired ex-coach Bob Huggins returned to town.
"The story about Fountain Square’s leaky parking garage after a $500,000 makeover by the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) was first reported by the Cincinnati Beacon blog, then WLWT-TV. The Cincinnati Post reported the controversy over 3CDC’s more stringent rules for Fountain Square demonstrations.
"Here’s one possible — and troubling — reason explaining The Enquirer’s coverage decisions. Margaret E. Buchanan, The Enquirer’s president and publisher, sits on 3CDC’s board of directors and helps with the group’s marketing efforts. Buchanan also sits on UC’s board of trustees.
Additionally, The Enquirer was an early supporter of building the Freedom Center and influenced the decision to locate it on Cincinnati’s riverfront. Newspaper executives were so enthusiastic for the museum, in fact, that it let its staff use an office in The Enquirer’s building for two years while the project was built and hosts the museum’s Web site on its Cincinnati.com site.
"The relationships also help explain why university officials and 3CDC so frequently give The Enquirer exclusives on certain topics.
One recent example being talked about among reporters in The Enquirer’s newsroom is a Feb. 27 article about the Freedom Center and how museum officials don’t believe they must comply with state open records laws despite receiving $41 million in public funding to build the center, and seeking another $10 million in state funding over the next five years. Scuttlebutt has it that after lower-level editors approved the article, word came down the next day from higher-ups that no future articles on the topic should appear in the newspaper.
"Good newspapers write stories about potential conflicts of interest when they crop up among government officials, figuring the public should know if business or personal relationships could affect public policy or how taxpayer dollars are spent. Newspapers should be mindful when their own conflicts affect their coverage.
"While in college, most journalists-to-be learn the quote spoken by Gene Kelly’s character in the 1960 film, Inherit the Wind: “Mr. Brady, it is the duty of a newspaper to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” (Actually, the quote is a paraphrase of a line by Finley Peter Dunne, a 19th century muckraker.)
"James Risen, a New York Times reporter, put the newspaper’s role in simpler, starker terms during a recent interview on the PBS show, Frontline: “The job of a reporter is to be the curmudgeon who raises questions that nobody else wants to raise. That’s what the best reporters try to do.”
"Even if there are reasonable explanations for some of the incidents covered by the other media, as 3CDC has argued on the Beacon blog, then a publication holding itself up to be a “newspaper of record” for Cincinnati should report the stories and clarify events for its readers.
"A newspaper’s primary job isn’t to be a community booster or support civic organizations; it’s to provide information to the public. Any other duty that interferes with that should be jettisoned.
— Kevin Osborne
"Explore posts in the same categories: Porkopolis"
Friday, January 05, 2007
Ohio Editor: Demands Rumsfeld As 'Material Witness'
CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Alt weekly news editor Greg Flannery carried through on his pledge and filed court papers Friday asking an Ohio judge to order former Defense Secretary Donald Rumseld to appear as a 'material witness' at Flannery's trial later this month on a charge that grew out of an Iraq War protest.
Flannery, whose lawyer filed the motion seeking Rumsfeld around 2 p.m., is accused of trespassing in the office of U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, in September. He and six others sought the Oh-01 congressman's signature on the ''Declaration of Peace, Congressional Pledge." The pledge supports legislation to end the Iraq War and bring the troops home. Flannery is the news editor of Cincinnati City Beat, an alternative weekly newspaper. The motion for an order declaring Rumsfeld a material witness is scheduled for a hearing Jan. 12 before Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge David Stockdale. The trial is supposed to begin on Jan. 22. (Case No: 06 CRB 38497, State of Ohio v. Greg Flannery).
The docket is available on the county court clerk's Web site. The declaration of peace is also on the Web.
In an interview on the courthouse steps, Flannery said he has long been an opponent of the war . "I felt compelled to act,'' he said of the sit-in at Chabot's office. "People are dying as a result of an illegal war. It's being fought in my name and with my money. I think it is wrong. I spoke out."
Barbara Wolf, another protestor facing the same charge, said she wants Rumsfeld to explain under oath ''if the war was based on a lie. If this is based on a lie, we and the citizens need to know this."
William R. Gallagher, their defense lawyer, said 650,000 Iraqis and more than 3,000 U.S. military members have died in the war and that Rumsfeld's actions triggered the protest. ''Mr. Rumsfeld possesses information, data and evidence vital to the defense of this charge,'' Gallagher said.
Some are dismissing the move to call Rumsfeld as a publicity stunt and political theater. They might be right. Publicity stunts and theater are staples of American political life going all the way back to the Boston Tea Party. A recent successful example was the Contract With America, which conservative Republicans led by Newt Gingrich used to capture the U.S. House for 12 years.
Gallagher declined to handicap his chances of netting Rumsfeld for the trial. ''It's a unique request. Maybe because it is unique increases its chances of success. Rumsfeld is just an average citizen now. All Rumsfeld's doing is picking up a pension check, I suppose," he said.
At this point, there is no legal opposition to the motion. Something may materialize next week. It could come from Rumsfeld himself, the U.S. Justice Department or local prosecutors. Or, the order could be issued requiring an appearance in Ohio -- but it would be subject to challenge in the state where Rumsfeld resides.
Another possibility: The former defense secretary goes to an ''undisclosed location" where the court order could not be served upon him. (Would Vice President Dick Cheney loan him a hideout?)
Flannery, whose lawyer filed the motion seeking Rumsfeld around 2 p.m., is accused of trespassing in the office of U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, in September. He and six others sought the Oh-01 congressman's signature on the ''Declaration of Peace, Congressional Pledge." The pledge supports legislation to end the Iraq War and bring the troops home. Flannery is the news editor of Cincinnati City Beat, an alternative weekly newspaper. The motion for an order declaring Rumsfeld a material witness is scheduled for a hearing Jan. 12 before Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge David Stockdale. The trial is supposed to begin on Jan. 22. (Case No: 06 CRB 38497, State of Ohio v. Greg Flannery).
The docket is available on the county court clerk's Web site. The declaration of peace is also on the Web.
In an interview on the courthouse steps, Flannery said he has long been an opponent of the war . "I felt compelled to act,'' he said of the sit-in at Chabot's office. "People are dying as a result of an illegal war. It's being fought in my name and with my money. I think it is wrong. I spoke out."
Barbara Wolf, another protestor facing the same charge, said she wants Rumsfeld to explain under oath ''if the war was based on a lie. If this is based on a lie, we and the citizens need to know this."
William R. Gallagher, their defense lawyer, said 650,000 Iraqis and more than 3,000 U.S. military members have died in the war and that Rumsfeld's actions triggered the protest. ''Mr. Rumsfeld possesses information, data and evidence vital to the defense of this charge,'' Gallagher said.
Some are dismissing the move to call Rumsfeld as a publicity stunt and political theater. They might be right. Publicity stunts and theater are staples of American political life going all the way back to the Boston Tea Party. A recent successful example was the Contract With America, which conservative Republicans led by Newt Gingrich used to capture the U.S. House for 12 years.
Gallagher declined to handicap his chances of netting Rumsfeld for the trial. ''It's a unique request. Maybe because it is unique increases its chances of success. Rumsfeld is just an average citizen now. All Rumsfeld's doing is picking up a pension check, I suppose," he said.
At this point, there is no legal opposition to the motion. Something may materialize next week. It could come from Rumsfeld himself, the U.S. Justice Department or local prosecutors. Or, the order could be issued requiring an appearance in Ohio -- but it would be subject to challenge in the state where Rumsfeld resides.
Another possibility: The former defense secretary goes to an ''undisclosed location" where the court order could not be served upon him. (Would Vice President Dick Cheney loan him a hideout?)
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