The local media reported this week that the Board of Trustees for the Institutions of Higher Learning appointed the first black Commissioner. There is just one problem, however - it's not true.
Jeff Amy reported for the Associated Press:
The first-ever African-American has been named to oversee Mississippi's eight public universities. The state College Board announced Friday that Alfred Rankins Jr. will become higher education commissioner July 1 when Glenn Boyce retires. Rankins is the current president of Alcorn State University.... Article
WLBT:
The first-ever African American has been named to oversee Mississippi's eight public universities. The state College Board announced Friday that Alfred Rankins Jr. will become higher education commissioner July 1 when Glenn Boyce retires.
Mississippi Today:
Al Rankins, president of Alcorn State University, will replace Glenn Boyce as Commissioner of Higher Education. His appointment marks the first time an African American has been selected to oversee Mississippi’s college board – a group of trustees that governs the public universities he would not have been permitted to attend 60 years ago. Article
However, there is just one problem. None of these stories got it right. Mr. Rankins was not the first black IHL Commissioner in Mississippi. Read and weep:
Mr. Pickett may have been an interim Commissioner but he was still the first Black IHL Commissioner. However, such facts don't bother these reporters as they were no doubt so breathlessly to publish a "first black ______ in Mississippi" story. Their coverage was insulting to Mr. Pickett, who was indeed the trail-blazer and deserved better treatment from the media.
Top of the front page, Clarion-Ledger. Good job.
17 comments:
Apparently, the Associated Press does its research on Facebook. Would a decent reporter at least call the "newly appointed" person to confirm. I thought the first rule in reporting was verifying you source. Now lets see if they write a retraction and apology to the parties they maligned.
Technically, The CL reporting is correct. Dr. Pickett was an interim Commissioner (and for only 5 weeks at that). Dr. Rankins will be the actual Commissioner.
Interim. 40 day appointment. Yes technically correct, but moving the deputy into the interim until nwe guy comes in hardly counts. As the article says, his job was 'to hold the fort down'.
It's only semantics, but this man is not the 'first African American' either, as there have been many before he came along. They should have said 'the first African American to serve in this role.... or, 'for the first time in history, an African American'...but, as you point out, that would also have been in error.
This newsrag is all about race flaming, period. If prejudice and race issues don't exist, the paper invents them. And to suggest 'the first African American' in ANY context presumes one of two possibilities: (1) Blacks have been withheld from participation or (2) He was appointed because of his race. Otherwise, what's the intended value of the sentence?
Imagine that, hope the CL doesnt lose their stellar reputation.
That is one of many reasons we should not be so concerned with race.
FAKE NEWS
I keep hearing Britney Spears singing "Oops, I did it again!" and see numerous local media folk lip sinking...
Looks like nobody gives a shit....
Local media....its a double oxymoron....they hardly qualify as "media" and they fired all of the good local folks years ago, so that now they just relay what Gannett or Hearst tells them.
Did anybody catch the CBS tweet that CHS "defeated" Thad Cochran?
4 Jackson Area Hospitals Form Alliance to Cut Medical Costs.....
Haha, how did that go?
Classic case of "monkey see, monkey do." One media outlet reports something and the rest just grab it and go with it. Never mind doing their own investigation into the story. There are few if any real investigative reporters left these days. It's all about getting to press with a story no matter whether it is true or false.
Has anyone else noticed the stories on WJTV's website and how flawed they have been for the last few months. I think the "reporter" must be using some type of voice-to-text software so they don't have to type the story. The software is terribly inaccurate and the stories seldom make any sense. This morning they reported on Metrocenter being for sale. The sign in the picture clearly stated "548,702 sf" but the story read "25,000 sf." It was later corrected to read "548-thousand square feet." What happened to proof reading before publishing?
Make that syncing! Sinking?
Technically, The CL reporting is correct.
Technically? According to you?
What was the outcome of the HBCU lawsuit mentioned regarding desegregation and a possible appeal?
If CL is technically correct now, then they were incorrect in 1995. So which is it. I bet they never acknowledge either mistake.
Love the nitpicking by those who have never made a mistake or dropped a ball.
You rightly take great pride in always being technically accurate and never quoting a source without researching the accuracy of that source.
You never read or believe any publication or news outlet that has erred.
I'm sure you no longer watch Hannity on Fox after Fox had to make a public retraction of his BS.
The hypocrisy seems harder to take in the morning.
Post a Comment