Special Report: Media Mavens 2010 - Advertising Age

 

Just a sampling of people whose careers I aspire to emulate. Check it out: Special Report: Media Mavens 2010 - Advertising Age

What’s your clutch?

A few years ago, when I first set out to blog, I took a decidedly reserved (a.k.a stiff) tone. *Imagine a snooty, British accent* I wanted to come across as intelligent, worldly, eloquent in word, thoughtful in manner and discriminating in taste. My creative labor of media love – lain bare for all the Intrawebs to see – was to always be serious. If it were a woman in a painting, it would the farmer’s wife in American Gothic – not the Mona Lisa (she smiles too much). No, my child would be as austere as the musings of a 20-something liberal arts grad could make her…

But fast forward to 2010. This (Aspiring) Media Maven has become way more comfortable in her professional skin, and is a bit more willing to reveal a personality! However, shallow, silly and sensitive in spots that personality might be :-) So, just to keep it interesting:

On vacation with girlfriends during 4th of July weekend, one of them – a sorority sister of mine – unprovokingly said,

“When I carry a clutch, I feel a little bit better than everyone else.”

…At first, I was unsure I had heard her correctly. “Excuse me?” I said. “What was the bourgeoisie ignorance that just rolled off your tongue? Please explain.” The soror, who for the rest of this post shall be called ‘Sassy Snob’ repeated her sentiment. But added, “You know, carrying a clutch just makes me feel confident and like I can do anything.”

“Oh,” I replied. “I see…and now that I think about it, I like to carry my clutch with just the fingertips. Makes me feel very swank!”

Now, you may be judging. But some of you can surely relate. One of my roommates shared that she feels royally wonderful when she drinks out of a certain juice goblet. My other roommate said she feels unstoppable when carrying a designer handbag (actually, her words were, “I feel stush (sp?).” She was born and bred in Harlem, so I’m just going to classify the etymology of that word as ‘NYC 1998’). Anyway, for me, I feel like I can take on the world when wearing one of my "’Michelle Obama-style dresses – accented with pearls.

For further clarification, my take on the purpose of these items is not to make others feel less than. Their purpose is to make the person who possess them – unique to the individual – feel better than themselves (and everyone else) on a normal day. This may lead you to deduce that they serve a word that rhymes with clutch instead – a cruch. And perhaps you’d be right. But let’s face it, some times we need that ‘power suit’/favorite lipstick/best belt to give us the courage to share an unpopular idea in a big meeting or flirt with the cute eye candy across the room.

So, what’s your clutch? Which article of clothing, pen, PDA, stuffed animal or whatever makes you feel at the top of your game? It’s okay, you can share and we won’t judge :o)

'Run Tell Dat' Follow-Up: WAFF 48's Stance

A friend sent this to me:



I still disagree. The news channel could've better reiterated the point of the story - that the woman was almost raped and that there is a potential rapist on the loose. I have a hard time believing that news professionals would not be able to predict how the words of the victims would be perceived by the general public. I think it was their duty to provide more seriously-worded context for the content - in addition to the victims' own comments. First-hand accounts are of utmost importance in any journalistic piece and every person involved who wants to tell their story should be able to. However, as professional storytellers, it is WAFF 48's job to give its audience a filter and frame through which to process information. Another j-school example: If a source may have a biased/conflicting motive, let it be known and/or provide an equally-weighted opposing source...Thoughts?

10 Things that Go the Opposite of Soft

Thoughts on the D train to Brooklyn, listening to Lupe Fiasco’s “Enemy of the State” mixtape:

• Friends who call you out on your faults, and love you despite of them
• Make Up Forever by Sephora
• Video on Demand databases
• Size smedium shirts on muscular men
• Chick-fil-a sandwiches
• Chipotle chicken burritos – hold the beans
• Managers who want to see their employees grow and advance
• Rooftop parties in mid-summer
• Unlimited mimosa and sangria brunches
• Any rhyme that Lupe Fiasco spits (i.e. “BMF (Building Minds Faster)”)

Run Tell Dat: Missing Point on Local Rape Story

Today was a Summer Friday for this young media professional. I awoke, engaged in a leisurely breakfast and settled in front of my laptop to read morning news reports (with a quick peek at Facebook and Twitter first - of course).

While scanning my Facebook newsfeed, I happened upon two clips on the same AM news story out of Huntsville, AL. Apparently, a young woman had made a rape claim a few nights ago and a police investigation unit - followed by a WAFF Channel 48 camera crew - had been dispatched to the scene. Here's what resulted:





Now, upon first viewing, I admit I reacted the way I assume most of you did. I laughed uncontrollably and thought:

- Is this real?!? Are these people seriously speaking and acting this way?

- Wow, that guy is funny! If he rolls his neck one more time I'm going to die! I can't breathe!

- And the reporter and anchorman were able to keep straight faces?!? Man, this is hilarious!

But after I stopped ROTFL, I thought, "Why did two people I know think it was appropriate to post this on their profiles? And could only do so because someone before them thought it was cool to post on Youtube? Why is this slightly bothering me?" Nevertheless, I then went about my day - moving on to other Youtube clips and then, oh yes, those morning news reports :o)

Later, however, I found myself still thinking about those clips. Something about them disturbed me, and I showed them to my roommate when she got home. Her reaction was much the same as my initial one. But then, with her to bounce my thoughts off of, I realized what had continued to bother me.

I asked, "Do you think this story would've been as funny if it had been a white woman in a trailer park accusing a man of rape?" She replied that she didn't think it would, because "a white woman wouldn't react the same way". Reluctantly, I agreed.

The humor lay in the manner in which the woman, and more so her brother, recounted the incident and vented their frustration. The rape allegation itself - the reason the video had been made in the first place - was no laughing matter.

Regardless, the gravity of the situation was lost because of the angle the news crew (reporter, camera person, producer, etc.) chose to use in covering this crime story. When I mentioned as much to my roommate - who is a market researcher's dream by the way - she said that she could see that. "Why did they include the woman's opinion that her perpetrator might be a crackhead? Why does that matter?," she wondered. I, once again, agreed.

The idea that black women's sexual morality is viewed as having little value in the U.S. is well known. Thus, so is the same for the notion of violations against it.*

[Note: This is not to say that this line of thinking is correct. As a black woman who knows more than a fair share of black women - and women in general, I fervently disagree...To put my opinion plainly, with a modern reference: Whorish tendencies know no race, ethnicity nor creed. Just watch any VH1 dating reality show; the United Nations are well represented. And more importantly, when rape comes into play, promiscuity should not be a consideration. Legal consent should be. Case, point, period.]

At first I couldn't place the source of my disappointment. Was I upset with my Facebook friends who posted the clips - one a white male and one an Asian female, by the way - or the Youtube users who uploaded them...or myself for finding the footage funny?

Ultimately, I decided most of my ire should be reserved for the professional journalists who chose not to edit out the most colorful, unnecessary parts of the alleged victim and her family member's interviews.

In j-school (scratch that - high school newspaper club), one of the first things I was taught is to preserve the integrity of the story, get the details, but do so in a manner that does not unduly paint sources in a bad light or add bias. Oft-used example: If the mayor says 'ain't' instead of 'is not', and as long as it is within the guidelines of the news organization, it is acceptable to correct for grammatical purposes - given that the correction is denoted. Another example: if the race of an interviewee is not germane to a story, don't include it.

So, where do all these thoughts leave me, as I step off of my soapbox? They leave me wanting everyone - including myself and the producer who ok'd the story package to run - to pause and think about the historical and social contexts of issues like this before taking action. Some might discount my views as overly sensitive, but there's something to be said when we can publicly laugh at an alleged rape victim who just so happens to live in government-aided housing.

Articles on This Topic:

• "The Sociocultural Context of African American and White American Women's Rape" by Gail Elizabeth Wyatt
• "Black Women and Rape: The Shocking Secret No One Talks About" by Kelly Starling
• "Trying to Break a 'Culture of Silence' on Rape" by Jennifer Lenhart
• "Twitter Used to Trivialize Rape" by Clutch Magazine