BROKEBACK MAMA: Old Lady Of ‘Gay American’ To Publish Tell-Some On Being A Mother, Wife And Beard

Silent Partner, a memoir of [Dina] Matos McGreevey’s life with her husband, is to be published this spring by Hyperion Books, a unit of Disney-owned ABC Inc. Last fall, McGreevey’s memoir The Confession was published. In it, he discussed his homosexuality, including what he said was an affair with a former aide and a tryst while his wife was recuperating from a C-section. The former aide, Golan Cipel, has denied they ever had sex and he accused McGreevey of sexually harassing him. The book, briefly on best-seller charts, sold about 36,000 copies. During the now-famous news conference in August 2004 […]

GUILD: Layoffs Disproportionately Targeted Minorites, Leaving Behind A Newsroom Of Dead, White Men To Cover A City Where Minorities ARE The Majority

Dear Guild Member, Today several of our members, with the support of National Association of Black Journalists, met with top executives of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. Attached is a summary of their talking points, passed on with their permission: THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER DIVERSITY OBSERVATIONS January 16, 2007 African American (11.3 percent), Asian American (4.7 percent) and Hispanic American (2.1 percent) journalists are the minorities represented on The Inquirer?s newsroom staff, according to the latest survey of the American Society of Newspaper editors. African American (16) and Asian American (5) journalists represent a disproportionate share (28 percent) of the […]

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: 9/11 Mysteries

The day after 9/11 we went to the Khyber where an acquaintance assured us over beers that it was an ‘inside job.’ We told him that we were no stranger to conspiracy theories — that the official explanations of assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK are riddled with black holes of impossibility and trapdoors of doubt that lead to the sub-basements of the Dark Side of the American psyche — but to say that our own government had a hand in the wholesale slaughter of thousands of its own citizens is cheap insult to the dead. Now, we’re not so […]

The Rev. Dr. MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr. 1929-1968

“I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I do not fear any man. Mine eyes have […]

SMELLS LIKE JOURNALISM: Inky Editorial Board Descends From Ivory Tower To Hear Vox Populi

Talking to Philadelphians about their city is like talking to a woman about the guy she’s been married to for 30 years. She has his quirks and habits down cold. If you ask nicely, she’ll recite them all for you, in rueful, sarcastic detail. But don’t you go criticizing him, or she’ll knock your block off as soon as she looks at you. She’ll never pretend he looks like Pierce Brosnan or George Clooney, but then again, she never cared that much about that kind of thing. Anyway, for a guy his age, who’s been through what he’s been through, […]

HOT DOCUMENT: Stephen A. Smith Speaks Out ‘Quite Frankly’ On ESPN2 Cancellation, Buzz Dissinger, And Will He Or Won’t He Take One For The Team

From: stephenaREDACTED Subject: Re: Request For Comment Date: January 12, 2007 4:55:17 PM EST To: PHAWKER Yes, it’s true, and I support ESPN’s decision. Doing a brand new show on ESPN2 was a tremendous challenge to begin with. I did my best, helped along by a tremendous staff, and I’m proud of what we accomplished. I’ve learned a great deal. I’ve also learned there’s limits to what I can withstand in regards to my schedule. Now I move on to future challenges — while enthusiastically embracing old ones like writing for the Inquirer on a more frequent basis I’m still […]

SALTY DAWG: Captain Noah At Full Mast! Aye Aye!

Did anyone else hear Captain Noah — yes, that Captain Noah — on with Preston and Steve* this morning? Dearoldcaptainnoah Well, you missed a classic. Consider this an all-points bulletin for a recording of the interview — if you’re a Philly-area kid who grew up sending your pictures to Dear Old Captain Noah (send them right away, do not delay!) — you need to get with this, though it may scar you for life. Remember how, on the Magical Ark, the Captain would finish making a craft and then the garbage-eating hand puppet would come up and take away all […]

RADIO SILENCE: Megaphone Of The ‘Hood Muzzled

DAN GROSS REPORTS: THE “VOICE of the African-American Community” was silenced yesterday when all employees of WHAT (1340-AM) were fired from the talk-radio station. Inner City Broadcasting did the firing. The company had sold the longtime staple of black issues in Philadelphia to Havertown’s Marconi Broadcasting Co. for $5 million in November, as the People Paper’s Jonathan Takiff reported at the time of the sale. Marconi has not disclosed its programming plans for the station, which has been the home for decades to popular morning personality Mary Mason, who could not be reached for comment. Mason was on air yesterday […]