KPCC Rebrands as LAist 89.3

[Mikey Radio]

It's a question of proportion, Mike. Using your example, there are trans kids, but they are not, by any means, the majority of kids in the current (or any) cohort. But if I am to go by the number of stories I see or hear, the coverage verses the true size of the problem, "trans" has become a major problem in this country. The treatment of trans kids (or trans adults) is real, but coverage of it needs to be in some rough proportion to the actual size of the actual problem, and I think a lot of the pushback comes from the feeling that this is not anywhere as big as problem as some media attempts to make it seem, and that it's being shoved down everyone else's throat.

....And if this is true, then Fox News is one of the worst, if not the worst offenders. Last year, the political right got on a kick about June being Pride Month. Mind you, Pride Month has been a thing for several years, and it's long been common for some national retail stores to have a small section, and in some cases lines of clothing and decor, created to appeal to that segment for that 1 month. In the spirit of your comments above, this shouldn't be a big deal, nor should it attract major national news coverage. It only takes up 1 small display in a giant store for 30 days of the year, when the LGBTQ+ community makes up about 8% of the population. That said, this past Pride Month, for some reason, the political right decided to make it "a thing". During 1 particular week of programming, Fox News spent more than 2 full hours covering the Target Pride Month "scandal" and how Target supposedly went "woke" and as a result, legions of knuckledraggers marched into Target stores and damaged pride month displays, and forced some stores to move that merchandise to a small corner in the rear of the store. Store employees were threatened. Now, during this same time there was an actual news item, where the Illinois attorney general's office turned up evidence that Catholic Church leaders, clergy and lay people had actually abused about 2,000 children since the 1950s. Guess how much "coverage" Fox News gave to that acutal news story about abuse of minors after spending 2 hours talking about Target? They spent 22 seconds talking about the acual abuse of children by the church in Illinois.

Fox covers Target Pride uproar for hours & sexual abuse 1 minute

Fox News was one of many right-wing media outlets that feigned outrage, spending over 2 hours of coverage of the Target controversy

www.losangelesblade.com

But as a comparison number, Fox reported for just 22 seconds during the same timeframe on the Illinois attorney general’s recent report that Catholic Church clergy members and lay religious brothers had abused nearly 2,000 children in the state since 1950.
Fox News aired more than 2 hours of coverage of the backlash to Target’s Pride Month displays, while running less than a minute of coverage on a new report detailing sex abuse in the Catholic Church in Illinois. Fox added to the right-wing media backlash against Target’s LGBTQ Pride displays as part of a recent crusade against corporate Pride Month campaigns. The company decided to pull some merchandise celebrating Pride Month from store shelves after receiving threats against the safety of its workers.

 

[Signal Geek]

If you want to be ignorant and badly informed, that's your business, but don't drag the rest of us down to that level.

Mark, I'm hardly misinformed or ignorant. I was a news manager, producer and newswriter for nearly three decades in both medium and major markets. I've spent many years wrestling with the tug-of-war between truly informative and click-bait stories. Which was the topic I was addressing

 

[TomásEstefan]

You and I appear to have different definitions of “community”. Mine includes all those people as Americans with whom I share not just a land, but rights and protections. If any of them get fewer of those rights and protections than I do, then something’s wrong, and that’s news.



I wouldn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable. Newspapers have never been stories that are all about people just like me, and I’ve always been free to not read a story that doesn’t interest me—-or more likely, stop reading after I’ve decided it doesn’t interest me. I’ve actually learned a lot from stories I began reading with low expectations.



You could have made the same argument against coverage of slavery, anti-semitism, the Civil Rights movement, gay rights and several other important issues directly affecting people entitled to equal treatment under law.

If you’re suggesting that “backlash” is justifiable when the news covers a story Ward and June Cleaver would rather not read, that’s a lousy argument in a pluralistic society.

And it's not even fair to "Ward and June Cleaver" who very well may be interested in stories that may affect neighbours of theirs that they hold dear.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

....And if this is true, then Fox News is one of the worst, if not the worst offenders. Last year, the political right got on a kick about June being Pride Month. Mind you, Pride Month has been a thing for several years, and it's long been common for some national retail stores to have a small section, and in some cases lines of clothing and decor, created to appeal to that segment for that 1 month. In the spirit of your comments above, this shouldn't be a big deal, nor should it attract major national news coverage. It only takes up 1 small display in a giant store for 30 days of the year, when the LGBTQ+ community makes up about 8% of the population. That said, this past Pride Month, for some reason, the political right decided to make it "a thing". During 1 particular week of programming, Fox News spent more than 2 full hours covering the Target Pride Month "scandal" and how Target supposedly went "woke" and as a result, legions of knuckledraggers marched into Target stores and damaged pride month displays, and forced some stores to move that merchandise to a small corner in the rear of the store. Store employees were threatened. Now, during this same time there was an actual news item, where the Illinois attorney general's office turned up evidence that Catholic Church leaders, clergy and lay people had actually abused about 2,000 children since the 1950s. Guess how much "coverage" Fox News gave to that acutal news story about abuse of minors after spending 2 hours talking about Target? They spent 22 seconds talking about the acual abuse of children by the church in Illinois.

Fox covers Target Pride uproar for hours & sexual abuse 1 minute

Fox News was one of many right-wing media outlets that feigned outrage, spending over 2 hours of coverage of the Target controversy

www.losangelesblade.com

Both issues are repugnant to a very large segment of the population.

 

[DavidEduardo]

And today's RAMP announces the closure of DCist, the model for LAist:

(More at RAMP - Radio and Music Pros)

WAMU/Washington Shutters DCist.com​

American University's NPR affiliate WAMU/Washington shut down its local news site DCist.com last Friday morning, immediately following an all-hands meeting where employees were informed that layoffs are imminent.
Staffers learned of the meeting Thursday evening from an ominous-sounding email from General Manager Erika Pulley-Hayes, announcing that on Friday morning WAMU offices would be closed, the station would air no local programming, and access to internal computer systems would be temporarily frozen as executives laid out a new strategic plan.
The Washington Post reports that Pulley-Hayes announced the closure of DCist during a 10-minute meeting, during which no questions were taken. She told staffers that the shift was part of a new strategy to focus more on audio products rather than the written journalism that WAMU had hoped to bolster when it acquired DCist in 2018. Echoing an increasingly prevalent malady adversely affecting the media industry, Pulley-Hayes cited a "ripple effect across media consumption habits" created by the pandemic, a declining advertising market and a difficult philanthropic climate.

 

[Mikey Radio]

Both issues are repugnant to a very large segment of the population.

I'm only replying as your comment was in response to a news item about Fox News, and the amount of coverage they gave to 2 different issues on their network: The abuse of 2,000 children by a religious organization that was entrusted to care for them and watch out for their well-being is most definitely "repugnant". As far as the other "issue" - First, I seriously doubt that a "very large" segment of the population finds Pride Month "repugnant". Its just that the relatively small segment of the population that does, happens to be quite vocal about it, especially when stoked by the likes of Fox News and far right talkers, who's programs have been proven to contain exaggerations and at times, falsehoods and misinformation. Further, I'd wager that many of the folks who find the thought of the LGBTQ+ community having parades and festivals "repugnant", while most probably having no issue at all with cultures, heritages and nationalities having festivals and celebrations, are likely the same people who find women and minorities in positions of authority repugnant, interracial marriages repugnant, and find themselves fearful and possibly even angry when older, white men aren't in charge. Respectfully, those kinds of thougths say far more about the person who feels them and their "issues", rather than the people they find "repugnant".

For the record, Frank Berry, at least one moderator and probably 1/2 dozen active, regular contributors here at RadioDisucssions are among those you evidently view as "repugnant" - something to maybe keep in mind when making comments like that.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

I'm only replying as your comment was in response to a news item about Fox News, and the amount of coverage they gave to 2 different issues on their network: The abuse of 2,000 children by a religious organization that was entrusted to care for them and watch out for their well-being is most definitely "repugnant". As far as the other "issue" - First, I seriously doubt that a "very large" segment of the population finds Pride Month "repugnant". Its just that the relatively small segment of the population that does, happens to be quite vocal about it, especially when stoked by the likes of Fox News and far right talkers, who's programs have been proven to contain exaggerations and at times, falsehoods and misinformation. Further, I'd wager that many of the folks who find the thought of the LGBTQ+ community having parades and festivals "repugnant", while most probably having no issue at all with cultures, heritages and nationalities having festivals and celebrations, are likely the same people who find women and minorities in positions of authority repugnant, interracial marriages repugnant, and find themselves fearful and possibly even angry when older, white men aren't in charge. Respectfully, those kinds of thougths say far more about the person who feels them and their "issues", rather than the people they find "repugnant".

For the record, Frank Berry, at least one moderator and probably 1/2 dozen active, regular contributors here at RadioDisucssions are among those you evidently view as "repugnant" - something to maybe keep in mind when making comments like that.

I did not say "I" , I said "a large segment of rhe population". I also said they feel both issues are repugnant, not both types of people. You need to significantly improve your reading comprehension before making inappropriate accusations. I will accept your apology.

 

[TheBigA]

And today's RAMP announces the closure of DCist, the model for LAist:

Meanwhile, KPCC is doing the exact opposite.