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.

The Weekly KCPT "White Watch"

I think I've decided I'm going to post out here, weekly, who, precisely, is included and excluded on our local PBS station, KCPT's two weekly news shows as to who is on it and who is off. I've pointed out here, several times, how few minorities are included on the shows. And the shows are "Ruckus" and "Kansas City Week In Review."

Normally, weekly, it is virtually always, as I've shown, merely and only, singularly, white people. Maybe one woman, one white woman but that's it. No Blacks. No Hispanics. No Asians. No one else but white people as though we are some Northeast United States, completely white society and any input from anyone else is unnecessary.

This week, a small gain was made in that "Kansas City Week In Review' with Nick Haines had---count 'em!---one "person of color." They included one, one Black man, God love 'em.

But check this out.

For that one Black person, that one Black person in the chair this week?

The female got bumped.

Apparently, on this show, if not on KCPT, period, they can only allow one minority. One minority at a time.

Isn't that wonderful?

Meanwhile, back on "Ruckus"?

Lily white.

Once again, one more time, the "Ruckus" show had nothing but middle-aged--or older--white males. And yes, they included, on this program, one white woman.

Bless their little hearts.

KCPT and PBS does so much good otherwise and gives us such great programming otherwise but on these two weekly news programs?

They fail the city greatly.

Thoughts on a Sunday

--Apparently it was another "lily white" day of Sunday morning news programs.

After searching them all and seeing most, I don't think there was one "person of color" represented on any of the shows. No minority perspective other than the one minority of women.

Surely this will change soon.

Note to networks: there's a whole world of "minorities" in the US whose viewpoints aren't being given, when they're left off the programs.

--George Will is, of course, against the President's plan for health care reform and said as much, again, on ABC's "This Week" program.

ABC should have had the economist Paul Krugman on, if possible, to counter his viewpoints. They needed someone authoritative on to rebut what points he made.

--I hadn't read anywhere, to date, about three Republican representatives (Hennsarling, Pence and Campbell) proposing we cap the national debt at 20% of the GDP. This was news to me.

I'm sure it will get traction, too.

It would have anyway, but with the news out today that the Social Security Administration is starting to pay out more--much more--than it takes in this year, it's easy to see this will resonate with Americans a great deal.

Speaking of spending, did you know the US has 90 military facilities in Japan?

Anyone thought of cutting there?

And why are we still in Germany?

And Italy?

--Quotes from "Kansas City Week in Review" on KCPT this week, both regarding state cuts in spending, due to Missouri and Kansas budget deficits in the millions of dollars:

"Our expectation of government has to change." --Nick Haynes, moderator.

"The 'day of reckoning' really is here." --Dave Helling, KCTV 5 reporter

--The Kansas City, Missouri Chamber of Commerce moving to Union Station is a great idea and deal for the station, the Chamber and the city, overall, period.

Good on ya', Chamber---you did good.

--From a song on KCUR today:

"Every generation thinks its the last, it's the end of the world..."

Face it, folks, we're just not that significant.

(Not that you can't help your neighbor).


Let's all have a great week.

(Also, you might go to KC Photog Blog this Wednesday for one picture per hour of the Brookside St. Patrick's Day parade, starting fairly early in the day. I think they turned out pretty well and they're a lot of fun.)

Must-see television

If you didn't see KCPT's "Kansas City Week in Review" this week with Nick Haynes interviewing Dr. John Covington of the Kansas City, Missouri School District and you're interested, at least, in what's going on in town, I recommend you go online or do whatever you have to, to see it.

It was really a good, if brief, interview. Fascinating stuff.

Some of the things Dr. C. owned up to:

1) He nor no one else in the District knows how many employees they have. That's a shocker right there. He did say it's somewhere between 3300 to 3400 but they just don't know.

2) of the employees they do have, the don't know who they all are;

3) of those same employees, they don't know where they all work;

4) of those same employees, they don't know what they all do.

That is incredible.

Can you imagine trying to run any organization without that knowledge?

That is no way to run a business, to be sure.

So get this--that's why they are having all the employees come down to the District offices to get their paychecks.

And we just thought that showed--more--of how screwed-up the District is. No, no, for once, it's intentional and it's a good thing.

A pain in the butt for the employees, sure, but a good thing.

A quote from Dr. C: "The Kansas City Missouri School District is over-staffed. We don't need the number of employees that we have to deliver instructional programs and services for 16,000 plus students." (Correction on my part. I had earlier put up this figure as 1600).

Good for him.

This should have been said and taken care of years ago. It would seem that the School Board members of the past--and quite possibly the present--are protecting all those jobs, to the detriment of the District, frankly.

More information from the interview: in the district Dr. C. just left--Pueblo, Colorado--it had approximately the same number of students KCMO has now.

Their staff size?

2400

What's that tell you?

It looks strongly like, if Dr. C. has his way--as I think he should--1000 more employees of this District are going to get the ax.

Let's see if the School Board or anyone else gets in his way.

They do have a deficit to contend with, besides the fact that they need to get the kids performing.

So it seems like Dr. Covington is on the right track and is doing what he needs to, to get the KCMO School District closer to performing and functioning well. Good luck to him. He's a tough guy, it seems. He'll need all the toughness he can muster.

But the fact is, it's going to be up to the students themselves--and their mothers and fathers and families--to do the work that has to be done so the District is successful. Dr. Covington and the District and and should do what they can to lay a good foundation for success but it's up to the kids and their parents.

______________________________

Side note: Did you see where Dr. Amato was fired this week from his latest Superintendent job? Yeah. Isn't that great?

And get this--they gave a quote on the show that he left that district "in chaos."

Sound familiar? It does to anyone who worked for our schools while he was here.

I just wonder how many hundreds of thousands of dollars they had to throw at him, to buy out his contract and get him to leave.

Link: www.kcpt.org/news/kcwir/shtml