GOP candidates hope for a Bonanza in Nevada. Parents protest at Miramonte School amid sex abuse allegationsHow is African-American news media evolving? U.S. pulls its diplomats out of embattled Syria. What online privacy? The unfinished revolution.
Romney takes Nevada, but Gingrich vows to stay the course
This year’s GOP race has been the most rambunctious in decades, with four different candidates in as many months taking turns at the top of the food chain. Most recently, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have threatened to make it a two-man race, but a handy victory in Florida’s primary and now the Nevada caucus have made Romney the clear front-runner – for now. But Newt’s not going away, either, and his appeal to hard-line conservatives may carry him through the week and tomorrow’s caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota.
Republicans continue to push the “anybody but Obama” agenda, but after last week’s encouraging jobs report -- 243,000 jobs added in January, the most in nine months, and a drop in unemployment to a three-year low of 8.3% -- that message may have lost some juice. On Sunday, Romney and Gingrich camps both kept all their plates in the air, spinning the economic numbers against Obama while continuing to hammer at each other.
WEIGH IN:
As the march of caucuses continues through Colorado and Minnesota, will Rick Santorum or Ron Paul find their footing and come from behind? Or is this showdown coming to an end? Will the improving economic outlook sway the moderates in Obama’s direction?
Guests:
Jonathan Wilcox, Republican Strategist; former speech writer for Governor Pete Wilson
Lynn Vavreck, Professor of Political Science, UCLA
Parents protest at Miramonte School amid sex abuse allegations
Enraged parents protesting at Miramonte Elementary school today say they no longer feel their children are safe in the school’s classrooms after sex abuse allegations against two teachers. The demonstration sprang forth after a second teacher was arrested – Martin Bernard Springer. He was accused of fondling two girls in his class. Springer was arrested four days after former longtime teacher Mark Berndt was arrested for nearly two dozen, alleged acts of lewd conduct on his students.
Parents say they are angry because of the long, slow time it took for school officials to inform them of the scandals. The parents of one of Berndt’s victims say they approached school officials in 2008 complaining that Berndt was acting inappropriately in the classroom, but police dismissed the allegations after the girl was transferred to Springer’s class, where she was then fondled.
Meanwhile, school officials will close the elementary school on Tuesday and Wednesday to probe the allegations.
WEIGH IN:
How will Miramonte school officials handle this ordeal? Will parents pull their children out of school permanently? What form of legal action are parents taking? The victims’ attorneys contend that the school and Los Angeles Unified failed to protect students. Do you agree?
Guests:
Vanessa Romo, Education Reporter, KPCC
Tamira Long, Parent of a Miramonte student
How is African-American news media evolving?
Last month, one of the oldest magazines to focus on the Black American community fast-forwarded to the future. Ebony magazine unveiled a redesigned website – with beautiful, bold graphics, a roster of A-list bloggers and multi-media content.
In its 66-year history Ebony has been one of a handful of publications that dominate the magazine industry for African Americans, along with Essence, Jet, Black Enterprise and Uptown. As is the case for all magazines, they are now forced to hold their weight against new media – in particular, websites devoted to African Americans, such as The Grio and The Root. Both news sites have heavy backers with deep pockets.
The Grio was launched by NBC in 2009. It's described as "the first video-centric news community site devoted to providing African Americans with stories and perspectives that appeal to them but are underrepresented in existing national news outlets." The Root is owned by the Washington Post Company after being founded in 2008 under the leadership of Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard University. The sites delve into issues you won't see elsewhere.
Last week, after the tragic suicide of Soul Train founder Don Cornelius, one angle from The Root asked "Black people don't kill themselves, right?" At The Grio, they addressed "What Washington can do now to address the black jobless rate." While these media outlets fill a void, there is still a gaping hole in television news. BET and the similar channel TV One offer scant news programming despite the fact that, according to a 2010 Pew study, "an overwhelming 86% of African Americans turn to TV for most of their news, compared to 64% of white respondents and 66% of Hispanics."
WEIGH IN:
What does the African American community need that isn't being provided by the mainstream media? And are these sites filling that void effectively or falling short? What are examples of stories that wouldn't have been covered as effectively, or at all, by the mainstream outlets? The Grio's executive editor has said his site has a trickle-up effect, i.e. mainstream news outlets disseminate what they read in The Grio – is that the case? What are the biggest challenges to these media outlets? Are they different from mainstream problems?
Guests:
Kierna Mayo, Editorial Director, Ebony.com
David Wilson, Executive Editor, TheGrio.com, NBC’s news site for African Americans, described as the first video-centric news community site devoted to providing African Americans with stories and perspectives that appeal to them but are underrepresented in existing national news outlets.
Dori Maynard, President, Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in Oakland, California
US pulls its diplomats out of embattled Syria
Since Saturday, Syrian forces have been shelling the city of Homs, slamming residential areas and a makeshift medical clinic. Over 200 people were killed Saturday, and dozens more in the days since. This comes after 11 months of violence perpetrated by President Bashar Assad’s regime. Last March, peaceful protesters rose up to voice their anger against decades of Assad family rule, and since then violence has escalated between armed rebels and regime forces. The United Nations estimates that well over 5,400 people have been killed.
Last week, a U.N. resolution to intervene in Syria was voted down by its allies, Russia and China. In a dramatic move, the United States has made the decision to close its embassy in Syria and withdraw its ambassadors. Likewise, Britain has recalled its ambassador to Damascus. President Obama has called for Assad to step down, but as yet has ruled out military intervention. British Foreign Secretary William Hague has called Assad’s regime “doomed” and “murdering,” and says “there is no way it can recover its international credibility.What’s next for Syria?
Guest:
Nick Blanford, Foreign Correspondent based in Beirut for The Christian Science Monitor
What online privacy?
Everything you do online can be used against you. All day, everyday, companies are mining the internet, culling tiny pieces of information about you to be used for advertising ... or something much much worse.
According to an op-ed in this weekend’s New York Times some organizations are selling data they mined from the websites you visit and your social media to potential employers, the IRS, lawyers, law enforcement and even exes. That means you might lose a job or a court case and you might never know how or where the information that sunk you came from. This has wide-ranging implications, and absolutely no oversight. We’ll get into it.
Guest:
Lori B. Andrews, Distinguished Professor of Law and Associate Vice President at Chicago-Kent College of Law. She is the author of “I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy” (Free Press) and is also the Director of the Institute for Science, Law and Technology.
The unfinished revolution
Wael Ghonim was the head of marketing for Google Middle East and North Africa when the Egyptian revolution broke out. During the uprising he launched an anonymous Facebook page to protest the death of an Egyptian man at the hands of the security forces. From there he became Egypt’s most notable cyberactivist, using his marketing skills to help foment the Egyptian uprising.
He was imprisoned and brutally tortured for 11 days and when he was released, he gave a speech on national television that proved to be very motivating for the protestors on Tahrir Square. Four days later on February 6th, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarek resigned. But the situation in Egypt is still very unstable.
Egyptians recently went to the polls for the first time since that fall of Mubarek and voted overwhelming support for the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist Muslims who may take the country in a fundamentalist direction. Critics from within and without Egypt contend that the military still exercises too much power and that Islamist party rule will bring anti-Western, anti-Israeli factions to power.
Last Wednesday, during a Port Said soccer game that was marked by fans lighting flares and throwing objects at one another, a stampede broke out and ended in dozens getting crushed to death. All told, 74 people were killed, which launched another round of riots and protests that have been raging since, so far injuring up to 400 people.
Protesters blame Egypt’s Interior Ministry in Cairo for letting the soccer incident get out of hand. Now, they are fighting in the streets and attempting to break into police stations. Most of the injuries thus far are due to the inhalation of tear gas, but in Suiz, for instance, two people died when police used live rounds to hold people back.
In a recent NY Times op-ed Ghonim wrote, “Revolution is a process: its failure and success cannot be measured after only a few months or years. We must continue to believe.” Ghonim joins Larry Mantle to talk about his new book Revolution 2.0 in which chronicles his participation in the Egyptian uprising.
What is the future of democracy in Egypt and can the Egyptian people create the kind of change that they fought and died for on Tahrir square? What led to the recent incident in Port Said? How can a peaceful end be reached between the state and the revolutionaries?
Guest:
Wael Ghonim, author of "Revolution 2.0: The Power of the People is Greater than the People in Power" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Wael Ghonim will be speaking at the Los Angeles Theatre Center with author Reza Azlan at 8 pm this evening. For more information on the event, click here..