Institutional Racism in Seattle stations - damn right, I said it.

[ilovebeer]

And another thing... Just who is the regional VP of programming for Clear Channel.... hmmm... and he seems to be doing well overseeing the programming of AC, Country, Rock, Smooth Jazz AND pop formats.

Not to steal a line from Paul Mooney...but Tony Coles makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.

 

[sirmusic]

Wow notalent, I get the feeling you've got no real life experience...

Or wouldn't a "color blind" workplace be better? ABSOLUTELY a colorblind workplace would be optimal, but let's be real is there a colorblind ANYTHING?

Affirmative action of course is racial retribution, getting even for past misdeeds... Affirmative action is NOT racial retribution, are you serious? That's a very narrow-minded perspective. Affirmative action, to be clear, is not an edict to hire certain groups. It's an edict to at least get minoritry candidates in front of people who hire. Without it, many of these ol' boy networks would be in even more control. There's zero obligation to hire anyone. And those who DO abuse that system are breaking the law.

FWIW in my 4.5 years in Seattle radio i have not seen institutional racism. I have seem more white idiots holding down gigs than any other racial catagory. I have not yet seen any racial or gender cases where i have clearly surmised that this must be the reason for their employment. Since you haven't seen any institutional racism, it isn't there? The fact that you've seen more white idiots holding down jobs, probably means that it really doesn't come down to just talent right? I suspect that there may have a minority candidate who could have held down those positions. I'm not a "everything is racism" guy, I hate those folks...but what's worse, is folks who try to say it doesn't exist. I'd say to you respectfully, it's time to wake up.

As far as I have seen honestly it has been a case of A: who you know and B: talent.

You're right, it's (A) Who you know (B) talent and in a lot of cases (C) Race

 

[notalent]

You're right, it's (A) Who you know (B) talent and in a lot of cases (C) Race

Ok maybe a FEW cases race... So what... do you really want to work for the person who would rather not hire you due to race??? IF you really have the talent then get a job from their competitor and kick their ass!! Or get a job in a bigger more enlightened market and leave people like that in the dust behind you.

The more you enrage yourself over issues like this the more power you give them.

my point is that any good jock should focus on their talent and leave the idiots in the dust. Don't just go blaming race or sexism for your failure to be the next morning talent in Seattle or anywhere for that matter. Get out there and prove them wrong. So what it if takes more work, isn't it worth it?

That goes for everyone, not just someone with a race or sex "issue"... for every gig there are literally hunderds of people of all races and sexes who did not get the job. So in Seattle that means for every person hired there were probably 99 applicants who did not get the job... chances are 89 of them were white, 5 black and 5 asian. again, So what.

It has ALWAYS been hard to get a good job on the air in radio. Those who get to the top of the heap do not sit around obsessing over why they did not get a certain gig, i can gaurantee you that.

and yes you are correct, i have no real life experience playing the victim card.

 

[majoradio]

And another thing... Just who is the regional VP of programming for Clear Channel.... hmmm... and he seems to be doing well overseeing the programming of AC, Country, Rock, Smooth Jazz AND pop formats.

Not to steal a line from Paul Mooney...but Tony Coles makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.

HA! A CLASSIC line!

 

[sirmusic]

Notalent, you miss my point. Personally, I've done extremely well here in San Francisco. I never play "the victim card." Everything you say makes my point. Why should a person have to work harder to be considered equal? You're killin' me man. My point is a person SHOULDNT have to have that as an added obsticle...and that this particular obsticle DOES indeed exist, not JUST for blacks but for pretty much every "minority". You say "So what?" I say, it's wrong, and it's unfortunate that yours is the prevailing attitude. Instead of trying to change and open peoples' minds, we(you) simply accept that bigotry as a part of life. Most of us who have experirnced this bias, have managed to get past it and in most cases , thrive professionally. But to hear some one basically say, "Oh racism is no big deal. get over it...it doesn't even really exist" is insulting.

 

[AQH]

And AQH--Collard was no more ad hominem than you were. Stop acting superior.

If that's how you want to view me, then so be it.

Is there racism out there? Of course there is. But to sit on your butt and punch up a radio webpage to point at as the heart of the problem is ludicrous.

My point was that to say what the OP said about how the jocks sound just by their web page is rather insulting, and racist in its own way.

By judging the sound of the jocks based on their pictures fuels the "black people can sound black" (a term used many times before, most recently in the Don Imus debacle) saying, which is just as bad as what Don Imus said.

Furthermore, I did not see anything in the way of research by the OP. Again, if you want to call this thinking superiority, that's your problem. How many times do you see openings in All Access, R&R or whatever that direct people to send the CD&R to Human Resources? Why do you think they do that?

The OP would be a lot more credible if he/she would back up his/her point by doing little things like inspecting the public file and seeing how many minority candidates even shown interest in positions in the first place. Going to a webpage and making a blanket assumption on hiring practices is ignorant and uneducated in itself.