Yahoo goes off the deep end with Jon & Kate Gosselin

Oh this is just not funny. In yet another example of why I hate the way the media exploits situations today I saw one of the worst cases.

On Yahoo, in the front page news headlines at 10:27 am, there is a video clip of Jon and Kate Gosselin. The headline reads

“Jon & KatePlus 8 parents have open marriage contract?”

Such a headline is a surprise. It implies, in conjunction with the recent allegations by tabloids, that both the parents are swingers. Such a subject is taboo among the mainstream of America, and rarely ever mentioned in the news without negative implications.

The video clip then shows you the Good Morning America show, and Robin Roberts introducing a video report of the status of the show. We see that the new season has started, that Jon and Kate appear but separately, and that the children are now 5 years old. In that video report the allegation that the Gosselin’s are contemplating splitting up is covered. And it is stated that Kate requested Jon to sign a contract that he could date as long as he appeared for the shows taping.

So immediately we get one thing clearly set before us. Yahoo is sensationalizing the situation. They are taking a step towards a tabloid in creating a headline that has virtually nothing to do with the actual information. At best, the entire 6 minute video clip – which includes an interview with a black family that has sextuplets and an older son, and has had limited exposure to the pressure of reality television – covers all of 7 seconds on what the Yahoo headline proposes.

Only in Hollywood does the alleged contract equate to an open marriage. Only in the worst of news media is such a connection become the driving force of the story.

In fact, Robin Roberts covers how the media, and reality television itself, are major factors in causing the family to have difficulty. That is it the existence of the cameras non-stop that is harming every person, notably the 5 year olds, for no reason than the fascination of the public.

I understand that the Gosselin’s need the financial help to raise the 8 children, and to have any income left over. I understand the extremes that they undertook to ensure that their kids would be guaranteed absolute needs. But there is so much more damage that the media is causing here.

A friend of mine stated about this Yahoo headline and the show

“What is wrong with them [Yahoo]. That doesn’t help anyone. It just gets more people into their business, running around and jumping to conclusions everytime they do anything. If either of them walk into a store and ask for directions, and walk out with someone to show them where to go – there go the cameras and gossip about being up to no good.

And you know, when was the last time that they [Gosselin’s] had time together? I have never seen a show where the company [producing the show] say ‘Hey, why don’t you too just go off for a dinner or on a little weekend trip on us so you can have time to be together and alone.’ I have never seen that. There is always a camera on them. It’s not healthy.”

And there you have it. The family of sextuplets stated directly to Robin Roberts how they needed to get away from the reality cameras to save their marriage – which is not completely fixed years after the fact. My friend sees it. I think you my readers see it. Robin Roberts sees it I think, and thus the nature of her on-air discussion.

But Yahoo wants to exploit the Gosselin’s. It wants to take a serious question and turn it into tabloid fodder. Did the headline garner my attention? Yes. But it is my job to comment on the media and celebrity news. Beyond that it only furthered my anger. Especially as Yahoo actively sought to warp the situation. And think, if Yahoo will go this far with its reputation how far will a tabloid go?

I say again that the news media needs to get their noses out of this family’s lives. There is no positive in what is being done. There is no need for the virtual yellow journalism here.

If Jon and Kate Gosselin do split, I blame the media as much as the show and the pressure of so many children. In fact I blame the media and reality television more. The Gosselin’s deserve better, but paparazzi and ratings whores just won’t let them get that. It truly is a shame.

Greatest animated films ever - Yahoo's bogus list

Recently I saw a list of the top animated films ever. This was a list compiled by Yahoo in part to promote the new film Kung Fu Panda. Supposedly the list was voted on by Yahoo visitors and compiled. I think the list is a crock.

I really have to wonder what films were in the original choices to be voted on because there are a few massive omissions. Let me give you the names in the Yahoo list.

Bambi, The Jungle Book, Sleeping Beauty, Over the Hedge, The Simpson’s Movie, Ice Age 2, and the original Ice Age, Snow White, Howl’s Moving Castle, Mulan, Peter Pan, Horton Hears a Who, Lady and the Tramp, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Princess Mononoke, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Enchanted, Shrek 2, Cars, Monster's Inc, Spirited Away, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, Ratatouille, Shrek, The Incredibles, The Lion King and Finding Nemo.

That list is in order from lowest rated to highest. Or so Yahoo says. I think the list is just advertising for Disney and a few other advertisers for Yahoo. Oh and a few other films thrown in to make the list look honest.

Where is Ghost in the Shell? Or Akira? I mean seriously Akira is not on the list. That’s just stupid.

And to rate Ratatouille, The Little Mermaid, Cars, Mulan, and Over the Hedge in any list of greatest animated films is inane. Where is Fantasia, Dumbo, Charlottes’s Web (the original), Space Battleship Yamoto, Galaxy Express 999, The Lion The Witch & the Wardrobe, Heavy Metal, Secret of NIHM, Vampire Hunter D, Lilo & Stitch, and that’s just of the films I’ve seen.

I find the Yahoo list bogus not because of what is in it (though there is a lot of substandard recent garbage that is likely included just to pump up DVD sales) but because of the number of classic and acclaimed animated films that are left out.

At least Yahoo could have been honest and said ‘here is the list of movies out advertisers think were the greatest ever – if you never saw an animated film before or if you don’t mind increasing their profits with films in DVD libraries.’ But if you want a real greatest list you need to check out the films I mentioned that were omitted by Yahoo. I think you’ll agree with my list, without question.

Philadelphia: Justice for 1 in 5 fair for police

So here is a key thing to consider when it comes to how law enforcement in America reacts to a blatant and violent reaction caught on tape. In Philadelphia there were 19 police officers involved in an attack against 3 Black men. I spoke about this here Police overkill: not a movie, Philadelphia

Now I have long said that this is more than an isolated event. I have mentioned that this is a national policy, in at least that under duress the rules are bendable. And I noted that the offenders tend to be forgiven or barely touched by their actions. That is exactly what I perceive to be happening now.

Of all the officers involved, 4 will get fired. Additionally 1 will be demoted and 3 will be suspended. That’s it.

Look at the video in my previous post. Of all the officers involved I see none that are trying to stop any of the police brutality that occurred. Not a single police officer is being stopped as they kick and beat on the 3 men lying on the ground and surrounded by multiple officers each. In what way are they not complicit?

If I were to stand by and watch several African Americans beat a White American and it was video taped, I would be charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. I would be attacked by the media for not doing something to stop the obvious violence and overkill occurring. Yet officers of the law are not held to that same standard. Why?

But there is something else that is happening, and it is as critical as the actions of the police. It’s the reporting and words’ being used to describe what has happened.

On Yahoo you can read this statement right now

“The beating occurred at the same time police were conducting an intense manhunt for a suspect in the slaying two days earlier of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, but Ramsey said Monday that there was no indication that any of the officers thought the suspect was among the three men in the car.”

That sentence, the last in the article, is powerful. It implies that the manhunt for the criminal that killed an officer involved these men. That their actions were motivated by the belief these men were involved in that shooting in some way. That is the only purpose of this sentence. Especially since earlier in the article is clearly states that the police alleged these men were suspects in an unrelated shooting, which occurred the same night as the video.

That last statement, that I have heard cable news reporter repeat in some form, is the beginning of a defense of any potential charges on the officers. It is the seed of a subliminal excuse for all that read this. And it will become more prominent as the case moves forward. This always happens.

Is it a big deal? Yes, because a potential jury will hear this defense of the officers perhaps dozens of times. The fact that credible authorities, major media of multiple formats, have said this over and over means it must be true. Because anything the media says is thought to always be true. And this is the thought process being embedded. This is one reason that a jury could find Rodney King’s assailants innocent of any charge. It’s why the Sean Bell murderers were found innocent, thought the official police story on events changed dramatically.

Add to that the fact that the major media is trying very hard to prevent the average person from connecting how law enforcement acts on a regular basis. At least once every year the national media reports on an event where police officers use unwarranted extreme violence against African Americans – usually males. That’s at least once a year for probably decades now. But they are unconnected. And it’s never racial.

I feel that is a lie. It’s racial because it’s something that happens to only people of color. You have never heard of, nor has it ever happened that, a White male was shot 20, 30, 40, 50+ times in front of their home. You have never heard, or seen 5 or 10 or 15 officers beating on subdued White suspects. Because of this it is racial. And it’s connected.

We need to break this mindset in the law enforcement of this nation. We need to remove the permissive environment that exists allowing people of color to be victims of acts that would never be tolerated if done to White Americans. The statue of Justice is said to be blindfolded because Justice has no bias, But the more I pay attention I tend to believe she is blindfolded to not see the abuse and injustice being enacted in this nation – just as she remained blind to slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, and the various disparities found in inner cities as opposed to everywhere else.

Hollywood movie bias, the reality - 1.25.2007.1

Sometimes you have to wonder what people are thinking. I mean that I can see a point being made, yet I think the extreme view being posed is just gratuitous. If you wonder what I am referring to, it’s a new report by the Islamic Human Rights Commission in Britain on how movies portray Muslims.

I will give this report the fact that since 9/11 Muslims are the ‘bad guy’ choice du jour. More than any other group they are the favored group to be seen losing to the good guys and that of course is due to the current political and social environment in the world. I can see how that can annoy the tens of millions of Muslims that live quiet lives, being productive citizens of their respective countries.

While the emphasis is on Muslims, today, there continues to be the re-enforcement of the African American as a negative image in every medium in America. Long before Arabs and Muslims were picked on, Black Americans (particularly males) were the only pimps, dealers, petty criminals and poor in movies. While Black Americans were the first minorities to be included in American films, the roles were even worse with portrayals as slaves or complete caricatures. This negative image is no less consistent now, with 60% of all images in news of poverty or lack of education or violence being matched with images of Black Americans.

While I admit this is not a fact I have seen quoted, it is something that is often commented on. Some may recall the Mr. Carlos Mencia Comedy Central episode that provided 2 news reports focusing on images of people in waist deep water right after Hurricane Katrina. One image had a Black American in holding a bad, the caption accusing him of being a looter. The other image had 2 White Americans in similar water each holding a bag, the caption reading that they were trying to scrounge for food. Neither image included any background buildings or any indication that either of the people had food or goods in their bags. Some may recall my post where Yahoo News placed an image of Mr. Chris Rock along side a completely unrelated article dealing with investigation by the government on the mob. [Chris Rock, Andy Garcia, M:I3 and Snoop Dogg] The people in the article were all white. Watch the evening news and any time there is a mention of unemployment, welfare, government aide, and similar stories you will see a predominance of images of Black Americans – regardless of where in the nation you live or the fact that since African Americans only make up ~14% of the nation it’s impossible for us to be the only, or even major, cause or recipients of these items.

So I can appreciate the feeling by Muslims that it is now their turn on the negative public image machine that is Hollywood, movies and other media. Still to carry the extreme to say that movies such as Disney’s Aladdin were negative is silly in my opinion. They are shooting themselves in their own foot with such an accusation. All the characters in that movie were Arabic, and yes the architecture, timeframe, and clothing indicate they are all Muslim. But I cannot agree that this movie was done in bad faith. Equally off-base to me is the claim that Raiders of the Lost Ark made a similar negative portrayal. As I recall one of the leading supports is an Egyptian Arab character, and a good guy. Virtually all the bad guys are White and Nazi’s. Perhaps I am naïve, but I do not recall any stereotypes that were not balanced by other characters that were neutral if not positive. And any negative images were minor compared to the positive main characters in both movies.

American media and Hollywood in particular, love to portray all minorities in a horrible light. That is a fact. Minorities are excluded from having major impact in front of and behind the camera to this day, though it is incredibly slowly changing. Addressing the fact of this imbalance, and its consequences, is a positive for change. To go to an extreme, claiming insult where none was seen for literally decades does not help but hurt such a cause.

Muslims should not be unfairly judged. Neither should Black Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans and other minorities. But at the same time it should be noted that some leeway must be given when a nation is at war. Much as the Germans, Italians, Japanese and others have been made objects of anger for a time during conflict against America so will be any other group. That’s just human nature. Rather than place a blanket on all things ever done, seek the positives and note the negatives. Your cause will be better helped I think.

This is what I think, what do you think?