| Monday, June 29, 2009 |
| Jim Greer's grovely pay-for-play gambit |
 Jim Greer likes Black people? Fo shizzle, my nizzle.
How do you make the head of the Florida Republican Party look like an idiot? Well ... let's ask the proprieters of certain Black media outlets:
Florida Republican leaders are trying to capture ground they've historically ceded to the Democratic Party — the black news media.
Friday, managers of black-owned newspapers and radio outlets told Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer there's a simple way to get more attention for conservative issues and candidates: money.
"At the end of the day, it's about money. If you buy advertising, you're more likely to get coverage," said Johnny Hunter, president of the Florida Association of Black Owned Media and publisher of Sarasota's Tempo News.
Greer invited black-media news executives from across the state to a downtown Orlando hotel to hash out how the party can make inroads in the black community, which traditionally votes Democratic. And of course, when confronted with what amounts to a blatant pay-for-play scheme, which is both unethical from a journalistic standpoint and just plain stupid, since Black people aren't dim enough to suddenly start supporting the party of "take that bone out of your nose and call me back" Rush Limbaugh because they read a few "positive stories" bought in their local papers by the GOP, Greer and his African American Republican Leadership Council chair state Rep. Jennifer Carroll stood up and walked the hell out of the room, saying they may be Republicans, but he's not that dumb ... right ...?
... Carroll, who helped lead the discussion, told members of the black media that they can benefit as much as the GOP from increased coverage.
"You're in business to make money, and you should look at avenues to increase your revenue if you can," she said. Oh ... Of course, the case that was made to Greer and company was somewhat subtle:
All of the media representatives seemed to push for more advertising and agreed that the Republican Party and its candidates would receive more coverage if they bought ads.
They did not all agree about whether advertising would lead to positive news stories or endorsements, though some hinted that failing to buy advertising could bring negative editorials. But at least Greer didn't make a horse's ass out of himself ... (gulp)
Greer promised that the party would stop ignoring black media. He said that mainstream newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Tribune and Tallahassee Democrat cover the party's issues regardless of whether they advertise, but the party chairman nevertheless seemed willing to accept the quid-pro-quo arrangement.
"When I hear that when we advertise, the paper will be more likely to disseminate Republican issues, am I hearing right?" Greer asked. "I don't understand the legitimacy of disseminating information and having a tie-in to revenue — but I get it." Oh dear...
Mr. Greer, you seem like a nice guy, so let me give you some advice, okay? And this from a Democrat, no less. Stop. Just stop. Not only is this story, which appeared in the Orlando Sentinel over the weekend, embarrassing for those Black media outlets (which I assume are mostly newspapers since there are only a handful of black-owned radio stations in Florida) and who should be ashamed of themselves for basically trying to hustle political parties for cash, it's also humiliating for you.
If you really think buying news coverage in Black papers will get you anything other than a bill, you don't know very many Black people. And I wouldn't go by those Black Republicans who are telling you that the GOP has a serious chance of gaining ground with black voters any time soon. Charlie Crist's 18-plus percent of the Black vote pretty much was unique to him, because he sounded, and continues to sound, basically like a Democrat. Short of recruiting more Charlies, which your party bosses won't do in the name of ideological purity, you guys are pretty much out of gas.
Meanwhile, we in the Black community need to have a serious internal conversation about our media -- including how Black-targeted, but not Black-owned radio and cable TV portrays, and fails to inform us, and why our media moguls, from Cathy Hughes to Bob Johnson, seem to have little interest in educating and edifying their customers, or giving them a strong political voice (as opposed to slapstick comedy and booty music.) Black newspapers are unfortunately suffering the swine flu while larger, better financed white papers just have the flu. But hustling political parties doesn't strike me as the best way to gain respect, especially when major Black media outlets have yet to develop a strong web presence, for instance, and when others are signaling that they need to be compensated to report the news. If something the Republican party is doing is newsworthy, any Black media outlet worth a damn will reported, regardless of ad revenue. If the GOP has been methodically refusing to advertise in Black outlets, do correct it. But this quid pro quo business is no way for either side to further its interests.
That said, do the Democrats have a problem with taking black voters and media for granted? Absolutely. Will that help Republicans going forward? Maybe. But it isn't how much money you buy in Black newspapers. It's the policies, stupid, and the people your party puts forward as spokesmen and leaders. Cheat sheet: most of them are jerks. And those about 14 times for Bill McCollum.
So there it is, Jim. Good luck. And I won't even charge you for writing this.Labels: Florida Republican Party, Jim Greer |
posted by JReid @ 4:37 PM   |
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