Open Left:: Obama's First 100 Days--The Black Agenda Report Card

Obama's First 100 Days--The Black Agenda Report Card | 50 comments

True (4.00 / 2)

But I do believe that Obama has given some of those publications I've mentioned White House access, particularly access to press briefings. Those publications also interviewed many black academics, some of which have written articles in such publications (e.g., Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, Bell Hooks, Angela Davis -- Lerone Bennett Jr. is the managing editor of Ebony). You're right, these publications are similiar to People and Cosmopolitan, but unlike those magazines, these publications also touch on politics and how some policies effect black communities. So in this respect that makes them also comparable to Newsweek and Time. In this regard they can be criticized, especially since they reach a wider black audience than a site like BAR.

by: Preston @ Sun May 03, 2009 at 20:47:53 PM CDT

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I agree with you on that (4.00 / 3)

they all do touch on some serious issues, which is why I qualified my response. But unlike BAR, none of those publications have as their stated first priority hardcore political analysis and discussion of political impacts on the Black Community. Hell, even magazines like Cosmo will have occasional articles on serious subjects such as domestic violence. But Cosmo's not pretending to be anything other than what it is, and neither is Jet or Essence. Anyway, that's why I said it's not really an useful comparison.

We can probably both agree that it's unfortunate that publications like BAR or Black Commentator can't be found on the newsstands; or that the popular magazine targeted for Black people are so weak on politics and heavy on fluff.

by: Oaktown Girl @ Sun May 03, 2009 at 21:05:33 PM CDT

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I Totally Agree With You There (4.00 / 7)

Most of my family members are subscribers to Jet, Essence, Ebony, etc., but the moment I mention BAR or Black Commentator, I get blank stares -- and these are people who are internet users! It's not so much that politically they wouldn't agree with the writers at BAR and Black Commentator (even though in some instances they can be labeled culturally conservative, and many of them are huge Obama supporters to the point where I can't have a single conversation with them without being pegged a "hater"), it's just that, as you noted, publications like BAR and BC aren't in newsstands where they can reach a wider audience.

Just take Vibe, for example. Vibe pretty much markets itself as the urban alternative to Rolling Stone, but you'll never get the type of political analysis one finds at Vibe that one can find at Rolling Stone. There's no Matt Taibbi at Vibe. It's really sad because with so many young blacks becoming interested in politics due to Obama's election, there's not a single mainstream black political magazine I can think of that caters to such audience, offering vigorous debates on the pros and cons of Obama's policies. I guess I brought up magazines like Jet and Ebony because there was a time where these magazines were at the forefront of offering its black audience such substance (e.g. Jet was famous for covering extensively the early stages of the Civil Rights Movement), and maybe I'm frustrated with these publications downward spiral.