Entertainment
Ben Bolch’s Los Angeles Times column about LSU is the latest example of how traditional media perpetuates misogynoir
In journalism school we’re taught that we have to be objective in our reporting and writing.
I could go on and on about how objectivity in journalism is a myth created by gatekeepers in traditional media who wanted to regulate each what stories are told and how those stories are told.
The whole point of “objectivity” in journalism was to avoid offending the news’s primary readers, who were and still are white men. Sections dedicated to white women were later added, but at no point were any black people featured, and our stories weren’t considered in traditional media or in the overall debate about objectivity. White men and white women have all the time been the target market and still are.
This signifies that the way stories about Black individuals are told have historically been told from a perspective that pleases the sensibilities of white people.
New media – the media spaces which have emerged since the advent of the Internet – have modified all this.
As more Black publications and media outlets enter the arena and tell our stories in ways in which honor us and uplift our stories, traditional media outlets shouldn’t have the same level of control over what is considered “objective.”
Nowadays, who you might be is directly reflected in the way you write your stories and the stories you select.
Opinion writing is not objective; in actual fact, it’s exactly the opposite. That’s subjective AF.
Opinion writing is a subset of journalism during which journalists, commentators, critics, etc. share their personal thoughts on a subject of their selection.
These topics might be movies, current events, albums, politics, racial justice issues, social justice issues, and the list goes on.
The text in opinion articles is barely looser than in reportage articles. Op-eds often rely more on how the author personally expresses himself. They may use slang or jargon that may not otherwise appear in regular news, and their personality often comes out more in writing because, again, it is an expression of their deep, personal thoughts.
With all this in mind, let’s talk about it Article by Ben Bolch published in the LA Times. before the UCLA-LSU matchup in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Ben Bolch is a beat author for the Los Angeles Times covering the University of California, Los Angeles. His Twitter bio (remember we never call it X) says he’s “an absurdist who tweets for me, not you.”
Ben wrote the comment last Friday before Saturday’s matchup between the two teams. The headline of the article was “UCLA-LSU Are America’s Sweethearts vs. Basketball Villains” and truthfully, that ought to have been our first clue that the article can be full of the same kind of anti-black, dehumanizing rhetoric that has been pushed repeatedly over the last yr at LSU.
The original light in the column read: “This isn’t just a basketball game, it’s a reckoning. Choosing sides goes far beyond school loyalty. Do you prefer America’s sweethearts or its dirty debutants? Milk and cookies or Louisiana hot sauce?
Aside from the fact that these first two independent sentences should be separated by a semicolon or a period, what about “white people sometimes gets on my nerves”?
Who calls the University of California, Los Angeles women’s basketball team “America’s Sweethearts”?
No offense to these young ladies, as I’m sure they’re all very lovely human beings, but how do you portray them as the light in this equation while simultaneously portraying LSU – the Black team for the purposes of this exercise – as the darkness?
He then writes: “Do you prefer a team that wants to grow women’s basketball or one that seems very keen to divide it?”
I’ll say it again: where does this narrative come from?
LSU’s squad is dominated by blacks, so portraying them as the “bad” opposition to the “good” UCLA team is greater than a bit disturbing, nevertheless it doesn’t end there.
It makes Angel Reese, who has suffered from a lot scrutiny and criticism from the white media, for doing the same thing that every one basketball players – including Caitlin Clark, who is white – do all the time.
How is it different from what Angel Reese does? Steph Curry’s ‘nightie’ gesture?
The comment in the article was misogynistic, sexist and anti-black towards a bunch of young women who’re still learning, growing and deserve all the grace in the world while attempting to balance the enormity of celebrity sports and college life. They operate in an area where they’re expected to be athletic and dominant of their sport, but additionally to be the epitome of grace and civility, if white people have anything to say about it.
The response to Bolch’s comment was quick and immediate. People on Twitter criticized him repeatedly until the Times finally updated the story on Saturday with several disclaimers, including the following editor’s note:
On the ice, the line “Do you prefer America’s sweethearts or her dirty debutants? Milk and cookies or Louisiana hot sauce? was removed and replaced with a note from a second editor that said: “A previous version of this commentary did not meet Times editorial standards. It has been updated.”
This article probably went through at least a line editor and a copy editor and neither of them initially saw a problem with it, so I question the editorial standards the Times references and wonder whether all of its editors were trained in this alleged ” standard”.
The question “Do you prefer a team that wants to grow women’s basketball or one that clearly wants to divide it?” still remains in the article, as does the previously mentioned comment on Angel Reese.
Now let’s go back to what I said at the beginning of this comment.
Ben Bolch is an experienced columnist who has worked for the Los Angeles Times since 1999. Over the course of 25 years, he has had time to practice and perfect his craft, including his writing style and word choice.
I assume Ben Bolch knew what he was doing when he wrote this article. He is a white man who works in a predominantly white school and knows his audience. This comment was written in a way that appealed to the sensibilities of the audience, but also included words and phrases that he deliberately chose.
Again, the editor saw this story and thought it was okay to publish it.
Ben himself probably thought he had done something big with it because he couldn’t stop promoting it on Twitter, even after being yelled at multiple times on Twitter.
He finally issued a lame “apology” on Monday, but the damage was already done. The apology has already been added at the end of the original article, but I’ll prevent the time and energy of reading by summarizing it this manner:
Ben Bolch is not sorry about the language he used towards the young women on the LSU team. He’s sorry he was called out on it so loudly and openly.
The daring emphasis is mine.
It’s hard for me to persuade him, at his great age and at this stage of his profession, especially in any case the white “woke” bullshit from 2020, that he really didn’t understand the seriousness of what he was writing. He not only sees it now; he knew all along, and when his editors agreed, he figured he had gotten away with it.
It’s the journalistic equivalent of throwing a stone and covering your hand.
You’re not smart, Ben.
What Ben did was follow the path paved by all the white media that got here before him.
It’s okay to place down Black people or talk down Black people. There’s nothing incorrect with portraying us as villains, thugs, and terrible people for doing the same things they do all the time and never get called out for. There is nothing incorrect with using weapons against a complete group of young black women who do nothing greater than play sports and take a look at to advance in the world.
White traditional media perpetuates misogyny. We’ve seen this occur in real time with athletes like Serena Williams AND Coco Gauffamongst others.
Ben Bolch was simply following a script that had already been written for him. He said things about black female athletes that he would never say about white women, and when you don’t think me, have a look at his later comment about UCLA losing. He wrote this story as gently as possible, while criticizing the many mistakes they made that ultimately led to them losing the match.
White traditional media perpetuates misogyny all the time.
They needs to be prepared for Black writers (and Black people generally) to point this out regularly.
Sports
- Ben Bolch’s Los Angeles Times column about LSU is the latest example of how traditional media perpetuates misogynoir
- Police say the use of racial slurs is clearly heard during the investigation into racist incidents against the Utah team
- Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark can develop their game without the “help” of Ice Cube
- LSU star Angel Reese declares for WNBA draft via Vogue photo shoot and says: ‘I didn’t mean to be rude’
- Black coaches lost all the pieces after the FBI college hoops case that ruined their careers after which fizzled
- Women’s basketball phenomenon Angel Reese on being solid as a ‘villain’: ‘I’ve been through a lot’
- From homelessness to Final Four history, forward Fisk is being honored for his bravery
- Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams Speaks Out About His Controversial Pink Painted Nails and Lip Gloss
The post Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times on LSU is the latest example of how traditional media perpetuates misogynoir and first appeared on TheGrio.
Entertainment
“The Honorable Shyne” is a hit. This is why I wanted to tell this story. — Andlandscape
One of the primary reasons Andscape culture author Justin Tinsley and I were tapped to co-executive produce was our backgrounds as music journalists. The documentary chronicling Moses “Shyne” Barrow’s rise to fame, imprisonment, and re-emergence as a political leader suits firmly into our wheelhouse, as his best rap years got here within the early 2000s – right at the center of our hip-hop fandom. I donated my time helping with the documentary, which was a top ten show in its debut week on Huluas a likelihood to help tell the story of hip-hop. I got here away from the project with an understanding of a man in conflict, at odds with himself and his past, and wanting to forge a path forward.
Shyne’s story illustrates the American dream: a poor black immigrant comes to America and from nowhere becomes one in all the largest rap stars. It is also a story about how the American criminal justice system and music industry chew up and spit out so many young Black people. To carelessly follow Shyne’s story is to consider him as just one other young black man who fell into a bad situation and never recovered. After all, his rap profession was effectively derailed when in 2001 he was sentenced to ten years in prison for the 1999 shooting at Club New York in Manhattan. But what inspired me about Shyne’s story was his refusal to let this devastation define him.
In 2021, I hung out in New Orleans with former No Limit rapper McKinley “Mac” Phipps, who had just been released from prison after spending 21 years in prison for a murder he denied committing. As I listened to Shyne’s story, I considered Mac. Both were avatars of a system that tested rap as much because it tested individual men. Mac’s story was about how hip-hop lyrics may be used to accuse someone within the face of overwhelming evidence of their innocence. Similarly, Shyne’s trial created a sensation about hip-hop’s relationship to violence in a city hungry for head on a plate.
Both Shyne and Mac emerged from prison as completely different people than once they entered. In Mac’s case, it was the period of time he spent at home, during which he transformed from a teenage rapper into a man after 20 years spent in confinement. For Shyne, his transformation got here from faith when he converted to Orthodox Judaism in prison. When I have a look at people like Shyne and Mac, I wonder how they’ll survive being locked in a cage, and their answers are inspiring.
While Shyne’s rap stories are what drew me to this project, it’s his journey as a man that makes me proud to help tell his story. And we actually get to see that journey after he raps the ultimate bars of his rap profession.
Shyne got here to the film wanting to discuss his lowest moments – the time after his release from prison in 2009, when he lashed out, frustrated at seeing a latest crop of rap stars emerge within the void left by his absence. He was rudderless. As rudderless as anyone may be who has lost a decade to a prison system that wanted to destroy him. And much more, since it was closed when the superstar’s fame was on the tip of his fingers.
The raspy-voiced rapper could have let these mishaps define him, but that is where Shyne’s story resonates with everyone, whether or not they’re a rap fan or not. Shyne’s second act, the one through which he finds purpose in community and family, where he uses his innate charisma and true genius to turn out to be a political leader and motivational speaker.
I cannot discuss Shyne’s reappearance without mentioning Sean “Diddy” Combs. Combs, the disgraced hip-hop mogul who signed Shyne to his label Bad Boy Records and helped launch his profession, is the elephant within the room throughout the documentary and in Shyne’s life. So lots of the artists who emerged under Diddy – from G Depp and Mase to The Notorious BIG – suffered terrible consequences. Shyne’s name was all the time on the list because he spent ten years in prison. And yet, Shyne’s approach to healing and moving forward is as inspiring as his ability to overcome what he sees because the sabotage of his life and profession.
These are lessons I didn’t expect to learn from the stories in regards to the hip-hop star from my childhood. These are inspiring moments that can be of interest to those that haven’t yet turn out to be inquisitive about the Brooklyn, or somewhat Belizean, rapper featured within the documentary. These are the points that make me proud to be a a part of telling Shyne’s story.
There are few things more exciting than receiving an infinite barrage of text messages at the very same time in numerous group chats. This normally implies that something vital has happened in popular culture. Well, the exact same thing happened about noon on November 22, within the yr of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, higher often called Kendrick Lamar, released the album “GNX”, nod towards Buick Grand National Regal GNXa rare muscle automobile released in 1987 – which also happens to be the yr Kendrick was born.
“GNX” is coming to the tip of what has been a banner yr for Kendrick Lamar. From epic diss records geared toward Drake, to creating the largest song of his profession (and a Drake diss track) on “Not Like Us”, to the “Pop Out” concert streaming live to tell the tale Amazon Prime, Kendrick won this yr. He even received seven Grammy nominations, mostly for “Not Like Us.” And this victory will proceed in the brand new yr. In September, it was announced that Kendrick would stay Super Bowl 2025 headliner will happen in New Orleans. This announcement sparked some controversy and comments from several New Orleans legends similar to Juvenile and most notably Lil Wayne, who felt disrespected; Kendrick immediately refers to this topic within the opening song of the album (all stylized in lower case), “wacced out murals”.
The thing is, Kendrick didn’t sleep for many of 2024. And then, while the remaining of us were minding our own business, listening to other albums that had just dropped, like Ice Cube’s “Man Down,” I began receiving text after text… and I knew that would only mean that something vital happened.
At this point in my life (and possibly even yours), Kendrick Lamar releases are a drop-everything-and-listen event. I immediately went to the streaming service, launched “GNX” and pressed “Play”.
I need to admit that the primary time I heard the album I used to be a bit confused. Kendrick has probably never been more popular or famous; if there was ever a time to drag a Kanye West and release his own version of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” – an album largely produced as Kanye’s best and most representative of Kanye’s greatness – now could be the time. “GNX” has a far more modern West Coast vibe and is certainly more for his die-hard fans than anyone who just began gaining attention due to his beef with Drake. Maybe that was the purpose; possibly not.
Either way, I can imagine that folks whose favorite lines are “OV-Ho” won’t be immediately thrilled. I wasn’t immediately blown away (though very amused by how sensitive Kendrick is to what people say about him on social media, well, everyone), but as is all the time the case with Kendrick albums, repeated listens are likely to correct any immediate monotony that I even have about his projects. For example, now that I’ve listened to it just a few times, I can not wait to listen to black college bands playing “tv off” style, which seems like a cousin of “Not Like Us.” The Shoot, Bayou Classic, which also takes place yearly in New Orleans on Thanksgiving Day, stands out as the first time we hear a band playing “TV off.”
Since the album didn’t come out long enough to be reviewed, group chats and social media were abuzz with immediate reactions. This is the a part of music releases I really like, where everyone seems to be listening to the identical thing, offering premature takes that will not even delay the following day. I’m not different; I’m sure I’ll say something about this album that can sound silly by Monday. Shoot, I can have already done it. But that is what happens when great artists release music. We spend time with others after which we refer to them, analyze them, criticize them, praise them, destroy them and let all our prejudices fly free. Love it.
It’s value noting that certainly one of Drake’s diss tracks that did not appear during last summer’s fracas was titled “The Heart Part 6,” and was an apparent try to usurp Kendrick’s pre-album practice of removing a non-album song titled “The Heart.” Well, Kendrick has a song on his recent album called, you guessed it, “The Heart, Pt. 6,” which I feel will probably be released soon Drake. Good job, Kenny.
Argue.
Happy Friday, people! Whether you are drinking a warm beverage or preparing for a fun-filled weekend, this week’s latest music releases set the tone. From sensual R&B melodies to powerful hip-hop anthems, these songs have something for everybody.
Coco Jones leads the pack along with her seasonal album, and Tyla offers a heartfelt change of tone with “Tears.” Miguel’s smooth “Always Time” and Jorja Smith’s tender “Stay Another Day” showcase R&B at its finest, while Lola Brooke and Killer Mike turn up the warmth on “Go To Yo Head” and “Warryn’s Groove,” respectively. Today’s list also includes music from Eric Bellinger, Coi Leray, Blxst and more.
Below you possibly can read our list of latest products.
Coco Jones – “Coco by the Fireplace”
Coco Jones releases a warm, soulful album that evokes the comfy atmosphere of a night by the fireplace, showcasing her wealthy vocals and emotional storytelling. Listen to this HERE.
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Tyla – “Tears”
In collaboration with COKE, South African sensation Tyla delivers “Tears,” a heartfelt ballad that highlights her vocal skills and emotional depth, marking a departure from her usual upbeat style. Check it out HERE.
Lola Brooke – “Go to Your Head”
Lola Brooke’s “Go To Yo Head” is an assertive anthem with strong beats and confident lyrics, solidifying her presence within the hip-hop scene. Check it out HERE.
Miguel – “It’s Always Time”
Miguel returns with “Always Time”, combining his signature smooth vocals with a up to date R&B beat, exploring themes of affection and patience. Hear this HERE.
Lila Iké ft. Joey Bada$$ – “Fry the Plantain”
Lila Iké teams up with Joey Bada$$ on “Fry Plantain,” fusing reggae beats with hip-hop elements for a must-see track. Check it out HERE.
Jorja Smith – “Stay One More Day”
Jorja Smith delivers “Stay Another Day,” a soulful performance that captures the longing and warmth of a brand new season. Listen to this HERE.
Killer Mike ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Warryn’s Groove”
In the digital version of Killer Mike Songs for sinners and saintsthe rapper collaborates with Ty Dolla $ign on the song “Warryn’s Groove.” Listen to the song HERE.
Coi Leray – “The heart doesn’t lie”
“Heart Don’t Lie” by Coi Leray is a catchy track that mixes pop sensibilities with honest lyrics about love and vulnerability. Stream HERE.
Amber Mark – “Wait So Yeah”
Amber Mark’s “Wait So Yeah” combines R&B with electronic elements, highlighting her versatility and dynamic sound. Check it out HERE.
Blxst, K CAMP and DeJ Loaf – “Make Room”
Today, singer Blxst collaborates with K CAMP and DeJ Loaf on “Make Room.” Listen to the brand new song HERE.
Camper ft. Tone Stith – “Waiting On You”
Camper and Tone Stith join forces on a brand new track that showcases their vocal chemistry and songwriting skills. Listen to this HERE.
Steph Curry is using the NBA Tunnel to showcase Black and Brown designers this season
“The Honorable Shyne” is a hit. This is why I wanted to tell this story. — Andlandscape
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U.S.-Africa Chamber of Commerce Appoints Robert Alexander of 360WiseMedia as Board Director
360Wise Media and McDonald’s NY Tri-State Owner Operators Celebrate Success of “Faces of Black History” Campaign with Over 2 Million Event Visits
Another lawsuit accuses Google of bias against Black minority employees
“Our country wouldn’t exist without Black people”- Nikole Hannah-Jones
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