CNN-The Caucasian News Network

When my family installed cable in our home back in the early 80's, one of the things as a news junkie I absolutely loved was CNN.  From James Earl Jones distinctive voice in its commercials announcing 'This Is CNN' to having Bernard Shaw as one of its early anchors.  It was one of the channels I turned to when I wanted to keep up with what was happening in the nation and the world.

But that's over now.   I've been more than pissed at CNN for a lot of reason from the rightward drift in its coverage, CNN President Jeff Zucker's initial hires only being white journalists to its refusal to have non-white anchors on except on the weekends and in the mornings.

The CNN relaunch ad that is at the top of the post didn't help, since the only non-white folks in it are Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Christiane Amanpour and Fareed Zakaria.  It also served to bitterly remind us in the African American community CNN has lost Black and Latino anchors off its airwaves such as TJ Holmes, Tony Harris, Rick Sanchez, Soledad O'Brien and  Roland S. Martin in stark contrast to rival MSNBC embracing diversity. 

My fellow Houstonian and 2013 NABJ Journalist of the Year wasn't shy in verbalizing his thoughts as to why CNN has had a problem with diversity.

"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."



People of color are all over MSNBC in a variety of capacities from contributors to anchors such as Tamron Hall, Rev. Al Sharpton, Melissa Harris-Perry, Karen Finney, Victoria DeFrancesco Soto and Joy Reid just to name a few of the faces you'll see there along with Martin Bashir and Alex Wagner.  It's also led to an astounding 61% growth in MSNBC's African-American audience as well. 

The dearth of CNN African-American and Latino anchors has led me to stop watching what I sarcastically call the 'Caucasian News Network' and go elsewhere to channels like MSNBC, for national and international news.  I'm not supporting a channel that won't hire or use pundits who look like me.   

It ain't just me complaining about the ethnic cleansing that's happened at CNN.  The National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists also ain't liking what has happened at CNN either.

In a multicultural nation, it is vitally important if you want balanced news to have viewpoints coming from a diverse group of people.   News executives, 'diverse group of people' doesn't mean old white men, young white men, liberal white men, or conservative white men with a white female or two thrown into the mix.

It means Black and Latino folks need to be at your news anchor desks since we do represent a sizable chunk of the US population.  I can even tolerate conservatives as long as somebody is sitting at that desk to counter their crap.  

I also want somebody sitting at that desk that reflects my lived experiences as well. 

Rev Al Gets His MSNBC Show

Yesterday was the debut broadcast of Rev Al Sharpton's new show on MSNBC at 6 PM ET called PoliticsNation.  

Yep, 'the Rev' is now a permanent host in the MSNBC 5-11 PM lineup.

And it's about time.  Ever since he took over for Cenk Uguyr back in July the show has increased its ratings to the point that it trails only FOX Noise in that timeslot.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I also like the fact that since he begun appearing on that show, other African Americans have begun to guest host or speak more frequently on these prime time cable news shows such as Melissa Harris-Perry and  Michael Eric Dyson.   I also hope we'll continue to see more diversity on these prime time shows as well.   

Jamie Clayton To Play Trans Character On HBO's 'Hung'

Remember when I wrote the post asking the question when would Hollywood start casting actual transpeople for the trans characters they create?    Well, it seems like that may finally be starting to happen, and that's a big deal.

I damned sure have done enough griping about it on this blog and elsewhere every time they screw it up or point out the fact that these Hollywood trans characters have been predominately melanin free.

But back to the post.    The HBO series Hung follows the story of Ray Drecker, a fiscally strapped divorced suburban Detroit high school baseball coach turned male prostitute played by Thomas Jane.

The show is about to get a little more interesting in its third season that kicks off this October    Ray is about to get a pre-op transwoman as a client and surprise, surprise, she actually IS being played by a transwoman.

Jamie Clayton, who we last saw as one of the three hosts along with Laverne Cox and Nina Poon on the short lived VH1 reality series TRANSform Me, will be playing Kyla, a receptionist who hires Drecker for his sexual services after a rival anything goes gigolo starts cutting into his business and he has to consider going into the TBLG zone. 

Hung creator Colette Burson also suggested in this problematic TV Guide interview that Kyla could be around as Drecker's girlfriend for the fourth season..

But the alarm bells are going off in terms of just how well the Hung writing team understands trans issues. 

"When Thomas first got wind of Ray's new adventures, "the idea of kissing a man was not a comfortable one for him, but he did great," says creator Colette Burson..."

Um, Colette, a Trans 101 tip you need to know, file away for future reference and share with your writing team.   A transwoman is a WOMAN, irregardless of the genitalia between her legs.


While Jamie is ecstatic that her dream is coming true, she is cognizant of the importance of this role.  She told InTouch magazine in an exclusive interview, "I am really proud to have this opportunity and to show that transgender actors can play someone other than the hooker or the mistress. Kyla is a receptionist and a very interesting character."  

But the problematic language coming out of the mouth of Burson that's quoted in the TV Guide interview has me concerned about how well they will handle it. 

But like I am for any of our transpeeps that get to fulfill their dream, show the world their talents and break historic ground in the process, I'm happy for Jamie and will be tuned in when that episode comes on supposedly in the middle of the season. .