WGBH Radio; The Callie Crossley Show

I'm Cally Crossley This is the Cali Crossley Show. Today we're hitting the rewind button on this week's news from the great lady's front pages to the stories on the small screen. And the reporting that went under the radar. It's a hyper local look at the news that was and wasn't. We'll be dropping in on online communities and alternative presses. For a look at the big stories from the small papers where today's neighborhood news becomes tomorrow's mainstream headlines. Well top of the hour venturing from the serious to the sublimely ridiculous with Greg time on tour of the tabloids and a roundup of this week's pop culture. Up next on the callee Crossley Show from gumshoe reporting the gossip rags. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying the Food and Drug

Administration has revoked approval for a breast cancer drug called a vast tent. NPR's Richard Knox says the agency concluded the benefits were not worth the drugs considerable risks. The decision was expected but FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says it was still difficult. Patients pleaded to keep a vast and available but FDA staff recommended revoking the drug's approval for advanced breast cancer and twice a panel of outside experts agreed. Last month one of those advisors said we do not want people to be hurt by a drug that does not work that well. Studies showed a vast and delayed cancer recurrence for only a month or two on average and did not extend patients lives. The downsides include severe high blood pressure heart problems and hemorrhage. Genentech which makes Avestan says it will study whether the drug can help selected women with advanced breast cancer. A vast and will continue to be available to treat other cancers. Richard Knox NPR News. The Oklahoma State University community is mourning the deaths of its women's basketball

coach coaches curt but key and assistant coach Miranda siRNA. They were killed yesterday afternoon when their single engine plane crashed in steep terrain in Arkansas about 45 miles west of Little Rock. OS who's president says the pilot former state senator Olin Branstetter and his wife Paula also died. The coaches were on a recruiting trip. Ben Allen of member station KOSU says that was an especially strong point for assistant coach surgeon the assistant that was killed is known as one of the best recruiters. In the Big 12 she's been on the staff at OS U for seven years so she's been kind of a fixture in this OS you community that's KOSU been Allen reporting. Turning to news of the economy the conference boards index of leading indicators a gauge of future economic activity has risen nearly one percent. Daniel Carson has the latest numbers. Building permits stock prices and the money supply all rose consumer

expectations and new orders for manufacturers also rallied last month. All that tells Brian Bethune an economics professor at Amherst College that laying 50/50 odds of another recession is way overblown. Not only does this indicator suggest that the economy is still growing but the indicators are nowhere near. Well Bill that would suggest that there's a recession. We are a long way from that point. Factory output consumer spending and business investment have all picked up. But analysts say gas prices are climbing and the debt crisis could hurt exports given Europe is the US's biggest trading partner. For NPR News I'm Daniel Karson in Washington. At last check on Wall Street the Dow is up 18 points at eleven thousand seven hundred eighty nine Nasdaq was down 13 a 25 75. You're listening to NPR News. Herman Cain is now the first among the Republican presidential contenders to be protected by the Secret Service. The businessman reportedly has been receiving threats.

A new wave of violence is gripping parts of Syria again Security forces reportedly have killed at least five protesters and wounded dozens more. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports the violence comes as Syria claims to be taking steps toward a peace plan brokered by the Arab League. Activists say the deaths came as people in cities around the country protested after Friday prayers. They say one of those killed was 14 years old. The Syrian government has announced it will allow observers to enter the country to verify that it's taking steps to stop the violence. This is part of the peace plan brokered by the Arab League. The league has already suspended Syria for the ongoing violence against protesters. The move has isolated the regime but analysts here in the region worry that Russia will continue to block a U.N. Security Council resolution against Syria. Russia vetoed such a measure last month. The UN says some thirty five hundred people have died since an anti-government uprising began in Syria in

March. Kelly McEvers NPR News Beirut. Former Libyan rebels who helped overthrow Colonel Moammar Gadhafi are demanding a voice in forming Libya's new government. Militiamen have held a march in the capital Tripoli next week the country's ruling National Transitional Council is expected to announce a new government that will hold new elections. The Dow is up 13 points at last glance at eleven thousand seven hundred eighty four that's in trading of about one billion shares in Lakshmi Singh NPR News Washington. Support for NPR comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supporting this year's Community Health leaders working to improve health in communities nationwide. At community health leaders dot org. Good afternoon I'm Cally Crossley This is the Kelly Crossley Show. Today we're hitting the rewind button on the week's news with a look at the stories that went under the radar. We're going on campus today talking to editors from college newspapers.

Today I'm joined by Jenna Duncan editor in chief of the Huntington news out of Northeastern University Sabah how many editor in chief of The Daily Free Press Boston University's newspaper. And Joe mogul of Quinn Sigman college and Wester. He's the editor of their newspaper the open door. Thank you all for joining us to be here thank you. So Occupy movements are all over the front pages of small and large newspapers. And it seems to be taking up some space on in your papers as well. And of course those of us who are not in school think that the Occupy movement at its core is driven by folks like yourselves students. In school and also young people who may not be in college but who are also a part of that. So I was interested in looking at the coverage of the Occupy Boston movement from your perspectives on campus. First let me just say that to bring everybody up to date that the Boston Superior Court granted an order on the Occupy Boston

movement down and do a square that temporarily restrains police officials for care from carrying out and eviction of that encampment. And we know that this is in the context of the New York one having been raised and also in Oakland there are some problems out there. So that's the general context in Boston where the relationship between the police and the Occupy movement has been a little bit better I think on all fronts. On your campuses However let's start with you Jenna at Northeastern. You have some protesters actually not going down to do a square but setting up right there on campus. Yeah. Well starting on Sunday night they did a 40 hour camp out on Cranston quad which is kind of in the middle of campus. They only set up about five tents. There are 35 kids at the core of the movement I think. But all of them have actually had a pretty heavy hand in everything going on in Dewey Square. So what they've been doing is organizing things on campus but also organizing marches off campus as well to join up with other universities like Harvard and to

go to the student General Assembly as I'm doing square. So they're a little different in that sense. And the school when we first enter reporter there when they were setting up we did see a lot of the top officials from the school kind of discussing a lot of police activity but they ended up going into the Student Affairs Office and saying that the occupiers would be allowed to stay since they had proposed that it would only be for 48 hours and everything went really smoothly. They took everything down on time. I think everybody on campus was pretty happy with the outcome with how cooperative you know. But the university was as well as the students who. You know they made a big point to our newspaper saying you know just because they are doing these things didn't mean that they weren't going to class or going on co-op to their jobs they're still fulfilling their responsibilities. Just doing this in addition to the. Who are the. Is there a way to characterize who are the the students who are a part of that encampment on Marsh Plaza Marsh Plaza.

I think thought a good way to qualify them is just you know students not really do care about the university I think that if they were to be apathetic and they didn't care about the future or incoming students they wouldn't be voicing their opinions. So you know most of them are just unhappy with the fact that we have no say in how our tuition money is spent. You know I will say that we do have a pretty good financially program and we are a private university so coming in you do you understand kind of what you're signing up for. But they just wanted to spark some more discussion and try to get a little bit more savvy. Let me correct myself that Klinsmann quadrangle at Northeastern Plaza said be you just to be just to keep it clear. So that's what we're talking about the kids who are on the quadrangle. So that's that's your group. So it's been pretty smooth and I'm interested in the fact that they are participating both on campus and doing square. That's a lot of participation.

Yeah. And even though they took down the encampment tonight they're having another general assembly of all students professors faculty are welcome to attend. And some really notable people on campus have gotten behind their movement like Barry Bluestone He's a distinguished professor and we had a teach in on campus on Sunday that the governor came to as well as Mayor Menino. So lots of success on a lot of different levels for the Northeastern movement I would say. OK now really on March. All right be you. There's also an encampment. So tell me about that. Well the encampment on Marsh Plaza actually only lasted like a day. They had a peaceful protest during the day. And our reporter who was covering it they told him that they were going to come back at night and so they left for a little bit and they returned and they set up camp in tents and. But at around 3:00 a.m. police officials b police officials actually came and requested that they leave. It wasn't like I demand so much as a request like they were just standing there

you know sort of monitoring I guess and and then another police official asked them to leave but they didn't leave until around 7:30. After the dean of students came and also requested and what Dina Elmore told the Daily Free Press was that he believes in the right to protest but he also believes that marsh Plaza is a community center and therefore the choice of to protest there doesn't like disrupts the flow of the community. And so they did leave. And it was their own. But it was them their own choice. They're also the students who are involved in Occupy be you are also going to do we square I'd say the activism on campus is a little bit less significant than maybe northeastern or Harvard. But it was interesting to see it as an editor because we've had a story pretty much every day since Occupy movement began not just about Occupy be you but Occupy Boston and I. It

began on 10th October 5th is when you joined and that's like when they started talking about it. And I know as Student Union we've been covering their meetings because they've been trying to have open discussions about Occupy Boston and sort of getting students who are involved in the movement along with PD officials and union themselves just to talk about how to protest safely appropriate places to protest how to you know abide by the law especially after Occupy Boston protesters occupied Rose Fitzgerald Greenway and get kicked out. OK let me move over to you Joe and occupy Worcester was set up for a while and then voluntarily took itself down. Well it wasn't exactly voluntarily. The city gave them a permit and the permit expired. They look to move to Lincoln Plaza which is literally right across the street from the police station which Well it makes for a very good

image it might not have been the best move tactically. The majority of people in the Occupy movement early on when it was at Lake Park pretty much went home. There are still a handful of people in Lincoln Plaza in fact where I was going past there last night there were about say close to a dozen people there now in Worcester. And the police department said they the Occupy people they can demonstrate. But several things they have to stay on the sidewalks. There was actually one of the things that we were joking about in the newspaper office a couple days ago was that the city said there was fine for the protest as long as they don't walk on the grass literally. OK. And they cannot sleep. They had to stay. Actually moving back and forth so there have been shifts of people showing up for the Occupy movement in wester and. We'll have group of people walking for six or seven hours and as those people even other group will come in and see banners flags there was at one point one fellow who was going to go to sleep in Lincoln Plaza which I know how

wonderful mood is sleeping in Lincoln Plaza but he was asked not to and he complied with that. A large part of this is because Webster is a very blue collar city and you know the Occupy people in Western realize that they're not going to be affecting the establishment so much as the average people walking down the road if they step out of line as it were. So don't be disruptive it will be disruptive Yes. So we're like be you and Northeastern we're some of the people at Occupy Wall Street going down to do a square as well. I don't know about that. Personally the. The reporter we had covering it was Mary Bailey reporter and she's going to be actually putting in her next article in two days. So if I haven't had a chance to read her article yet she hasn't sent it in for editing but i wouldn't surprise me if there are several people who want to do it. Now what I found interesting is that we've been talking about the people who are participating in all of you have said you know folks are trying to be respectful and keep doing their work and all of that kind of stuff but

they are making trying to make a statement yet in your piece about be use encampment. There are number of students that you quote who are saying hey there's apathy among students. This is a quote from a student as a student should have so much stock in these issues because of many of the issues that directly affect students like the unbelievable cost of higher education makes me want to throw up this one student says. It really does make me sick how much my family is paying for me to go to school here. Some people say it's because we're young we're not that engaged in politics but students in the 1960s were what is it going to take to make us care. Are you hearing that kind of sentiment among a lot of people who are not participating in Occupy March Plaza or Dewey Square. Interestingly I feel like a lot of students do you feel the tuition is high in general and schools across the country especially private schools. But. While I feel like as the movement grows apathy grows. If

that makes any sense although we have the students who are activists I feel like there are just as many if not more who actually don't care as much and then I feel like there are those people who just join in because they love activism and being who is has been known for activism like in the sixties when Howard Zinn was a professor and it's just interesting because as a student for the past you know three years I haven't seen much activism until recently with the Occupy movement so I think it comes in waves and I think some students feel that the tuition is high and that they do have a cause to fight for and occupy for that reason and then others just no one understand that tuition is high and don't feel like occupying will do anything about it I know some people I know we had an editorial where we said it just doesn't make sense sometimes to see people or students occupy when they're fortunate enough to afford an education and go to school as high as the cost is. And that editorial got a lot of mean call.

Yeah it was. But then we had another editorial where we we said not got a lot of positive comments where we said that they have the right to protest you know in March and it shouldn't. It's a little bit hypocritical to leave. Now you're specifically speaking because a student spoke about the high tuition as an issue for her or him. But our is in general the Occupy movement the sentiment Joe resonating with young people beyond the tuition question. Well some of them do some of them don't. I think one of the biggest issues with the Occupy movement is because there isn't one clear cut thing that people are standing for like you were talking about the the protests in the 60s. Everyone in the 60s knew precisely was being protested. When you look at the people who are involved in the Occupy movement across the country it's almost impossible to tell exactly what it is that people are standing for. I mean there are obviously very noble ideas that people who are standing up for but there are also certain things that leave you wondering exactly whether or not there is this is really part of the

movement or from something that's been tacked on. One issue I was reading an article about last night was that a group of the Occupy Boston people were protesting at the Israeli consulate. Now the last time I checked the Israeli consulate has no impact on the cost of tuition or effects to students in the United States. Why they'd be protesting there does not make sense to me. So I think there are some issues that you know it really depends it's a cross sporting there's a lot of things I agree with. There are also and darks number of things that I look at and why is this being added on so. Jenna you in your piece you expressed a little bit of the same kind of apathy that Saba mentioned but the word on the street if you will is that when Occupy encampments in cities are being closed down particularly as we go toward winter they will migrate to campuses. Are you getting that sense of what will happen at Northeastern. I'm not really sure at this point. I mean I do think that maybe Northeastern the the movement isn't as strong if you compare it to you know Harvard

or UC Berkeley or any of these really large campuses. The fact that there were only five tents set up and the core group of maybe 20 to 25 students out of 15000 undergraduates kind of says that the movement isn't really catching on with students regardless of if they have similar problems with the university. I can't really say why that is but. I know that the kids that are at the core of this plan on continuing as long as they need to. But the backlash from other students has been something we've really picked up on for example our Twitter account almost everything that people have said to us regarding the Occupy Northeastern students is largely negative telling them to stop complaining. They chose to go here if you don't like it you can transfer and some things that are even overtly mean. And I it's kind of an interesting clash between those at the core of the movement right now and those students that are ferry against it. So to see if those you know 30 or so kids

are able to gain more momentum on campuses still kind of to be side. All right much more from our college campus editor. I'm Kelly Crossley We're taking a look at the week's news this is our on campus EDITION. We're talking with the editors from college and university press is dropping in on Boston University Northeastern University and quit pissing about on college. We'll be back after this break. Stay with us. From. WGBH programs exist because of you. And Skinner auctioneers and appraisers

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Today we're going on campus talking to the editors of our local college and university presses. We're joined by Jenna Duncan editor in chief of the Huntington news out of Northeastern University Sabah Hamady editor in chief of The Daily Free Press Boston University's newspaper. And Joe mogul of Quinn Sigman college in Worcester. He's the editor of their newspaper the open door. Joe let me start with you some if it's possible breaking news about community colleges today which Quincy Goodman is one. The Boston Foundation came out with a report saying that they are very unhappy with what they're describing is disjointed and inflexible programs at these colleges. And they want the 15 community colleges to come together in a more uniform way because as their report goes on to say the graduates of community colleges stay in the state and become the workforce and this state needs a great workforce Mino for the most part where as people that go to other colleges

in Massachusetts apparently most of them leave. So we're talking about people you know training folks and preparing folks to take over the workforce space in Massachusetts and that is of and in the region I would imagine that is of great concern. The Boston Foundation as we know is a a large philanthropic organization which supports these kinds of studies. So for them they want the colleges to be more precise in their mission and they want better ways of measuring student success. How do you respond to this report. I can't really comment about how other College other the community colleges are running things. But in the last several years has seen an increase from about five hundred fifty five thousand five hundred students to over 9000 students. Our primary areas are basic engineering. Criminal justice and nursing those are three of our biggest programs a lot of the people who go into the nursing program go straight into the UMass programs which we have several college several

campus called Campus hospitals in Western criminal justice program. There are a number of people go into the police service private investigation and the engineering program. Our primary connections with the API and I personally know a number of Western Polytechnic. So each of these programs are done in conjunction with either other colleges or in conjunction with known programs or organizations so we have a remarkable success rate I mean because it's a transfer school. About 50 percent of our students transfer to four year colleges to complete their bachelor's or master's level programs. But of the 50 percent to remain the majority of them go into professions straight out of out of the you know out of the college into local environment. So it I can't speak for the other community colleges but considering we have a pretty decent success rate in fact about believe it was two years ago. Quince it was.

Put on the number 25 slot for colleges in New England. So out of all the colleges in all of New England we've come in 25th for a campus that's basically the size of a building for most other major universities. That's pretty good. We have pretty much. I would say in terms of our faculty and despite the fact that our our buildings are what we had the materials you have to work with are relatively small. We're holding our own with colleges and universities that are much larger than us. Well to your point the report goes on to say that PAUL GROGAN who's the head of the Boston Foundation is quoted as saying that public higher education has really not been the priority in Massachusetts and that has to change because of the as you say the increase in the number of people who are going to community colleges and the training that that workforce has. Those folks have to go into the workforce.

And also you'll be happy to know or those students who are there that they are concerned about the costs they think the cost is a little bit higher than it ought to be in Massachusetts. Interestingly enough. While the cost at community college again I can't speak for all I can speak for can say but the cost as I would say relatively tame compared to a lot of other colleges I mean I'm personally in the engineering program and our engineering program is identical to the first two years of engineering at most other colleges four year Ivy League colleges and I'm paying between six and eight thousand dollars a year as opposed to 16 $80000 a year which is significantly a significant reduction. And because of the financial aid programs I'm only paying about $750000 out of pocket for my education and it's on par with four universities. I would say that is why you are now at 9000 that's opposed to 5000 in a few years ago.

I do want to put a button on this conversation with you and say that I'm on lead an effort to get 50 to get 20 million dollars in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Labor that would actually go to all of the 15 community colleges in Massachusetts so you all out there in Quincy Kemang are on the cutting edge understanding what what funds need to be available to students and in support of these programs. So that's going say C'mon now let's move over to the Huntington news where an ongoing issue continues and that is. Residents of Mission Hill are kind of annoyed with you students and they want to put in place a fund that would require the colleges to pay a stipend for damage to any property in the area. Vandal is a should in damage the kind of thing that college students Gena always get accused of. There is a little bit of tussle going on about this would tell us about it.

Yeah absolutely. So there's this group called Mission help property problem property task force it's a really complex name for basically a group of city House lawyers and representatives from the colleges to try to deal with some of the issues of you know Northeastern students that are moving to Mission Hill I mean compared to the cost of living on campus is significantly lower. And. According to a bunch of the city surveys there's been a 45 percent increase of residents are students over the past three years so a big problem is they feel like students are pushing out the affordable housing as well as throwing giant parties at 2:00 a.m. disturbing residents. Are you. Some are I mean even as I was trying to go to sleep last night I mean it's Thursday night but at 2:00 a.m. I could hear from my apartment on Mission Hill. You know kids yelling these chugging chants at 2:00 in the morning. So I mean it

is understandable on some level but on the other side of things you know we're breathing life into a community that you know is full of more working class people we help local businesses succeed I mean we go out in the neighborhood. We have ambassadors to the communities and we have you know community service days every Saturday morning to go through Mission Hill. But no matter kind of what efforts northeastern tries to put in place the residents really just aren't happy. So I'm not sure where these damage claims are coming from because. You know personally from what I've read and from what I've experience living on mission home the violent crimes the you know alleged break ins the car thefts those are all by people that are not affiliated with universities so to try to blame students for that kind of activity seems a little unfounded based on the types of people in the neighborhood that

have been found guilty of doing those sorts of crimes. Well you're vice president of city and community affairs John Tobin for northeastern said he told City Councilor Mike Ross in your story that he's not signing anything any kind of stipulation that assumes that students are the culprits of vandalism and other property damage to your point. And so and your point is one cannot assume that it's students just because there are a lot of you living in the area. Yeah and I mean while there are a lot of students in the area they don't make up thought large of a percentage of residents overall so to try to target students is is pretty unfair and to try to make the colleges pay in advance for crimes that aren't going to be solved or you know nobody is going to place the blame on to default it to the universities in the area is it's pretty unfair. Do you think this is just part and parcel of just ongoing tension always between in a town gown way students and. And then the residents that live around

colleges. Yeah I would definitely say that I mean last year when the institutional masterplan was in negotiations with the city that's when I think everything just kind of came out in the open. There I sat in a bunch of really tense meetings between northeastern administrators and Northeastern residents and I think that from there they weren't happy with the resolution. So I think that now they're trying to you know compensate for that. And that plan just briefly had to do with re formatting the gymnasium they're destroying in some people's words historic gymnasium building a bigger dorm eccentrics after we've done that story several times here. And it is ongoing. All right. Again something that students are known for partying. So apparently there are some new weekend protests trolls by police in Allston Brighton because they want to tamp down this partying.

Some of which is going on on Thursday night according to a gentleman by NE. So what do you think about these weekend patrols. The thing about Alston is students will flock there no matter what whether you live there or whether you're on campus. Also it is the place where students go and often times it ends up being a mess. Sort of you know there's it's always loud there's parties you know there's people there's you know and there's arsons which you know we've covered as well but the bottom line is every year and BPT say they will you know monitor the neighborhood more harshly you know and they increase their patrols and most of the time they do. But you know again this is also in a way it's you know police will always be there just the students will always be there and students will always complain and police will always complain and the you know the tension will always exist I think as long as students party in Allston and live in Allston which is more affordable housing. Still close to campus.

You know it's going to happen. Well it's interesting because they're they're paying overtime for these Boston police patrols in the area. And your quote here from the B U University Service says it's a different atmosphere by one of the juniors. You walk down Gardner Ashford on the weekend and you'll see several police cars and motorcycle cops. He continues they are joking around. So I guess there's probably going to be a noticeable difference. On the weekends in that area. Yeah yeah I mean people tell us that they see them all the time. And it's true. Even you know especially call Wein parents weekend beginning of the year end of the year it's you know there's more of them. But in general I feel like the presence is always noticeable. All right how about a lightning round as we in this conversation about President Obama's student loan plan. Joe you talked about you know funding a little bit I don't know what I want to get into all the details of the loan but is this something that could help a student at

Quincy c'mon. It would help certain degrees more than others. The engineering degree does cost more. Cost is registered per class so the engineering classes lab classes cost more. Oh a lot of the students in the engineering program do rely on loans and what's interesting is a large percentage of the students at Quincy who are in engineering are students who are who have immigrated to the U.S. So a lot of these fellows cannot actually get financial aid. So they're either relying on loans or they're relying on. On their own work efforts. One fellow who was a classmate of mine a fellow named Mahmoud is working in a bakery in order to pay for his classes. So this would help him. This this this could very conceivably help him. OK. And I think it would help a number of the people who are immigrant students at Quincy. By the same token the majority of the people are the majority of the degrees not majority of people the majority the degrees are degrees where financial aid mass Grant Pell Grant would cover completely.

OK so so quickly over here Jenna How about this. President Obama's student loan plan said good thing for you guys. Yeah it definitely is especially with a private university I think that students are more prone to have to take out money. A lot of students do get federal financial aid but the amount most of them don't get their phones covered. So private loans are a big thing at our university and it is something that is kind of hush hush. They don't report how many students are graduating with loans the percentage what the average debt of a student is so nobody really knows but from personal experience I mean a lot of students are going. Upwards of a hundred thousand dollars of debt just to attend our school so this could be significant. Absolutely. I agree with Janet similar. There are a lot of students on financially and a lot of students on federal financial aid and I think when we did our reaction piece most people said it's a really great step forward. They're not sure if it's going to help them personally

but they think it's going to be good overall. All right. Well great talking to all of you. Good to hear about these stories under the radar on campus and hope to see you again. We've been talking news with Jenna Duncan editor in chief of the Huntington news out of Northeastern University Saba Hammad the editor in chief of The Daily Free Press Boston University's newspaper. And Joe mogul of Quinn Sigman college in Worcester. He's the editor of their newspaper the open door. Thanks again. Up next we take a turn from the serious to the sublimely ridiculous with Drag time. We'll be back after this break stay tuned to eighty nine point seven. WGBH. This program is made possible thanks to you and the Court of the museum and Sculpture Park WGBH is proud to be the media sponsor of the new exhibit Andy

Goldsworthy. SNOW Now through December 11th. You can learn more online at de Cordova dot org. And as I Tyrian New Bedford I feel a performing arts center should have something for everyone. Catherine Knowles executive director I review the Z as a regional organization and truly There's no question. That our audience and the people who care about what we do are GBH listeners to learn more about sponsorship call 6 1 7 350 500. I'm Marco Werman. Your eyes the world is news. People were really shocked to see the way the people were detained in a way that we we're not used to going to Spain. The world is people people I really surprised not only New Yorkers but Americans around the country are going to the streets to say something against the system. Join us and hear the world. Coming up at 3:00 here on eighty nine point seven WGBH.

This program comes to you fundraiser free and that's all thanks to WGBH sustainers who bring their contributions down into monthly installments that automatically renew. It's easy for you. It's more efficient for eighty nine point seven. And it means this plan better. And better plans means fewer fundraisers. If that sounds good to you call 8 8 8 8 9 7 9 4 2 4 or sign the sustainer at WGBH dot org. Innovation. It has a huge impact on business and life here in the hub. I'm Carol Miller join me each week for innovation how. The big ideas happening in Boston. Saturday mornings at 7:00 and Sunday night at. 10:00 here on WGBH radio. It's rag time. A look at popular culture the salacious the ridiculous and everything in between. But this being public radio we'll conduct our review with the help of some highbrow analysts. Our pointy

head of pop culture Thomas Connelly and Rachel Reuben Thomas Connelly is a professor in the Department of English at Suffolk University. Rachel Reuben is the chair of the department of American studies at UMass Boston. Welcome. Hello again Junoon. Good to see you too. It's amazing to have a breaking pop culture news but here we are Ashton and maybe Ashton Kutcher Demi Moore and no more Demi Moore filed for divorce last night after weeks of speculation. So Tom is this divorce by Twitter. Exactly it's that's probably the only interesting aspect of it because I found Ashton Kutcher just to be a non entity for years punk and all that and that 70s show. But Demi Moore is for a variety of reasons a more more interesting figure. What I've noticed in the past week or so is the revolting spectacle of Popper Razzi and online and gossip

publications detailing her weight loss or myth making that some kind of story if it even is really happening as though she's somehow literally disappear physically disappearing over what Ashton has done to her and it's her. For want of a what do or want of a better word her use of her own body as a means of prolonging sustaining her career is now very viciously being used against her I think. And I think the way that is being treated and he's been a little something given something of a past because his his horrible image anyway. But the big mistake he made of course was the tweet he made defending paternal the coach that has actively worked against him and Demi Moore is going to er treat. I mean they're really working the story for all they can but I wonder if when the they go to court if

there are there are more revelations to be gained but it's it's a sad chapter in the development of the way Hollywood treats female female stars. The tweeting part of it Rachel. I mean Demi made her announcement last night and then Ashton who had announced a couple of weeks ago that he was going to be off of Twitter came back actually to make a statement. It's interesting this whole social media even more public. Their relationship was already public out there on in front of everybody but the tweeting really took it to another level. Well I'm I actually think that there are probably very few people who who who think for a second that demand that either Demi or Ashton do their own tweeting. I mean you know of course their publicists do that I mean we know people who are publicists who do the tweeting we know people who have said I've decided to stop having my publicist do it you know it's it's now part of the you know it's part of the presentation of celebrity. Certainly people are hired to do it. And you know

so it doesn't mean they always do a good job I'm sure there are tweets scripters fired every day but. But so you know definitely that this is now you know how publicity happens the SO whole social networking and so of course the industry would develop you know people who have expertise in it to do that job. And that said you know to sort of follow up on that and not to sound too cynical but divorce is also part of the Hollywood industry. So you know naturally you know that the presentation of this divorce is just important as the you know the presentation of Kim Carr dash Ian's wedding which was as we talked about last time right was like you know all about all about the money and all about the publicity and the divorces too for that matter. But somebody actually tweeted that the length of their marriage which was six years or five years was one hundred thirty one or thirty two times Kim Kurdish. So I think they figured out the math and somewhat interesting is that the person felt some impulse to talk about those two things together. Right because it is sort of part of the whole is part of the whole spectrum.

That said I you know I do want to follow up on the question of of Moore's weight loss you know real or imagined. And I think that you know on top of this imagining that she is somehow literally physically diminished by her divorce that people are extremely anxious about the idea of the Hollywood pattern being reversed that the woman is slightly older is not slightly she's 15 years older so she's a good chunk older so you know people are definitely talking about well she she couldn't keep her man and she decided she had to lose weight to try to appeal to you know sexually to the much younger man. So you know. I think there is something there. Yeah I think this will be some soon this will be a case study in Twitter career management at a business school. Well maybe moving on as one relationship of that sort in one of our longstanding interchange errors Regis Philbin is making his exit this week from the show that he's made famous the Live with Regis and

Kelly now after almost 50 years in television. A lot of people might not even know his name but he has made that show based out of New York quite popular. So before we talk about it here's Regis Philbin on Good Morning America talking about what he's finally learned after his long career. Be yourself. I've always tried that. Because if you see the book people said what was your tablets in the beginning and frankly I had no talent. I wasn't a cigar I was a computer that was in any of those things. I don't tell I finally. Was myself and I had a chance to be myself and instead of reading somebody's jokes told them a story that happened to me on live TV. That's that's what I learned about myself. Right so one of the things that people really like about Ridge is it's always been very humble about being able to be a success as successfully as he has been and he's enjoyed well's interaction with the people may be humble but in that little clip you played he said my self self self my self self self self self many times and he is engaged right now and you know a very intense kind of

self mythologizing which is hard to resist since he is retiring after all this time. Hes not mentioning you know that he's retiring and said he's not retiring he's moving ok just not as a talk show or after every you know practically every women's rights organization from you know the National Organization for Women on down you know petition to have put out petitions or you know demand that he apologize for groping you know Nicki Minaj on his show last year. And I mean if you watch that clip the distress on her face is so evident. You know so you know he's he's leaving with his own self mythologizing and a little trail of sexual harassment. OK talk to me. The thing about Regis is he's in the Guinness Book of World Records his face has been on television for more hours than any other human being. This is absolutely perfect. He is the face of television and he is a monument to the old expression from right about the time that he became a national figure. The

vast wasteland this as he himself said he has no talent. He can't sing he can't dance he can't tell a joke. All he's got is his personality. And he's worked it for 50 years and this is even today with the with YouTube and with Twitter. The essence of television is selling your own personality finding some aspect some niche market where you can plant yourself. And he is the model he really in a violent bizarre way is the most significant figure in American television because he is absolutely representative of what television quote talent unquote means. That was very interesting that what I'm. Yeah. Well he's 80 years old which I really he's looks great I didn't know he was that old and he's going out on a high note. They spent all week saying goodbye to him and people can see those shows if they're interested in watching him exit the Millionaire

show is what he thinks is his greatest achievement not not the talk show and I found that interesting yeah. Well all right well something that maybe Regis has been on for 50 years but what has not been on at all much on television are shows that look at folks who are Muslim in any kind of just ordinary folks sort of way. Well that's going to change the Sunday with the premier of All American Muslim which is a new reality show. And here's a clip. After 9/11 the environment was a bit more hostile. To say we're Muslim or barbaric or we're terrorist towelheads it got bad. You know our community is complicated. And even within our own families we don't always agree. We live our lives like everybody else that's been law enforcement for 19 years. The most important things are my family and coaching football so you guys get to do that.

So you fight till the end. I really am American There's no ifs ands or buts about it. So you know the uniqueness of this is that the the they are two families that just FARs and the. Well let me get the other name the Aman's and they are just folks in Detroit where there's a high concentration of American Muslims and they're going to be followed around. Some people are thinking this is a breakthrough and others Tom think. This show doesn't have a chance. It's about two families who live their lives. I see no the only possibility for conflict is if a group of you know anti Muslim protesters decide to crash into their houses. This has none of the stuff that any of the successful reality TV shows have. These people are polite. They go to their jobs they don't want to buy a solid gold plated Cadillac. They're not going to tell us about their solid gold plated bathtubs. And I don't think they're going to be writing any multi-volume cook books calm calm confessionals lately. These are normal people. Whatever that means on television

now. But there's just there's no cause even just looking at this from a pure drama technical perspective. There's no drama here. There's no conflict. There's no reason to watch this unless you. Well to be educated that Moslems are people and if you need that great I'm glad the show is on. But in terms of the the paradigm of reality television what are the producers thinking. Rachel you agree. Absolutely agree there's two opposing mandates here in the mandate of reality shows is the titillating and the dramatic and you know I can't look away because it's a train wreck or you know I'm watching from my more superior position. Those people act crazy and then at the same time there's this you know this mandate to present the Muslim families as you know appealing and sort of calm and peaceful and I don't see how both of those things are possible at the same time. I'm also you know yeah I understand it like show that Muslims are just folks as you put it you know I you know I it's always makes me a little anxious when people start talking about normal and you know who get to see you know when a student says the word normal I write in the margin according to who you

know and so forth. So yeah I don't I don't think that there is that much chance of this because of those opposing mandates. Well a show that seems to contain all of the opposing it would be the Kurdish Shia and I'm a. Believer not there are some people sick to death of the current Kurdish that are making a move to try to eliminate their airway 1 percent. Yeah right. Hard right now for those people who are not familiar with the ways of the car dash and he has a trailer to keeping up with the Kurdish EON's thinking about changing my last name back to Kurdish I mean disrespect my dad like me. Don't you think you should get more. Before you have another baby. I'm happy I'm happy. Tradition. OK. Ed. to think you're going to meet her and I'm drinking. Family is first there's nothing I would do to jeopardize. What do you drink in. Chunks call or drop a girl or.

A. Book at me. Son you mean apology for keeping up with the car dash eons. Now Tom there is a family. I just want to give it to you there are lots of petitions now I think post Kim 72 day marriage with folks signing up saying get these people off the air I mean maybe there's a tolerance even for people who like the dynamics that are normally present and reality TV shows. I can't believe the show is still on and I first became aware of it years ago in a Mad TV sketch and I couldn't believe that this wasn't an original idea from Mad TV when I saw it for real. I couldn't I still can't get over the the stultifying blandness of these people and it's way beyond this isn't trainwreck I mean this is abandoned railroad station and the roof has come off or what the petitions work best. That's the question I hear all I can only hope. Rachel what do you think.

Well I've you know I've I'm very interested me people of course we use our our fandoms as sort of a way to you know make statements about self-identity you know what kind of music you listen to what kind of clothes you wear. And people use their anti fandom in the same way. So you know it is very important to people to run around they're talking about you know they're they're making some statement when they're saying I hate the car dashi and anti fandom becomes a part of self-identity and actually in terms of these petitions if you go and look at the actual petitions they were begun by people who are mostly concerned about Kim Carr dash Sheehan's sex tape. And so you know ultimately people are making statements about their own identity here through their opinions about you know public representation of sex and sexuality. All right well then therefore. Well a new magazine that cost less than OK are in touch of the rest that one hundred seventy nine hundred seventy nine dollars seven issue work if it only features reality TV stars that's the premise of a new bagus name. And these folks say it's going to work.

What I've read about it it sounds like lazy journalists who are tired of chasing down. What's a real celebrity for one of the two words who don't want to talk to them whereas these reality stars can't wait in fact the reality stars will chase them down. Also I was interested to learn that apparently again mainstream gossip journalism they're hemorrhaging money so this is a desperate attempt to reclaim a readership. I don't think it's going to work because why would you want to read about these people when you can see them all the time. You agree. No I think it could work although I really like the idea of a reality of the paparazzi saying you know stop leave me alone to the realities. But I'd like to see a show a reality show about the magazine. But I you know there are there have there are particular tabloids there have been that are devoted especially to soap operas. And it seems to me that this is kind of a sign that reality shows are starting to replace Obamas with some of the longstanding ones being canceled and so forth. And you know so it might work for that you know if it's if it's hitching itself to the

right star at the right time. All right. Also cancelled our all time reality shows Rick will be interviewed by there so the way the soap opera starts in the past talk about them so maybe that readership will have to have a place. All right well thank you so much for all of your insights about reality TV. I will sneak and buy my copy and let you see me. There. Padded it with OK. I mean a dollar seventy nine what they were going to thank you both. We're going to let Tony Bennett and Regis Philbin take us into the weekend. Professor Rachel Reuben Professor Thomas Connelly thank you for joining us for another edition of ragtime. You keep on top of the Calla Crossley Show WGBH dot org slash Catholic Rossley follow us on Twitter or become a fan of the callee cross the show on Facebook today show was engineer by Jane pic produced by Chelsea Mertz will Rose lept and Abby Ruzicka the callee Presley show is a production of WGBH radio. Wait til you. Drop. You say.

That the best is yet to come. Before. You. Can. Come. To life I guess.