WGBH Radio; The Callie Crossley Show

I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Cali CROSSFIRE show. Today we're hitting the rewind button on this week's news from the Gray Lady's front pages to the stories on the small screen and the reporting that never reached our radar. We're going to look at the news that was and wasn't. We'll be dropping in on community and alternative presses for a look at the big stories from the small papers where today's neighborhood news becomes tomorrow's mainstream headlines. We'll top off the hour mentoring from the serious to the sublimely ridiculous with ragtime a tour of the tabloids and a roundup of this week's pop culture. Up next on the Catholic Crossley Show from gumshoe reporting the gossip rags. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi Singh. Goldman Sachs

is facing fraud charges. The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Goldman of defrauding investors by failing to disclose that one of its clients helps set up then bet against subprime mortgage securities the bank sold the season Forsman director Robert who he says Paulson and Company one of the world's largest hedge funds profited from investor losses and paid Goldman about 15 million dollars for its part. Investors in the CDO lost approximately 1 billion dollars and Paulson ETF position you'll get a profit an approximate. Same amount Goldman is flatly denying Yes he sees charges and plans to appeal. Air travel across Europe is at a halt thanks to a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland that's spreading further east and south. So far about 17000 flights have been canceled. Details from Teri Schultz in Brussels. It's the worst disruption ever to international air traffic. With the heavy ash from Iceland causing Britain Ireland Belgium the Netherlands and the Nordic countries to stop all but emergency flights.

France and Germany have cut back to Lucy a post Queeny of Euro control the agency that coordinates European air traffic says no improvement is expected for at least 24 hours as the ash cloud moves slowly east and southeast. No normal day we would expect 28000 flights. Yesterday we had slightly over 20000 flight landed in a European airport. And today we're expecting 50. Production Poland has closed Warsaw airport causing concern that mourners including President Obama could be prevented from attending Sunday's funeral service for Polish President Lech Kaczynski who died in a plane crash in Russia last weekend. For NPR News I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels. In another sign of an uptick in housing in the U.S. The Commerce Department is reporting today a 1.6 percent jump in construction last month. Daniel Carson tells us the increase is the highest in 16 months. The March numbers bring welcome news to home builders who've been facing stiff competition from a glut of foreclosed properties with irresistibly low price tags. Nigel Gault

chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight says with other sectors of the economy getting stronger homebuilders should see their business pick up steam. It looks like the economy has really turned on a sustainable basis and that we're going to be creating jobs over the rest of the year. And it would be very good news to homebuilders quote It will keep people confidence to buy gold says the demand for new homes may drop off a bit after the homebuyer tax credit expires on April 30th. For NPR News I'm Daniel Carson. After the announcement came out shares in Goldman dropped about 10 percent. And it's certainly having an effect on U.S. stocks in general last check the Dow was down more than 130 points at eleven thousand thirteen. Nasdaq composite index down 36 at two thousand four hundred seventy nine. You're listening to NPR News. Good afternoon. I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Calla Crossley Show. Today we're hitting the rewind button on the week's news with a look at the stories that barely reached our radar.

Joining us to talk through some of the local stories that might have escaped our attention are Howard Manley the executive editor of the Bay State Banner and Marcella Garcia the managing editor of El plum Etta Howard Manley and Marcella Garcia welcome. Great to be here again. Thank you. Howard I'm going to start off with a piece that you have in the Bay State Banner looking at Governor Patrick's response to the Tea Party. He was expressing this before the Tea Party rally actually moved into Boston but he had little concerns. Well he definitely has some concern is and the biggest one is his re-election coming up. I mean one of the things he doesn't want to do is alienate a significant but winning block throughout the state and that block I mean landed Senator Brown his job so to suggest that he's for free enterprise and personal liberty is a good thing and it's sort of generic. Way but. He does raise the point about how these teabaggers

have constantly. I don't want to say harassed but have pointed out these proven facts that they disagree with. I mean Obama was born in Hawaii. I don't understand how that continues and that was the ball's point that they have a good purpose. But it doesn't work out with all the details. Well whenever you have a conversation about the Tea Party and we should say that the rally down at the Boston Common get thousands and thousands of people it's a real mix because you have some of the people that you describe there but they know the New York Times it is this really interesting poll looking at who are the people who say they are members of the Tea Party and it showed that they have a lot wealthier and a lot more educated than people might believe. These are not rubes in case somebody had that. And I do know some people won't take it who are paying 30 to 40 percent of their monthly income taxes really should have a right to say that's an age old issue since the country was founded. So I mean they're not wrong but then they just do

silly things at times. All right well you know I think I don't know what the mix was I still haven't down here in Boston but I know that there were some persons of color there. Marcella Did you hear anything about members of the Latino community not really I don't know. I know there were you know you say hounded out of curiosity. You got in that mix I'm sure there's there was a lot of people that just showed up just to see what the what the hype was about. Not really interested in that in the movement but just so that you could see firsthand then personally what was it about. I heard a lot of people when just yesterday. Right. Well that and also there is a lot of people who are very big fans of Sarah Palin and you know even though she's associate with the Tea Party kind of sort of now has her own entity right. You know people just wanted to go hear her speak. Yes well that's exactly right. OK so how do you think it's going to play with Governor Patrick being trying to straddle this line as you have put it in your piece. Well he tapped into that sort of middle class during his

first election. I think you'll be able to avoid the sort of pitfalls that Coakley did by solidifying his base. If you look at those numbers even with all the sort of excitement around Brown's campaign if blacks and browns came out more than 50 percent to like the Obama sort of turnout rate about 75 he wins I mean Deval wins Coakley would have won if she had done that too so I think Deval already has taken major steps up and down Blue Hill Avenue and and all through Dorchester to make sure that that base is covered and taken care of and I think that's what where he's really good at connecting with people want and want and I you say I've seen him out and about he was in Lawrence yesterday I really got Yeah he's going to be in Roxbury tomorrow and he's been doing a lot of outreach with the Latino community so I sang when he goes there. You know this is the same campaign months you know. But that's what I've seen him and you come out of there feeling like he you know he definitely can weigh in because that's when

that's where he where he says he's best. Connect them with people and he's just very personable. Yeah and his the main issues is look we got to end corruption in the state house that's the biggest thing. The other thing is the sense of fairness. And one of the things I didn't realize is that there's about 600 construction projects going on throughout the state. I mean these jobs. So the biggest issue that people have. We already had to deal with the health care issue and that was solved years ago with Romney and Senator Kennedy. But now the issue is jobs and the ball has not done a good job to say this is what I've created here in this state. Despite it all why are these visits to communities of color not getting the attention other than for you folks whose mission is to cover communities that's a very interesting point because I've seen him out and about a lot. I have attended at least three events. And again yesterday he was in Lawrence and I got a ton of you know several phone calls from he's from these people trying to get us to cover it and I think we are my freelance writer learns he's

going to but I don't know you I just just wonder if this is the real people that really are going to go out and vote. You just have to wonder why and they have you know one of the assumptions is that black people are going to vote for the ball no matter what. And I wondered if you know that's not news. Well that's not true. I mean there's that thing about. Democratic blacks are overwhelmingly Democratic and they're going to vote for Coakley no matter what. That didn't happen. They stayed at home. So yes he Coakley still got 80 90 percent of the black vote but only 50 percent turned out. He needs high turnout to combat the suburbs and sort of the rural areas. That's the angle right there. Yeah well that's just it he's got to do that he's got to solidify his base and make them vote. So what are you both saying is for the naysayers who are saying in the in the polls that we've seen he's not where he should be that the gap between he and his nearest rival that would be Charlie Baker is really quite close for somebody who is an

incumbent. He could surprise everybody has nobody's cover in these communities of color where he and the No other candidate is going down there I can tell you that well that and that's you. So that might be another story that under the radar precisely. And he has money. Yeah exactly. I recently reported Marcel I'm interested in your paper you did a piece about Pine Manor College and just not being ranked the most diverse campus in the United States. Yeah about that. Well they are this is a little college in Newton that nobody really pays attention to. I was very surprised to hear that they are the most diverse college I personally didn't know that he was an all girls call it. But yeah their numbers are really amazing the majority of their students are African-American then he's been X and then white. So not only that but they're doing a real effort in inserting themselves into our national conversation as to how better served under-served students you know that caused a lot of these girls.

Come from low income families you know for his generation going to college and all of that so it's really it was very it was an interesting story for us because I realize that not a lot of people out there in my community know about it but perhaps it's an affordable opportunity for them. So they held the summit invited a few call yes we must just comment. Yeah OK. And they're having another want tomorrow actually this weekend with the focus on women and how to advance women you know in this day and age so it's very. And the thing about it is that they really care about being divers for they summit they invited Latino speakers African-American speakers and so it's really interesting. I think it's a good thing about the pollinators that they incorporate diversity throughout the curriculum. So it's not just one of these face things that you know maybe a catch the eye of a U.S. News and World Report but it's actually a part of their core curriculum to teach differences and how to bridge those gaps. Well like I said this is a story that was not under the radar for me because one of my two honorary degrees is from manner All right so that I know about the

career the curriculum and as well as the student population one of the girls quoted in our story she was saying how she welcomes walking into the cafeteria and looking at people not just Latino or African-American from but from all over the country the world because they have a lot of international students as well. What do you think the response is to them. You know nationwide because to to be number one in the country is pretty amazing. Oh yeah. I think they're very proud of that but this story needs to get out more and people need to be more aware of this which is why I wanted to cover it because I'm sure there are not a lot of not a lot of people you know I didn't know that and so I think it's a story that needs to get to be told. And the president I have to say is fabulous and it's a gorgeous campus so that's exactly right. I'll say that when you hear Pine Manor you think of like a golf course or country club and. Yeah. Well it's just that quite quite beautiful. OK back to the Bay State Banner Howard and the story you have about minimum wage and

based on the report coming out from the Kryten and Women's Union which is a report they've been doing for many many years that people and this won't surprise a number of people but just how tough it is to have a minimum wage job in Massachusetts and survive. I mean $8 an hour is a lot more than what I mean when I was taking a minimum wage job back in the 70s. But it is a way under. And when you add in a chat how to take care of this you need to make three times that amount I think this report suggests that the number is like 40000 and you just know we're close with a minimum wage job so what does that mean. That means that folks are. Consciously spending time trying to find extra work. Some we profiled a couple women that were married to construction workers were not making those ins meet on their own his part so housing is a sick situation. Daycare is a problem. Transportation I mean just the commute with your child

every day. And some people are conservative so well that's their fault isn't it. Oh yes and no. I mean the minimum wage is a problem and you can look at it from sort of the business point of view you don't want to keep paying you know wages that are higher than you can afford. So it's just one more example of this treadmill that the majority of Americans are facing that they can never see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to money. Now is this a point where race and class intersect around minimum wage. No I think it's just generic dollars and not enough. Folks need more and this is an expensive state and is definitely expensive. So it's not just rant and I guess that you don't care but it's just the cost of the fees your part all the sort of. Don't get me complaining about Boston and how expensive it is up here. I think a little bit more than minimum wage just barely but it's just it's high it's high and so I don't know what that means for the future but it is very very

inconceivable that a lot of people are just scraping by myself I wonder if you would comment on the piece in this way because something one of the people in the piece I'm very clear about the fact that they have to rely on government housing and daycare assistance. Otherwise forget it. They just and these I think it can't be emphasized enough these are working people trying to close this gap so it's not they're not trying to take from the government. But if they didn't have these. Benefits they will be able to make. Yeah it's very unfortunate because like Howard was saying you want to. It's a very fine line between. Well what do we do with them that we take care of them. You know are we going to become that type of government but on the other hand what is the alternative what do you do with them. The fact that this woman has to work like how many miles to to get to her work and then drop him off at the daycare center is just very it's heartbreaking that something needs to be done. You also wonder I mean the construction jobs part is very interesting because we were just talking about how these construction projects are going around the state.

But then again you know you see people out there getting this type of jobs. So then you wonder where are these jobs going. Who's getting right getting there who's getting the work and for how long how do you know so. And again I mean I think most of these cases people want to be off the government dole. There is just I mean food stamps alone is 200 bucks a month and that's you know the difference between people starving so I don't think they all are proud of being on the government but it's just there's a real real need for that. Now here's what's interesting that while we're having this conversation the report just came out that said that the unemployment had dropped in Massachusetts so it was 9.5 in February and it's nine point three now which doesn't might not seem like a lot to people but those are thousands of people that meant more jobs were out there people were getting hired. The national unemployment rate by the way is 9.7 So we're well below that. But yet if you're I'm I'm going to take a leap here and say that those people that were hired many of

them this is you know retail and financial services how they quoted are back to minimum wage. That's exactly right so yeah the numbers look are on a downward spiral but the wages are not. And your costs continue to increase I think when Kryten first did the report they said that from the last five years it's gone up by 50 percent. Your cost of living wages clearly have not gone up by 50 percent. So yes jobs are being created jobs are being maintained but is just not enough and so what ultimately that may mean is that folks are going to start leaving Massachusetts because it's just too darn expensive. You know where to go though. I mean I'm not sure that this yes we're Nori more expensive but yeah ok. I've lived in North Dakota by the way and if you want to be there in the winter time there's some cost involved too. Right today you're just connecting all my points. I'm very very busy Yes experiment Manor honorary degree and a person who lives in North Dakota what are the chances of. What

I mean. One of the dads over there. Mark do you think about that that does the national debt the unemployment rate going down in Massachusetts. Is that can be that may be meaningful. I got I think we need to look at where these jobs are going and where all of this contracts or state contracts with the federal stimulus but I think that is one of the biggest on the reporter's story so far here where the stimulus dollars going to be going. To what will they need it. OK well I'm Kelly Crossley. We're looking at the news that went under the radar with two people who have keen observational skills they are Howard Manley of the Bay State Banner and Marcella Garcia. We'll be back after this break stay with us. The.

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course of the year as a sustainer every month and we can thank you with the three DVD set for eyes on the prize which is a fabulous one of the greatest documentaries ever made. And there was a great woman named Kelly Crossley who worked on that show Live With Me Tell me a little bit about this. This show why it's important is documentary what it is. Well it's really the definitive as far as I'm concerned a story told about an American story which is the civil rights movement. And this is the the biggest and most important social justice movement in this country. It's a movement that probably could not happen except in this country. And so for all of those reasons it's important for people to know about it to know the history of it and to know the people who made it happen at great personal sacrifice to themselves sometimes at the cost of their lives. Yeah and it's well told there are no historians. There are the voices of the people. And we did a fabulous job. I say modestly documenting all of the material in it.

It's you know it is as encyclopedic of a look at this as as you could possibly imagine you know. It's been one tall very lively knot in the Cyclopedia way. Oh no you know that's a really good point I mean it is it's lively if it comes off the screen. You may have seen it's airing right now again on two and forty four. And again you can own this this is something that you can now have it's an important piece of history that you can have in your life and one of the things we've been suggesting is to become a sustainer at the hundred thousand dollar level. So this is $10 a month. And what you can do is get two copies of eyes on the prize take one have it in your library and then take the other donate it to a local library or local school so that they have it because this story needs to continue to be told and what something our listeners would appreciate is that around the world not just in the nation. Eyes on the prize is shown told and discussed. There you have it. So here's how you get involved. 8 8 8 8 9 7 9 4 2 4 a gift of $60 or one hundred twenty dollars get one or two copies of eyes on the prize. We're going to get back to the Cali cross the show now. But it's important that we hear from you if you

want this kind of radio on your radio. Make a call right now and make a gift in any amount. And again a $60 gift or hundred twenty dollar gift is going to get you a copy of eyes on the prize. Thanks. This month's WGBH television is bringing back the acclaimed documentary Eyes On The Prize America's Civil Rights Years. With this circle of US soldiers with bayonets drawn for sustaining gift of $5 a month that's $60 a year. WGBH will thank you with a 3 DVD set of eyes on the prize available for the first time on home video. Preserve your copy at WGBH dot org. I'm Cally Crossley and this is the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in we're hitting the rewind button and looking at the news that went under the radar this week. Joining us to talk between the headlines are Howard Manley the executive editor of the Bay State Banner and Marcella Garcia the managing editor of Net.

Now before we went to break we were talking about jobs and unemployment the unemployment rate here and so I can't let you go without asking you your take on the new gambling legislation that is almost passed the House has passed it it's got to go through the Senate. Secret meetings and all that before they decide to come up with a final bill. But the bottom line is that the speaker DiLeo speaker of the house. Says this is going to mean jobs lots of people disagree with that by the way had some people on my show yesterday saying that. But having said that he thinks that there will be 300 long term jobs at least and perhaps 15000 overall jobs abroad. Does this have any meaning in the communities of color that you guys cover. Amy's jobs that's all they care about. Fortunately like we were just talking all these people can I think in the long term they just want to survive they just want to make their ends meet to pay their bills and stuff so if it's a job that's all they care about they think they'll get hired though Marcella.

I guess that's the other thing you know it's. Well I mean one of these casinos or Racine or whatever they're called is going to be located I think it is Boston. So I don't know. Boston is a Latino heavy heavily populated area I don't know if that's I think that's the that's the biggest question whether they're going to get higher or who is going to get hired. And you know that. And at what wage they're going to be paid. I mean well the biggest problems with these casinos these games and you've seen them all throughout the country say in Mississippi where they put new steamboat on the Mississippi River and they have a surrounding county they sell it as well we're going to help Tunica County the poorest county in the country and get these jobs. Well what are the job minimum wage jobs. And so. It always makes me cringe to make money off of a sin and I'm not a moral person but I mean those jobs are going to go somewhere and I get that. But you are not going to be able to get off that sort of low income treadmill with a job at the casino. Even if you you know work your way up to management I just don't see it as a really long term growth

especially when you're dependent on peoples and not addictions. If that lottery get up to 100 million I would play it too. Well I don't know. This makes me pause especially when you know what the facts are which are that the majority of those jobs are minimum wage. Yeah. OK well I want to go to you Marcella and talk about this great piece that you guys have about this game that's being played this in conjunction with the World Cup. Yeah up in South Africa. Yeah the World Cup is this really again a reporter's story for obvious reasons you think. Yeah I don't think I know what the Red Sox occupy all the sports pages everywhere so it's really up. It's hard but people in America go crazy everything stops every four years right before a few weeks before the World Cup actually starts. There is this tradition pastime of collecting all the stickers with the images of all the players involved in the World Cup. So you it's very it's very you know in this era of the

Internet the new Nintendo whatever it's a very interesting thing going on because it actually forces you to do something or the oldest form of business because you need to trade you to trade all these cards to complete your album and it's a collector's type of you know past time. So the album is being sold here in Boston for the second time it started four years ago with the World Cup in Germany. And people are you know catching on again on that pastime because a lot of these people grew up in an America lot of immigrants here they're here they grew up in America they used to do this as a kid I did it. And it's very you know it's a past time that you can enjoy with your family so. So it's very nice. The album just got here so we thought it would be interesting to report on that and everyone's already asking where the album is going to get sold you know where can we get the stickers. And then you end up collecting or accumulating a lot of stickers that are repeated images so that's when you start the trading or the images that you know that you need to complete the album.

And I guess along the way you learn the names of the players and teams and all of that. And that's also a way for you to get into the games you know like I even if I'm from Mexico and I don't really get into soccer that much. But with this thing it's you know you know the names of the players you know who's playing you know. So that gets you into the World Cup craze and the excitement. Well I think there's more excitement this year in certain parts of the world. How is because for the first time the World Cup is in South Africa in an African country and that had not happened before. So you have a lot of renewed interest and it's almost I mean again I'm glad we're talking about soccer here in Boston and it's a really an under reported phenomenon that's been going on for years and it is an absolutely beautiful sport that the world likes to enjoy. And I didn't realize about this album that will be because you just don't know the players and all that so that would be a great thing to do. And for Johannesburg which is you know it's been such a beacon of hope for a lot of folks in Africa which has fallen on a lot of bad times this is a great boost

for the continent to get a bunch of folks to go down there and experience Johannesburg during the World Cup which is just a joyful joyful. I mean soccer fans are out of there if you think Red Sox fans a band you have is going to let you know what. Yeah. You know people ask about sports bar too and seen some of them. GIBBS doesn't do it justice so now it's just people go crazy because the scores are low. You know one goal to make a difference there you know hanging on to your breath and it's just a beautiful thing. South Africa partners is a Boston based organization is sponsoring a whole host of what they call World Cup Boston in conjunction with tied to the World Cup. So to to be able to capture some of that excitement and other kinds of activities around the city so what soccer fans should be looking for that too. Oh yeah they're going to be interesting. Yeah they're going to have there be they're going to be organizing viewing parties around the city you know maybe in city hall or they'll

put up a screen and stuff like that I think those are some of the ideas that are being discussed but that would be very nice in the middle of the summer. A lot of people would get into the World Cup if that sort of thing happens because it helps to draw them in. And it is a beautiful sport. And what's even more B is the fans and the sense of national pride Exactly because if Brazil wins again. Right. Everybody is going to sound like you think you're still going to win. OK it's the power. You're right you're right but I mean just think I mean that would be an angle to cover here. Massachusetts has the biggest population of Brazilians outside of Brazil. So four years ago you should have seen Allston Brighton when they went crazy. You see that in the news now I don't know. Yes we covered all over it but you know they went crazy and I was in Montreal which I don't think is a hotbed of Brazilians. They're out there everybody. It's just a great and it's just people in Latin America for example Venezuelans who

Venice was not going to the World Cup or Colombia but they root for Brazil. Everyone roots for Brazil because they're like the Yankees basically is there a way to cover this and maybe this is how it would go mainstream. Marcello that's not just the sports story because there's so much going on around this thing and that's how I think you can draw people in to try to make them understand and maybe make a comparison with the Red Sox because the Red Sox are also a cultural thing here in Boston so you want to draw that comparison and you know growing up in Latin America every four years literally you don't go to war you don't go to school when your team is playing in the World Cup. Everything stops everything. I remember I was on vacation one time I was just arriving to a beach down in Mexico on the World Cup was going on. It was distorted the airport was like nobody was there to take care of our bags it was awful. What happens life stops. So you have to cover it from a cultural point of view to try to understand why you know the whole magic is it because it's magical in here and one of the problems in

America is that because a lot of folks appreciate the game it's almost like hockey you cannot cover it on television. You cannot get the speed and the grace of these athletes the way American television does it and I don't know who does it right. But it's one of the things that hurt soccer to get that mass appeal is that it's not a tell about sport and yet incredible athleticism that you just don't see in any other sport in America. And also I mean I maybe I'm wrong but Americans are really obsessed with physics and you know how in baseball you get all the statistics of that right here and you have all sorts of information on TV you don't get that in soccer. So maybe that's another way for drawing people in because you know if you give them statistics and those type of mate yeah but they gave us so different I mean it is that you cannot do that do it like that because I mean just to get a ball off to somebody or that I mean it's forever you know right well don't realize what it takes.

Right. OK but let me ask you this could it couldn't it. Isn't it going more mainstream because there was interest in that Olympic team that women's team American team but also there are so many soccer teams at these schools now have kids you know that are not from immigrant families they're just into it. Yeah. Problem I guess is that when this kid start to grow up they go to you know middle school high school they get into inevitably they get into baseball or football. So there's like a disconnect between you know developing this board at a young age and you know following up with those kids because that's how you want to do it you know you gotta stay consistent with the skits and then they'll end up you know wanting to play for the national you know soccer team of the U.S. so. Oh I got to say real quick about the soccer player I see. OK OK OK so that's how you know there is I haven't heard it and I think one of the lines is shorter for American athletes.

To play soccer than it is for football and basketball. So time do you think on the soccer field. All right. Well we've been talking news with Howard Manley executive editor of the Bay State Banner and Marcella Garcia managing editor of Elle. Thank you both for joining us. Thank you. Thanks Joe. Coming up we're taking a turn from the serious to the sublimely ridiculous with a tour of this week's tabloids will be back after this break. Stay tuned to eighty nine point seven. Support for WGBH comes from you and from Fuller craft museum. New England's home for contemporary craft presenting crossroads new and recent quilts by fiber artist Nancy Crowe through May 9th plus exhibitions of ceramics glass and furniture info at Fuller craft dot org and from Mount Auburn Hospital presenting an

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Absolutely. I worked on the first series it's a 14 hour series. And I worked on the first one which was a six hour series that spans the time from one thousand fifty four to one thousand sixty five we book in the series with the board of Brown vs. the Board of Education passage in the Supreme Court and we end with the march in Selma and that campaign and it's it's it's really quite something to see in those 10 years which we have call the modern civil rights movement the civil rights is going on before and after. That's right. How much change happened in that period. And these are the stories of the people's lives and the commitment that they took on to to make what the Supreme Court said was true be real in everybody's life to make that law be real is quite an amazing thing and this is something that as you mentioned earlier this isn't historians talking about it this is the people who were in the struggle. And this is footage of them telling the story absolutely and there is one of the things that we were always so pleased about is that we found archival footage that nobody else had.

And so for the first time you saw it in our series. Some people have been able to use some sense. Our series aired the first time but we found it. We had a law passed as a matter of fact in Massachusetts to use some of the footage from the around the March on Washington so there's a lot of stuff going on yesterday. Benjamin Hooks he was a pick big mover and shaker in the civil rights movement had a lot to contribute. And it just reminds you how many local names how much effort went into this civil rights struggle by people whose names a lot of folks don't know. And I read his obituary and I thought to myself a lot of people don't know you know what what part he had to play. And so eyes on the prize is a way it is a wonderful primer if you will. And I it's it really does get right to the heart of the matter. Well we're as a station that is a combination of television radio and what we're able to offer this to you for a $60 contribution right now which is a great price. And one

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WGBH is offering the six part series at a 15 percent discount. Make a sustaining gift of $5 a month or $60 a year and eighty nine point seven will say thank you with the three DVD collection eyes on the prize called 8 8 8 8 9 7 9 4 2 4. Or do your part and reserve your copy securely on line at WGBH dot org. It's rag time. A few of the week's coverage in tabloids. It's a low brow examination of the salacious to the ridiculous and everything in between. But this being public radio will 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. And Rachel Reuben is the chair of the department of American studies at UMass Boston.

Welcome you two. Hello again. I thought we go highbrow first just for a second and start with Hank Williams getting up you looked surprised posthumously. Rachel what do you think about that. Oh I think it's absolutely I'm completely thrilled and they waited a very very long time to do it seven years after his death in the years after Yeah death. But you know I think it's a wonderful acknowledgment of both of of his importance to American popular music. But also I think historically of being one of the people who really best chronicled the story of of urbanisation of the great migration from the rural south to sit big cities in the south and in the north. So I think it's a completely wonderful he he wrote hundreds of songs even though he only lived to be 29 and they're still you know they're still having a huge influence today. Well what's interesting is you know he's a country singer I mean it's really these are country songs. So I wonder

Tom does this mean that at this point there is an acceptance of country music in a way that there never was before. Oh absolutely I mean people now call it America's music. I think how I would just like to say it reveals the Pulitzer Prize committee's historic detachment from the reality of American culture journalism awards aside almost from its inception whenever the Pulitzer Prize committee has tried to give an award that signifies you know arts music anything else they blow it. There are lots of stories of people resigning from the committee over for instance one Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf didn't get the Pulitzer Prize for drama. And this I mean it's for a day this posthumous what I mean. Yes. HANK WILLIAMS Absolutely deserved it. But he deserved it 50 years ago. And you know you are his family Hank Williams Jr. is still alive and so forth and again I don't begrudge the award but I think people should be aware that the people that surprise really is a journalism award and when they they attempt to stray into a culture whether it be popular a hard culture they really you know not doing.

Yeah. OK. All right well of course on this show we like lowbrow So let's just go right there. Kitty Kelley has a new unauthorized biography of Oprah and some titillating tidbits have come out but she's getting a lot of pushback and can't get on various shows to talk about it though Matt Lauer from the Today show did interview her. What do you think about the book I don't know if you've seen it yet and the unauthorized part of it. Well she doesn't do anything except unauthorized biographies. I can't help but be reminded of what happened to the Walter Winchell who had as much if not more power than Oprah but when the first unauthorized biography of Winchell came out the author was completely frozen out at least to Kitty Kelley got and Matt Lauer but this really meant the beginning of the end of Walter Winchell zx. You know as a commentator on every aspect of American life I think Oprah is more powerful in that she controls the way her message gets out there. She owns her own magazine her own network and everything. But I wonder if this isn't a real

beginning of the end of at least one phase of Oprah's career meaning that just because there's a little peek behind the door or if we believe what the what he has put in the book. Yes. Also if you're the New Yorker is a wonderful caricature of Kitty Kelley looking like the witch of Endor or flaming up the typewriter and Oprah sweating. I think Oprah's never sweated before. What do you think Rachel about whether Oprah has swayed it I'm going to ride the getting of the. I don't know. You know I don't I don't so much see it as the beginning of the end. I mean I do think that Oprah has you know it's funny it's different from some of the other biographies that Kitty Kelley has written of you know people like Sinatra and Jacqueline Onassis were people who were sort of famously private people. And so her you know ripping open of the closet door seemed more you know seemed more alarming or more surprising and Oprah definitely has sort of made at least part

of her career by what I would think of as controlled self revelation. You know so she is definitely used to you know baring all but in this controlled way in which she tries to choose you know just like talking about for example her her struggles with her weight or her struggles with her you know husband. So I think that Oprah will definitely find a way to get on top of this and that it will probably not hurt Oprah and certainly being frozen out I don't think is going to ultimately hurt her. Kitty Kelley it's sort of you know be subsumed under the you know I'm bravely writing this on authorized you know treatment. You think it'll make Oprah's Book Club. That would be an extremely extremely fascinating move. Very sly. But you know I don't think so. Well do you have a supposedly Frank Sinatra put a contract out on her own. You can't really know.

Yes I will say this she did manage to get to two of the relatives now granted one of them has been described as somebody who is suffering from dementia so she's now denied having said some of the things that's the one that's supposedly told her who Oprah's real father is. But her father I mean the guy that she's known to be our father did speak. And you know there you have it. So she can't control everybody that's that's one thing I was fascinated by this piece that I saw in The Wall Street Journal about NBC Universal planting eco friendly ideas into scripted shows so they are using all of their scripted shows from the office to Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker to plant these earth is wonderful. Let's be green themed kind of shows and they require that the writers and producers put these elements into the shows. It's kind of fascinating around that of course is always money. So they also product place as well but it's called behavior placement. What do you guys think about behavior play I've been trying to figure out how are they making a buck out of this.

You know is there going to be you know NBC recyclable bag they put the products around it and then implanted into the show so you can't like skip over the commercials you know. You know we're taping it. No apps I think Tom's absolutely right that there is going to be a way to make a buck off of it. I think that they're hoping for you know that the halo effect so that you know you'll associate whatever positive feelings you have about that behavior will carry over into the feelings you have either about the products placed around it or about the advertisers who advertise on that show. And you know frankly television I mean unlike unlike popular music or even movies television has always been about delivering advertising content to viewers in the form of that has changed you know starting out with shows that excuse me with companies that sponsored shows to the sort of highly est assize commercials that we've been used to lately and talked about on here such as the Super Bowl commercials. And this seems to me to be a kind of new

frontier a new way to deliver advertising content by giving by giving the impression that the company's products are somehow as you know. Are somehow good for the earth in the way that behavior is being placed are. I also wonder if it's a new kind of stealth marketing in that I'm green. I'll watch a Green Show and now I can even watch frivolous material and feel good about myself. And I know that you know we are all known for years now that networks are desperate for grasping on to the few people who still watch network TV so I think this is another aspect of it it's not pure you know going for the cash but going from viewers to trying to sophisticated way to hold on to viewers or maybe not that sophisticated. Well they say it's supposed to help you change your behavior model good behavior. I got to say if you watch trash TV and I do It's just amusing to me that the millionaire matchmaker one of my trash TV favorites is going to feature a guy

who's a billionaire for selling green items I think it's hilarious and I guess he gets mad at his date that she fixes him up with because she wants to eat red meat. I don't think this is hilarious. This it might not really. Afford what they really want to put something they used to advertise Sugar Smacks as you know part of your healthy breakfast you know it's the same thing. I guess so. I will say that Harvard years ago instituted worked with designated drivers there's with the Harvard communications office and the School of Public Health came up with a designated driver thing and sold it to Hollywood and they did in bed those messages into shows and that was quite successful. So there you go. They advertise. Now I know here is just what I think of that. So that's it for THIS WEEK AT WAR. Our wonderful ragtime special. I think something special might have happened this week. I. Guess we made it through a conversation with no Sarah Palin OK. And now Tiger what's.

It like all around yes after writing room and Professor Thomas Connelly thank you for joining us for another edition of ragtime. We're going out on a song and a. Big goodbye. Call. All of them not call a scene. You. Get new food and the.

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