KCPT Fixed Their "Week In Review" Problem

What a surprise. I've written a few times here that Kansas City Public Television's show "Week in Review" had real issues of representation on their program. It was virtually always 3 white people and a Black man and that was it. Not one Hispanic or Latinx person represented usually on their panel. Once in a while, yes. Usually, regularly, no. Absolutely not.

So how did they fix it? They didn't have even ONE guest on the program for a panel whatever. Problem solved? Ironically, as Nick Haines interviewed Mayor Quinton Lucas on the show tonight, the Mayor mentioned his own going to the West side of the city on Cinco de Mayo to talk to the Hispanic citizens there. Pretty hilarious. At least he recognizes there is a Hispanic community here and they need to be included.

Question for Kansas City Public Television

You have someone named Vickie Diaz-Camacho telling us how great KCPT is in your advertising but you can't get an Hispanic or Latinx person on "Week In Review" every week?

Seriously?

KCPT and "Week In Review", Covering That White Person's Point of View

Yes sir and ma'am, Kansas City. If you're a contributor to KCPT, rest assured, Kansas City Public Television will cover the white person's point of view. And they'll do so with more white males than anyone else.

This week's version had, yes, two white men, one white woman--very blonde--and thank God for Eric Wesson, showing up week after week.They'll ask for money from everyone--including the local Hispanic community--but have a Hispanic, Latinx person on the show? Fuggedaboudit. I say again, in the year that the Kansas City Star so publicly apologized for covering only the white person's point of view over the years, KCPT keeps giving more of same old, same old. Stunning. Really stunning. And know this. I wouldn't write these things, time and again, if I thought what KCPT and PBS did and stood for was unimportant.

KCPT Week in Review--- 3 White People and a Token Black

Once more, one more time this week, KCPT, "Kansas City Public Television" and their "Week in Review" program has 3 white people and Eric Wesson, a token Black man, on their program. That's it. Three white people and a Black man.

Thank goodness, again, Eric Wesson shows up. Thank you, sir, for being there, time and again. To KCPT, "Kansas City Public Television", there are no Hispanic people in the community. Thank goodness they got 2 white women to appear on the program so they have at least SOME more minorities on the show. So hoping one day they fix this. Hey, we can hope.

KCPT's "Week In Review", Keeping it White, Keeping it Male

Unbelievable. It's supposed to be "Kansas City Public Talevision" but their one weekly local news program is once again, mostly just white. And what isn't just white is very mostly just male.

Once again, tonight, our local PBS station, the one asking us to send them our money and who says they represent us all, had--count them--three white people and one token Black person, a Black man, Eric Wesson, God bless him, on their weekly news program. Two white men a white woman and Eric Wesson. That was it. No Hispanic. No two women. Nothing. That was it.Thank goodness Eric Wesson can and will show up every week. When the program was over, Kliff Kuehl, who runs KCPT, thanked us for sending in money and swore it's about representing us all. Hey, send in your money, folks. We represent you. Right.Our local paper, the Kansas City Star, apologizes for not representing all of us over the years. Then KCPT gives us this. Wow.

Our KC Star Finally Gets It on Race -- Will KCPT?

 Yes, as I wrote earlier last week, I thought it pretty incredible and courageous and soul-searching for our Kansas City Star local newspaper to own up and 'fess up to their very racist, white supremacist past. Great for them, great for us. Progress. Surprising and again, incredible. Very encouraging and hopeful.

So now, a next step, it makes me wonder aloud here if our local PBS station will ever "get it" on race, too. If KCPT will ever be truly inclusive. I've written about it before.

They used  to have 2 weekly news programs and now they're down to one. Both were heavily, heavily represented by---wait for it--white people. Only. Singularly. And the one now gone was also heavily full of Right Wing and/or conservative and/or out and out Republican Party guests and viewpoints. It was dispiriting to say the least.

And even now, still, to this day, their "Week in Review" program is heavily all white. Here's the latest example.

Where it used to be a solidly, dependably, weekly all white panel, now they seem to have finally, finally committed to having a reliable, token Black person, a Black man.  At least there is that improvement.

But to this day, as in this week's episode, there are 3 white people.

That's it.

Three men, one woman and one Black man, that's it.

Occasionally, occasionally they will include a Hispanic or Latinx member of the community but it is rare, at best. They apparently take money from and advertise the Dos Mundos newspaper but no steady representation of our Hispanic community. It's almost as though they don't live here. Or at least, it's as though KCPT either just doesn't or doesn't want to recognize them, Hispanics in the community.

In their defense, I know this isn't true. I know the station and the host, Nick Haines, want to be fair and representative of us all.

But it ain't happenin'.

It's 2020, very nearly 2021, of course, and still no representation, no reliable, steady, dependable representation of ALL in our community.

But hey, if you're white? Or more, if you're a white man? They got you covered. Great for you.

So come on, KCPT. Do it. Somehow, do it. Get it done. Commit to, somehow, having, say, one white maile, one white female, yes a Black person, male or female and the---wait for it---a Hispanic or Latinx person, again, male or female on your program, on this program, on "Week in REview", week after week after week. Reliably. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to good, fair representative media. 

You owe it to all of us.

A Suggestion, Recommendation, Request for KCPT and Mike Shanin

Yes, a recommendation, suggestion, request for KCPT and Mike Shanin.

Could you please keep Mr. Shanin's very Right Wing, conservative, Republican views to himself?

It's not what we watch for.

We don't watch this newsweekly for the host's own personal political views. Not at all. That's what the guests are for. Leave it to also elderly, white and Right Wing, conservative Republican Woody Cozad or someone, anyone else.

If Mr. Shanin feels strongly enough he wants to give his opinion(s), let him, then, be a guest. It's not difficult. Otherwise, just host the show.

We, the viewers, including the sponsors, funders of the program, watch for someone to oversee the show. We don't want and God knows don't need to know what he thinks or likes or wants, especially when it comes to politics. 

His counterpart, Nick Haines, over on the also weekly news program "Week in Review" can do it. Mr. Shanin certainly should be able to, also.

Side note: a thanks and congratulations to Nick Haines, KCPT and his program for getting a token black person on this week's program. It seems KCPT may finally, finally be making that happen on both these newsweeklies. Occasionally it doesn't happen and it's all lily-white but I think that may have been because of this pandemic we're suffering through presently. Hopefully that's the case.

Of course, neither program still has a token Hispanic on either program so it's still 3 white people, 1 black and that's it but at least they've finally made this improvement.

Still waiting for the day when KCPT recognizes the Hispanic community in the area and on both these programs.

They take money from Dos Mundo but still no representation on the shows.

Pretty sad.

KCPT's Lily-White, Bleached-White "Ruckus" and "Week in Review" Save Kansas City Again!

Yessiree. Here we go again. One more week of KCPT and Mike Shanin saving the city, saving us all with four lily, bleached-white Caucasians on the panel of the weekly "news" program "Ruckus."

Not one African-American.

Not one HIspanic or Latino/Latina.

Nada.

Zip.

They show African-Americans and Hispanics in their promotional commercials and requests for funding and get this, they advertise that they're supported by the Hispanic community's Dos Mundos newspaper but actually have a minority person from the area on the program??

FUGGEDABOUDIT.

They did have 2 whole wimmin on the program so at least it wasn't completely all white males. There was at least ONE minority. I guess we have to be thankful for that.

Given that it's PBS and a publicly-funded program, you wouldn't think this would even be an issue. It is really stunning. Not only is it this way but it's been this way since KCPT began.

You'd think this was 1920's or 1940's or even 1960's America.

But it surely isn't.

In Mr. Shanin's and his program's defense, I will say that they TALKED about inviting a black female singer to be on the program. In the future.

Not done there, our PBS station KCPT also ran FOUR VERY WHITE PEOPLE, again, on "Week in Review."

Not one "person of color."

Honestly. It's stunning.

What chutzpah. What an insult.

It insults our intelligence as well as the audience, the entire city.

Come on, KCPT.

You should be FAR better than this.

Links:

Ruckus - KCPT

Kansas City Week in Review - KCPT

What Do You Suppose It Will Take To Get KCPT To Recognize There Is a Hispanic Community Here?

Really, this puzzles me.

It took far too long to get KCPT to get one token black person reliably, week after week, on their weekly news programs, "Ruckus" and "Week In Review" and even now, they still get left off some weeks.

That was bad enough but the station still hasn't recognized or accepted or something there is a Hispanic Community in the metropolitan area.

Sure, we still get loads and loads o' white folk what with Right Wing, Republican Mike Shanin and his also Right Wing, Republican buddy Woody Cozad (don't get me started) but the shows are heavily, heavily weighted with bleached white people.

As I've said before, their commercials are all the time putting up minorities in them, asking people to send their money like so many Christian churches but what is it going to take to get a token Hispanice on both these shows each week?

They've recognized there is the Dos Mundos newspaper, having one of their staff on not long ago. You'd think they could--and would--maybe call them up once a week and ask if someone would show up for the program.

At least they let women---one, usually, each week, another token--on the program but once again, it's usually a white woman to round out that very varied group.

This week on Ruckus, they had 3 white people---ONE WOMAN!--and Terry Riley, a former City Council person.

And forget about "Week in Review" this week. The entire show was bleached white people. Every one of them.

Minorities??

Bah!

They don't live here in Kansas City!

Right, KCPT?

I would like to now take this time and place to formally challenge KCPT---a PBS station, after all--to please, for the love of God and fairness and decency and all that is good, to start having, reliably, one Hispanic, one member of the black community, one woman and one---ONLY ONE--white guy on these two programs each week, going forward, indefinitely.

Seriously.

It just doesn't seem like too much to ask.

They say they rely on our contributions in order to survive, exist.

How about including ALL of us?

KCPT?

Have you no shame whatever?

Fairness? Balance? Decency in journalism?

Any of that?

KCPT Does It Again. Some More. Seriously, KCPT, How Long Are You Going To Keep This Up?

Yes sir and ma'am, another week, another couple of local news programs from KCPT, having only or largely only white people save us all.

Very white, Nick Haines and his show, "Week in Review" loaded up just one more all white panel to do just that, save the city with all the answers they--the white men folk--have for us.


Yes sir, there you go. Four white guys and--oops!--they let in a token woman! How did that happen?

Not one person of color.

Not one black person. Not one Hispanic. Nada. No one else. Just lily white people, there to save the day, praze Geezus.

And then uber white, Right Wing, Conservative, Republican Mike Shanin, there, with his show, "Ruckus", later in the week and, wow! This time THEY LET IN ONE BLACK PERSON! Stunning! Not only that, they let 3 women, AT ONE TIME, be on the show with the white guys! Wowzer! They may get this one day yet, huh? Maybe? If we all live long enough?


Poor Woody Cozad looked downright uncomfortable, what with all those wimmin folk sittin' 'round him. And a cupla' them m-eye-noritees, too, at that.

Look, KCPT, we've talked about this before.

You load up your money-begging commercials with people of color and women. You're all the time asking for money from them, from minorities.

How impossible for you all is it that you would have, say, one Hispanic and one black person, EVERY WEEK, on your programs? This city is not tiny. How tough would it be to stop loading us up with what only white people in general but also only white, old, conservative men and their thoughts and answers on local, state, regional and national answers and possibilities?

Who knows, you might even get, oh, I don't know, more viewers and more support, financial and otherwise, for your programs?

How y'all aren't embarrassed by this, personally and professionally, I can't even imagine.

What did they teach you in journalism school, anyway?

KCPT's "Week In Review": "We Got the White People's View Covered!"

First "Ruckus" this week, and now this.


All white.

All the time.

Thanks, KCPT!

Shame On You, KCPT

This week's "Week In Review" was, once again, lily white.

The entire panel.

Not one "person of color" to discuss the city's issues, problems and opportunities.

KCPT's "Ruckus": All White, All the Time

Once again this week, KCPT-TV's weekly news program "Ruckus" was all white people, solving all the people's problems. The most open minded they could be was having two women on the panel.

They even discussed the DACA, "dreamers" controversy, possibly effecting 800,000 Hispanic people in the nation but do you think they'd include one minority, one Hispanic from the Kansas City metropolitan area?

NAH.....

They'll keep it lily-white.

Who are we kidding?

Because there aren't any minorities in this city.

No Blacks.  No Hispanics. No Mexican-Americans. None of them. Not in this town.

We know that.

Right?

Well, except on their own commercials, asking for donations and contributions--money--to keep the station running.

Side note:  In a -little bit--of a defense of KCPT here, they did include one Black man, Eric Wesson, on their show this week. Of course, it was a discussion, on that show, about the minority community demanding a percentage portion of the work if we do, in fact, build a new single-terminal airport. Two white men, one white woman and Mr. Wesson.

#Lttlegains