Tag Archives: ESPN

blog, diversity, Filipino, journalism, race, SF Giants, sports

Emil Guillermo: My take on Britt McHenry and what I call “White Media Privilege,” the sleeping baggage handler, and those world champion SF Giants.UPDATED

 

Once again video is our collective social conscience, or at least the instant replay of life that enables all of us to judge. High and low.

BrittMcHenry

And that’s what ESPN’s Britt McHenry’s rant at the towing company was all about.

Arrogance.

I mean really, when you begin a rant with “”I”m in the news, sweetheart,” you are not talking about fat-shaming.

Should we be surprised that  TV people are full of themselves?  I watched that ESPN Britt McHenry blowup and was surprised that people were surprised.

Britt’s no Reese Witherspoon, but remember how the “Wild” star threw a fit and was arrested by a cop in Atlanta?

People in the media, high and low, get these “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM” moments. It’s because “MEDIA PRIVILEGE” is more intoxicating than “WHITE PRIVILEGE.” And when you are white and in the media, it’s even more toxic.

For people who protest McHenry’s suspension by saying it’s not work related: Who do you think is watching the news? It’s all those people who work at towing companies. That’s the audience on the other side of the camera.

Update on McHenry: Britt backers say the tape was edited. Sure. But they didn’t put the words in McHenry’s mouth. Believe me, I hate tow companies as much as the next guy, but McHenry had a chance to use her power positively. And she didn’t. I know what happens when you work in TV. This is the reason why beauty pageant contestants want to be anchors. It’s cheap showbiz entitlement. This incident serves as  a wake up call for everyone on the “talent” side.

THAT BAGGAGE HANDLER NAPPER BANNED BY ALASKA AIRLINES

His identity is still not revealed. But I can tell he’s Asian. Maybe even Filipino. It’s his accent on the 911 call.  There’s a magic phrase that resonated.

He said “stop it.”

THOSE WORLD CHAMPION SF GIANTS

That 7-6 loss in 12 innings could become a symbol of the season.

The Giants battled and the players with something to prove, Matt Duffy and joe Panik, did what they could to extend the game, getting key hits to tie the game in the 9th and the 10th innings.

They almost did it again in the 12th.

The seventh loss in a row puts the Giants  in last place, the second worst team in the NL.

It’s early, yes. But there’s something about an early Thursday night extra-inning loss as the team tries to win their first game at home.

That’s the kind of thing that could prophesy  a 162 game season.

A theme emerges.  Yes, the  team battles, comes back,  but comes up short by a run.  In soccer, the phrase often used is “Unlucky.”

It’s something a team that has won three World  championships since 2010 has rarely heard.

CHECK OUT THE NEW HOME FOR THE AMOK COLUMN: www.aaldef.org/blog

LIKE  and FOLLOW us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media

And FOLLOW my latest tweets  on  Twitter    http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

 

 

 

blog, diversity, journalism, news, race

Apology politics’ double standard: Why ESPN on Miss Alabama but not CNN on Kathy Griffin?

To hear the media hubub about Brent Musburger’s “appreciation” of Katherine Webb, Miss Alabama USA 2012 during that boring Notre Dame game the other night, you’d think he was drooling on camera like some creepy perv.

When I actually heard what was said,  I was offended that people took such offense. It was a gross overreaction to Musburger. He was simply admiring (like a person of his generation) Webb’s beauty, and trying to be playful during a game that had zero entertainment value.

Sure, it would have been better if there was a real game being broadcast, so that Musburger’s attention wasn’t so easily distracted.

But was he really leering and did that merit an apology?

Webb was on The Today show Wednesday saying she was “flattered” by Musburger’s attention.  But she indicated she took no offense.

I’m upset that ESPN felt compelled to apologize.

Apologies do mean something.  But when you get trigger happy with your apologies (remember they apologized for comments about Jeremy Lin last year) they become devalued as a quick PR ploy to simply move a story out of the headlines and into the trash bin.

In the meantime, ESPN  won’t stop showing scantily clad cheerleaders at pro or college events, or pretty wives and girlfriends of players, nor will they start featuring cosmetically challenged sportscasters (of any gender).

ESPN’s apology doesn’t change any of its real sexist ways.

How about this? Maybe ESPN will start showing the partners of WNBA stars? And have the sportscasters say great things about their dating choices?  Do you ever see that when it’s not a traditional heterosexual relationship?

You see, hollow apologies don’t really matter.

Meanwhile, for the truly outraged, it’s funny how  the simulated oral sex act on the CNN New Year’s Eve broadcast doesn’t exactly get the same rushed apology treatment.

I actually like both the performers involved, Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper.  Sure, cable can and should stretch limits on the premium channels, but not on basic cable, general news, even after midnight on New Year’s Eve. Remember midnight EDT was 9pm prime time PDT.

I’m no prude, but something other than a big ball dropped that night. And no network big wig thinks an apology is necessary.