ON FRESH AIR Actor Alec Baldwin has been nominated for a Golden Globe award for his role in the TV sitcom 30 Rock. He recently appeared in the films The Good Shepard, Running with Scissors, The Departed and The Aviator. Actress Helen Mirren has been nominated for three Golden Globes this year. For her roles in the TV mini-series Prime Suspect and Elizabeth I, and for her work in the film The Queen. ON THE WORLD CAFE This Friday listen to Kiefer Sutherland’s Top 5 on World Cafe! The season premiere of 24 airs Sunday, 1/14. Listen to Kiefer discuss […]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
Whenever we would see sisters around town rockin’ a black burqa in the August swelter, we would wonder aloud: Why would a modern Western black woman become a Muslim? It just seemed to us like trading one form of slavery for another, especially for women. And then we heard an NPR interview with a Muslim sister that asked this very question and her answer, transcribed from memory, had a sad but compelling logic: In a world where I walk around unveiled and get called ‘bitch’ & ‘ho’ routinely, Islam offers less freedom but more respect. Word, that. However, it depresses […]
HOLLA: THE WIRE, It’s Better Than Television
BY JAMES DOOLITTLE For all you bitchasses who still refuse to believe that the greatest thing since the marriage of McNugget and Honey Mustard Sauce is actually found on television, excuse time is OVER! No longer can you complain about not having HBO, or having to shell out mad money for a slew of Blockbuster rentals. Starting tonight, the first season of “The Wire” begins airing on BET, and as I said — NO EXCUSES! Even if you don’t have basic cable, you at least know someone who’s stealing it. Mind you, this isn’t a bandwagon you can jump on […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Clint Eastwood has examined the Battle of Iwo Jima in two recent films. His latest movie, Letters from Iwo Jima, explores the perspective of the Japanese soldiers who fought it. RADIO TIMES HOUR 1 Last month, JONATHAN NEWMAN resigned as chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Marty talks with him about his work and experiences in Harrisburg overseeing the $1.7 billion state store system. HOUR 2 Should NJ abolish its death penalty? A recent report by the New Jersey Death Penalty Commission recommends that lawmakers vote to end capitol punishment. NJ re-instated the death penalty in 1982, […]
TIERNEY Considering Selling Off Inquirer Building & Everyone Work From Home — In Their Pajamas
PHILADELPHIA The owner of Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers said Tuesday it is considering selling the historic building that serves as the publications’ headquarters, a landmark that has graced the downtown skyline for 82 years. Jay Devine, a spokesman for Philadelphia Media Holdings, said the company had interviewed several real estate firms about a potential sale of the building that houses The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. The company, which has cut more than 100 editorial and advertising jobs since Jan. 1, is in the appraisal and planning stage for a possible sale of the Beaux Arts structure. ?They’re just […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
ON FRESH AIR Republican pollster Frank Luntz advises politicians on the language they should use to win elections and promote their policies. Although he works on one side of the aisle, he says that what he does is essentially non-partisan, seeking clarity and simplicity in language. His critics disagree, and have accused him of using language that misrepresents policies to “sell” them to the public. Frank Luntz is the author of Words that Work. RADIO TIMES Should Philadelphia eliminate its onerous business privilege tax? We’ll debate this with BRETT MANDEL, executive director of Philadelphia Forward, which calls for eliminating the […]
PULP FICTION: Local Noir Lit Geeks Celebrate Legacy Of Philadelphia’s Forgotten BARTON FINK
Though [David] Goodis enjoyed early success, he spent the last decades of his life in relative seclusion, living at his parents’ house in East Oak Lane, helping to care for Herbert, his schizophrenic brother. Since his death in early 1967, the author’s name and work have grown increasingly obscure. After his second novel, 1946’s Dark Passage, was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, Goodis was given a lucrative contract as a scriptwriter by Warner Bros., and installed in William Faulkner’s former office in Hollywood. The 1947 film version, with Humphrey Bogart as a wanted fugitive hunting for his wife’s killer, […]
MSM HOWDY: Welcome Washington Post Readers!
The truth you seek is here.
OFFICE SPACE: 34 Ad Reps Given Pink Slips
NEW YORK Less than a week after about 70 newsroom employees were laid off at the Philadelphia Inquirer, at least 34 advertising positions – including 16 part-timers – are being cut today at Philadelphia Newspapers, which handles business operations for the Inquirer and Daily News.Henry Holcomb, president of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia, said the affected employees were being informed Monday morning one by one, with union representatives sitting in on the meetings with management. “We have just gotten word and they are in the process of informing them now,” Holcomb said about the impacted employees, who are among […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos on today’s Fresh Air.
BUZZ BITCHSLAP: Bissinger Calls On Columnists Grogan And Smith To Do The Right Thing And Pull Golden Parachutes For The Good Of The Inquirer
FROM THE BLINQ COMMENTS SECTION: Given what is happening at the Inquirer, I hope that columnists Stephen A. Smith and John Grogan do what is right and take voluntary buyouts given they have both hit the jackpot in other realms and could care less about what they write for the paper. They both mail their columns in now. Smith is preoccupied with his ESPN show and is apprently never in the city he allegedly covers. Grogan is mired in the gooey syrup that made Marley and Me such a hit and has never shown any knowledge of the region whatsoever.Neither […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
ON TODAY’S FRESH AIR ?A Scanner Darkly,? the film based on the novel by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick ? about drug addiction, paranoia, government surveillance and corporate greed ? is now out on DVD. On the next Fresh Air, we hear from RICHARD LINKLATER, who wrote and directed it. THE WORLD CAFE Formed in 2000 from the ashes of the outstanding Minneapolis band Lifter Puller, The Hold Steady might just be the best bar band in America. With its riff-heavy mixture of classic rock and Craig Finn’s lyrically dense storytelling, the group crafts intricately detailed musical universes that […]
National Association Of Black Journalists Questions Preponderance of Minorities On THE LIST
The Philadelphia Inquirer began informing the 71 newsroom employees Tuesday night that they would be let go as of Jan. 17, 2007. Early reports indicate that as many as 14-16 black journalists were among those laid off, or as much as 22.5 percent of the overall layoffs. According to the 2006 ASNE newsroom census, approximately 11.3 percent of the Inquirer?s newsroom staff is African American. ?This takes the Inquirer in the wrong direction,? said NABJ President Bryan Monroe, vice president and editorial director of Ebony and Jet magazines. ?While we recognize that economic realities are forcing industry executives to make […]