I turned to Facebook and read on his facebook page that my local station, WDAS-FM in Philadelphia had dropped his show!!! What? I said, Say it aint so...This man was educating the Black community across the country...He had shifted from simply talking about relationships and had gotten more political....Championing the Jena Six, Bringing the Katrina tragedy to light, Educating everybody about the Trayvon Martin murder case in Florida and other controversial subjects...He had President and candidate Barack Obama on his show several times!!! No, they couldn't be taking his show off I reasoned....But they did...and so did WBLS in New York City....So did the stations in Dallas and San-Francisco too!
No problem...I could still stream his show live on my computer and on my phone if I wanted to hear him!
Not anymore...The entire show is gone from the air! That's right, I said it! (As he would've said!)
A week after he was locked out of his main broadcasting station in Miami ,Florida after failed contract negotiations, and days after he bid fans goodbye in a Facebook post, talk-radio host Michael Baisden's departure from the airwaves is still causing a buzz.
That announcement he posted on the program's last day on the air has nearly 1,000 shares, and 1,700 comments from dedicated fans of what Baisden called "the best show in the history of radio." Those include the likes of "You have provided so much for your listeners! Now it's our turn. What is it we can do for you?" "We are going to miss the insights, helpful tips, and the comedy of George Wilborn on the show. Much love and thanks to you Michael, and may God bless you!" and "Can't keep a good man down -- it's not goodbye, I know we'll see/hear you later. Best wishes to you!"
One fan asked, "Was he too informative and powerful?"
That's what I'm asking....
II-
I admit...I tend to watch MSNBC over CNN, but when I did watch CNN, it was to see my girl ,Soledad O'brein, who I thought was a white woman for years until she began doing those Black in America and Latino in America segments and appearing on both the Steve Harvey Morning Show and The Michael Baisden show. Not that it matters, it really doesn't...but I discovered she's part African-American, Part Latina.....and a woman, which makes her part of three oppressed groups if you will...
Soledad O'brein's show is being cut by the new regime at CNN...Say what???
If that's not stunning enough, I hear that Roland Martin has been let go grom CNN too! Huh?
" 'You have largely white male executives who are not necessarily enamored with the idea of having strong, confident minorities who say, "I can do this," ' he said. ''We deliver, but we never get the big piece, the larger salary, to be able to get from here to there.''
Roland Martin said that he hosted highly-rated specials for CNN, so he didn't understand why he wasn't rewarded.
" 'If it's a ratings game, and we won, how is it I never got a show?' he said."
Roland Martin also appeared Friday on CNN's "Starting Point With Soledad O'Brien" as the host performed her last daily show on the network.
So what gives here? Business decision or conscious conspiracy to quell Black and minority voices? I'm not usually a conspiracy theorist, but I am definitely beginning to think that is deliberate...My Grandmother always said to me that "there is no such thing as a co-incidence."
It's just the timing of these dismissals that bugs me...Michael Baisden went on and on about "The Maintenance Man" and relationships for years with no problems....but as soon as he started talking about mentoring you Black men, President Obama, Jena Six, Trayvon Martin and uniting like minded Black People, Asian people, Latinos ,Women ,Gay and White people ...all of a sudden, somebody had a problem and decided that it would be better if Black folks just listen to music..and lay off of the heavy politics....
Soon as Soledad O'brein stops being that pretty face , that woman you thought was white and reveals her African American and Latina roots and starts doing specials on the inequalities in Black and Latino lives for the nation to see...then she's got to go.
And Roland Martin??? Well ,no educated and outspoken African American man can last but so long on mainstream American Television anyway....
See the pattern? It's so very clear.....The true tragedy of it is...Nobody is going to do one damn thing about it....and it will be a long ,long time before anyone else speaks for us!
2 comments:
Man, Baisden needs to go to Satellite Radio and Soledad and Roland need to call Oprah. She's missing that informative voice on her network. Sad to see these champions go, but everything happens for a reason. On that, you can bet.
Yes it's a conspiracy. Michael Baisden invirogated black and Latino people to get to the polls in November, 2012. I think that was the straw that broke the camels back!! Did Rush Limbaugh get his listeners out ot vote? NO. But he still has a drive time show designed to gin up negative, hateful thinking and acting! And Tom Joyner?? What are they trying to do to him??
Now I have mixed feeling about Roland Martin. To me, he is overly conservative when it comes to religious matters controlling the lives of others. And his focus is too much on consumption!! He speaks as though money is the most important thing.
Yes there is a conspiracy to wipe out the connections made to increase knowledge and activism within the black community. Who owns most of these radio stations now?? The Koch brothers? Clear Channel? Two or three companies across the whole United States. Better start making your own mixed tapes again!!
P.S. Soledad O'Brien's mother is Afro-Cuban and her father is Irish. She's another who "uses" that information when it benefits her! After college, at Harvard, she joined the national black journalist organization and won a top prize and recognition. Hmmm.
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