Toni Buckley-Dockter – Founder; Publisher; Editor-in-Chief; Distribution Manager; Intrepid Reporter; IT Guy; Coffee Girl
email: fwepub@aol.com
MOTTO: When telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
All editorial All social commentary All for the common good
Issue Number 32 – June 2020
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[Publisher’s Note: The Chairman and owner of Rosebud Media LLC in Southern Oregon is Steven A. Saslow of Pennsylvania and Medford. He serves as the publisher for two newspapers, the Ashland Tidings and the Mail Tribune. The editor of both is Justin Umberson. This is Part 1 of a 2-Part Series.]
Hey Rosebud Media Peeps! Have you not been paying attention?
Let’s recap:
On May 25th a Black man named George Floyd was killed by racist white cops in Minneapolis. His death by asphyxiation (soulless cop kneeling on his neck while laying face-down on the pavement begging for his life) was filmed by a young woman. The video went viral. Mass demonstrations launched world-wide. Sound familiar?
There have been protests in over 2000 cities in the U.S. Protestors include Americans of every shade on the color spectrum and every age group.
It finally matters to people to understand what Black Lives Matter means and do something about the inequality, injustice, and inhumanity suffered by the Black community for the last 400 years.
Many things have happened which have helped usher in white America’s new-found wokeness and facilitate Black America’s courage:
*Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. has been renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.
* Addressing police brutality and #DefundThePolice have become top political issues.
* Congressional members knelt in the Capitol to honor Mr. Floyd and bring awareness to racism and slavery.
* Confederate statues are tumbling faster than President Pinesol’s approval ratings.
* The State of Mississippi has decided to remove a confederate emblem from its flag.
* Aunt Jemima was retired.
* Corporate America has pledged $1.678 billion so far to support the Black Lives Matter Movement.
* The NFL has reversed its position on taking a knee during the national anthem.
* NASCAR has ditched the confederate flag.
* The Dixie Chicks have ditched the “Dixie” part of their name. Likewise, Lady Antebelum has deleted the “ntebelum” portion of theirs.
* Princeton University will be removing Woodrow Wilson’s name from a campus building.
* The University of Oregon vs Oregon State football game will no longer be called the “Civil War.”
* Amazon Prime has added free access to many current and historical quality Black-themed movies.
* “Gone With the Wind” has been pulled from HBO Max and then added back with a disclaimer about its content denying the horrors of slavery.
* A large number of non-profits supporting Black-owned restaurants and businesses and Black social and arts programs have seen their profiles (and bank accounts) raised significantly.
* Anna Wintour has apologized to Black creatives and for the lack of diversity at Vogue magazine.
* Drew Brees has apologized for his idiocy.
* A bookstore in Chicago (Women and Children First, white owned) have encouraged their customers to instead patronize a different Chicago bookshop: Semicolon Bookstore, a female Black-owned business.
And on and on.
All of these efforts are a way to address, process, and change the systemic racism built into American culture since 1619.
And what has Rosebud Media been doing during this intense time of racial scrutiny and unrest?
Two things–one detrimental.
The other a contrived, disingenuous, not well-written, self-serving, logic-lacking, head-scratching, irritability-inducing article–IMHO, of course.
- Rosebud Media keeps publishing this photo in its newspapers:
Over and over again for weeks (months?). Daily. Full page. Sometimes twice in one issue.
It’s imperceptive in light of our country’s situation. Any person who believes that Black Lives Matter would refrain from continually printing this photo as the graphic representation of “family fun” in the Rogue Valley.
Given the State of Oregon’s heinous racist history, this photo perpetuates the shameful legacy of “whites only” upon which the State was founded–including its refusal to ratify the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.
This is how systemic racism starts and why it is so hard to root out.
Note to Rosebud Media:
There are people of color in Southern Oregon–living; working; contributing; being a part of families. Why not a photo of them in your ad?
Or a photo of a mixed race family?
Or, if stubbornly hell bent on giving white people more exposure, how about a photo of this family sitting at a picnic table having fun with a family of color?
Or does a people-of-color family photo make y’all too uncomfortable?
Or is a “whites-only” family photo mandated by your co-sponsor, KTVL News 10, a Sinclair Broadcasting Company?
If you borrowed this photo from your pals at Sinclair, you should give it back. (After accidentally spilling a Caffè Americano on it.) Because this photo blows–in the opposite direction of the zeitgeist permeating our lives now every single day.
We are at a reckoning in our history and I reckon Rosebud Media is stuck in a time-warp.
In our visually-saturated culture, photos matter. After all, a picture tells a thousand words.
Rosebud Media knows this. (Perhaps this is why it is switching emphasis from a printed format to a “visually really pleasing” virtual and video format?)
Idea for Rosebud Media:
Why not show diversity for a change? Be photographically welcoming to all races! America will be the better for it.
2. Steven Saslow published a first-person article on June 14, 2020 pretending to champion diversity. In it he claims he has a “continued desire to be an agent of change.” What kind of change was he referring to? That families in Southern Oregon should look like beautiful white folks from a Ralph Lauren ad?
He also stated that “effecting change is the river that has motivated me to do almost everything I have put my mind to.” Oh brother.
But in reality he was plugging his affiliation with a “prestigious” media organization that he “was allowed” membership on the Board of Directors. Oh brother #2.
He states:
“There are those, mostly corporations, that have jumped on the George Floyd bandwagon because it’s the fashionable thing to do.”
“They don’t really mean it or know anything about how to initiate positive change.”
Oh brother #3. (Slight pause. Have to pick up pieces of my brain off the floor. The absurdity made my head explode.)
Let’s dissect these balderdash-infested sentences, shall we?
First and foremost, saying that the supposed “change agents” (or whoever the “those” are in “There are those…” are supposed to be) are “mostly corporations” is not true. Example of lazy journalism or deliberate distortion?
Every institution in the U.S. has been affected by the Black Lives Matter Movement–touched in some way or had its head snapped back in a significant way, not mostly corporations. (See my comprehensive list on Page 1.)
As my journalism professor used to say about broad unsubstantiated statements: “That’s just pulling shit out of your ass.” (And I paid a lot of tuition for that nugget of wisdom!)
Other questions for Mr. Saslow:
Which companies are you referring to? Can you name one?
Where did you obtain facts/research/articles to make your assertions? Did you speak to any representatives of these companies?
How do you know what these companies’ plans are that you apparently seem to have already evaluated and drawn the conclusion that they don’t know how “to initiate positive change”?
How did you determine that these un-named companies “don’t mean it”?
Do you have a super power that allows you to jump into the hearts and minds of companies and see their true motivations for their actions?
Saslow then states:
“They” (meaning the companies) “are just being exploitive.”
More questions for Mr. Saslow:
Again, what evidence have you provided that makes this a true statement? Describe a program for change that was implemented by any of the companies (that you are referring to) that can be described as “exploitive.”
Here’s the deal about making blatantly preposterous (or just dumb) statements. You lose credibility. Your journalistic integrity becomes jaundiced.
So that when you later say, “Join this terrific group;” or “Read this letter by one of the finest people on the planet” your audience will be skeptical about your veracity (or your I.Q.)
Here’s what I found. The following is a list of corporations that have recently made donations to support the Black Lives Matter Movement. (Source: Black Enterprise website; 6/20/20.)
Bank of America: $1,000,000,000
Nike (Michael Jordan Brand) and regular Nike: $140,000,000
Sony Music Group: $1000,000,000
Walmart: $1000,000,000
Warner Music Group: $100,000,000
Google: $25,000,000
Amazon: $10,000,000
Facebook: $10,000,000
GM: $10,000,000
Goldman Sachs: $10,000,000
Target: $10,000,000
And several others.
Pretty sure these uber-successful companies are smart enough to know how to implement positive change. Pretty sure they are smart enough to know that engaging in any exploitive behavior would be a costly public relations nightmare of grand proportions. Also pretty sure these corporations don’t care what’s fashionable. They just want to make money. Same as you, Mr. Saslow.
And just to be clear, what companies are you referring to?
The asinity continues when Mr. Saslow continues:
“Conversely, there are organizations that are authentic. People who, when they get behind something, mean it and know how to be change agents.”
Then he starts blabbing about an organization called IRTS.
Additional questions for Mr. Saslow:
Since you haven’t established which companies you are referring to and making judgments about, let’s go with my list. It’s rather representative of the U.S. business world.
Do you consider any of the companies I’ve listed to be inauthentic in their desire to do right by the Black Lives Matter Movement? If so, why?
Do you think the Chicago white-owned bookstore was being inauthentic by sending its customers to the Black-owned bookstore?
Do you think these companies don’t mean it when they put their money where their mouths are and say they want our society to change for the better? If so, why?
Who do you think will have more impact on our society to improve race relations: the companies listed or your IRTS org?
For where I sit (and granted it’s in a veil of irritability) it’s Mr. Saslow who seems like the inauthentic element in this story–tooting his own horn to look like a positive change agent by criticizing the actions or perceived actions or yet-to-be-acted upon actions by yet-to-be-named companies.
Yeesh that’s alot to take in!
Even more questions for Mr. Saslow:
You mentioned that you are “less active” in the IRTS group. Why? You’ve been in town for three years. Why haven’t you mentioned this organization before?
You said your “commitment is as strong as ever.” Is that in thoughts, deeds, or lip service?
In the past what have you done professionally to improve race relations? What percentage of people of color do you employ?
Do you plan to report back on your success in persuading “other business leaders in the Rogue Valley” to support IRTS? Will you be divulging the names of these companies?
What did you do prior to Mr. Floyd’s death to show you are a positive change agent? Practicing the high jump in case you had to jump on a bandwagon yourself? Kinda like now?
Here’s an easy way for Rosebud Media to implement a positive change:
Get rid of that “Could we be any whiter?” photo!
Replace it with something more inclusive of the various skin colors that comprise the American population.
If you are at a loss over what this type of photo looks like, check out Gov. Kate Brown’s Twitter feed. Read the tweet from 6/30/20 that says: “It’s simple. Wearing a face mask may save a life.” Pay close attention to the graphic (an illustration). There are 11 people in it wearing stylish face masks. (Maybe they care what’s fashionable?) Only one looks like a white guy. Beautiful!
Rosebud Media’s insensitivity is part of the problem. It has gone off the rails from the right track of recognizing and promoting racial awareness; racial equality; and racial empathy.
If that photo is an extension of Rosebud’s thinking about what families in Oregon should look like, then y’all need your DNA disinfected. Time to call President Pinesol! (And when you’re chatting with the maskless Tweety Bird, tell him the Andy Jackson statue has gotta go, too.)
I am lily-white and not an expert on the Black Lives Matter Movement. But it seems to me this is the time for white peeps to listen and learn. To do what a political website recommends: Remove the white racial frame that valorizes white people and degrades Black people. And more importantly, to take a seat at the back of the bus for once (like sit down and shut up) and let someone racially different be seen and heard; acknowledged and valued.
It’s time to share the place.
Share the privilege.
And yes, share the power.
If Rosebud Media can’t do this, that’s another problem. An even bigger one.
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P.S. Mr. Saslow: If you have any extra time during this Corona Virus Shutdown, you might want to consider taking writing lessons from Chris Honoré. Boy can that guy write!
Part 2: Commentary on the article “Rosebud readies next step in paper’s evolution” by Justin Umberson (Mail Tribune, 6/28/2020). I take umbrage with Umberson’s comment about the Rosebud newspapers being “unbiased.”
I will provide several examples to show this is not true.
Stay tuned…