Only One Mic Podcast
Carl Jerard, Brooklyn Dre, and JRob welcome you to The Only One Mic Podcast. We are joined each week by authors, activists, advocates, community leaders, and professionals from several walks of life who would like to offer their experience, expertise, or commentary on the various topics you will be interested in learning.
Only One Mic Podcast
The New Media Revolution and Its Impact on the Community
Tiana Mañón from Mañón Media Management joins us to discuss the impact of the media industry on communities and the power dynamics at play. We talked about funding challenges faced by minority-led media projects and the need for more diversity and equity in the industry. We also highlighted Mañón Media Management's dedication to amplifying local voices and meaningful content creation. Our conversation emphasized the importance of empathy and active listening in narratives, a safe and united community, and the need for fair representation in media.
Brothers and sisters.
Speaker 3:Welcome to the only one mic podcast called jabra brooklyn. Dre j-rob is in the building. We also got a special special guest from manna management media management, tiana manon, this long overdue interview it is.
Speaker 2:I feel like we've been talking for like a minute For a good minute We've been corresponding.
Speaker 3:You send us a lot of people you represent.
Speaker 2:I know some cool people.
Speaker 3:I know you do, you do and I got to give you a shout out we actually had, like a lot of people that you represent come on the show talk about things that they're doing within the community. You know a lot of uplifting stuff.
Speaker 2:Well, you know what? I appreciate that? Because one thing that always stands out is how much time you guys take on the interview. So there's a reason we keep coming back. You know like our folks always feel so taken care of on the show. So yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I say you know what. We talked to everybody that you represent, but we didn't get a chance to talk to the person behind the curtain. You know what I mean. So we're going to give you an opportunity to come on and talk about you, talk about the company, talk about how you got started and everything, because you once started off as a journalist.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. News is like my heart, so that was definitely how I got my start, but I'm gone.
Speaker 3:That's how we're going to talk about that too, how I got my start, but I'm gone. We're going to talk about that too. So let's start with that.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about how young Tiana began Like a little baby Tiana here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're going to go all the way back to the crib, but we can talk about the intrepid reporter you have become over time. And what was that like?
Speaker 2:So I've wanted to be a reporter for like a long time. So even in high school, college, I was kind of always gearing myself towards that. So my major journalism and political science. So I really went into journalism with this idea of you know, news is for the people, it's really to shine a spotlight on injustice and, I guess, you know, arm people with the information they need to make whatever changes in their community.
Speaker 2:Lot of political work, a lot of helping folks understand how different laws impact them. And then I started switching a little bit more into looking at how systems impact communities, really just exploring how much of this is just sheer design. You know, this is so. Much of this is on purpose. And so I was in DC at the time and there was like a mass shooting at the Boys and Girls Club back home and so I moved back home. I did a lot of work around that and I've been in Rochester since, but as much as this is my home base, the work has kind of grown out of this to where, you know, most of my clients are across the nation and this is just where I call home, kind of thing.
Speaker 3:OK, OK.
Speaker 2:What was?
Speaker 3:like the first story that you kind of broke when you started off.
Speaker 2:There was some crazy stories, interesting stories I did even back in college, where you know everything from looking at like weed culture on campus to mental health and access. For that I wrote a front page story for my newspaper our hometown newspaper, I think when I was about 19. And it was just looking at how if you're adopted, you can't get your birth certificate and how that led to so many different health issues and people who didn't know that things ran in their you know lineage or whatever. So definitely, even since the beginning, my stories have been very much like what's happening to people kind of thing, yeah.
Speaker 1:So what did you find out as far as exploring like the different systems, like I mean, when you talk about systems, are you talking about like systemic racism, different things like that, or you know?
Speaker 2:just government, that, or you know, just government assistance, especially when it comes to politics. You know, I think about like election years and how much of this is designed to make you want to stay home. You know, like um, and it's tough. When I was first pursuing my major, I was very much like a you got to get out and vote kind of person. We need the caravan there, and I think over time I've kind of started to understand that desire of people who are like I want to stay home, you know.
Speaker 2:So when it goes back to those systems, it's everything from how difficult it is to register to vote, even though they make it seem like it's not. You know it should be automatic. You should have to opt out, and in states where you see bigger white populations Oregon that is the norm. And so I think about everything and you know I'm very much like that. There's issues on both sides politically. You know, just thinking about New York State, and we have we had some of the craziest, most punitive laws when it came to drugs and Rockefeller drug laws. So I think about the fact that you know they're doing so many different things from a health perspective, from a housing perspective, from a job perspective to make it super difficult for anyone to get ahead. And when you're dealing with so many issues across systems, I think it becomes very demoralizing to try and fix one, because you start to realize how intertwined everything is and there's that period of like where do I, where do I go from here? Kind of thing.
Speaker 1:I gave up on it a long time ago. You know, I mean, you know, I mean when you just think about the things that happened back in the days, like as far as like poll tax and like you're talking about, even like criminals and how they, you know, aren't allowed to vote, and it seems like every time we think this voting thing is going to help us out, it's like it seems like they come up with something to make us not even seem like we even have a dent at the poll at all.
Speaker 2:You know that's kind of, I mean, you know, the electoral college, the whole other crap that comes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I mean, we didn't even talk about redistricting and drawing lines certain ways, or making sure that this county only has so many blue seeds or red seeds, you know, and I guess and that's even before we get into the news and how they cover politics, and do you even have the information that you need to vote according to your values? Um, and so I think there's a lot of people who, even though they're passionate to begin with, it is and it's designed to be so exhausting that you find yourself checking out. You know, and I think it's also a layer of so much of the onus is on the people. We're a democracy, you can do this, you can do that.
Speaker 2:Really comes to any, any issue, whether that's voting, whether that's gaza, whether that's literally anything. Most people start to realize, oh, I don't have as much agency as I thought I did, and so it starts to break down from there. Um, you're sitting here and you're saying you know, this is on you, where democracy, you can do things, but then you've limited every, every little bit of power that we have to make any impact and I'm big, big on pandering, so like whether it be Trump with some sneakers or Biden talking to Glorilla, instead of somebody that can possibly change some policies.
Speaker 3:I look at stuff like that and I say, well, none of it. Seems like it has our people's best interest at heart. None of it does.
Speaker 1:Every time we seem like we're voting, it seems like we're voting for the lesser of two evils. Me personally, it doesn't ever feel like anybody is actually representing me at the polls or anything that I feel that would affect my life.
Speaker 2:You know what this?
Speaker 2:is my biggest issue, because I'm actually a registered Green Party member and I have been since 18. And it's just like I feel, like every election cycle I am sitting here like the people are waiting for someone to actually come up and say what we already know, and I've been disappointed by so many third party alternatives who they don't step up and they're just not able to grasp the kind of intersectionality of this. And so I think what you see a lot of times is, when we're even paid attention to it, is just the pandering it is. Oh, you know, I'm gonna go on the Breakfast Club real quick. You know they're not going to ask you anything serious. Charlamagne ain't got that rage. So I often wonder, you know, and it's not for a lack of desire.
Speaker 2:People say all the time that they want them to come into their communities and speak, and I think so much of it is that it's designed to where, for the most part, they need a certain group of Black voters, but in a lot of areas they can do it without us. You know, and it's designed that way. Why do I need to do anything more than pander to these voters?
Speaker 1:Not to mention we're just the most disrespected, you know. I mean like, as far as like, when it comes time to, uh, you know, seek out somebody to talk to the back, you're like who would go to like the, you know, the local country singer to? You know to come? I mean they do go to different artists and stuff like that, but but you know they also don't like exactly what you're saying, not how they do our community.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. Like I don't want to hear you. I don't want to hear Joe Biden talk to Cardi B.
Speaker 2:Exactly. They make it seem as if those entertainers are the leaders of our community. And it's one thing to say, well, I want to talk to their audience and their fan base. It's another thing to say, well, I'm talking to basically the leaders of this community and it's a whole bunch of rappers and entertainers. Well, you know, it's very dick.
Speaker 3:Gregory said that disrespectful and he was saying like why does it seem like when they do want to and this is way back, it's like 60s or so like when they do want to sit down to talk to somebody that represents us? We always go to a comedian, we go to a singer or whatever, but on the other side of town you don't see that like they don't have when they talk about anybody. That's their political leaders. You know you won't see them going to talk to brad pitt to represent what you know they think right, well, they're not going to anybody. You know that's known for any form of entertainment except for our people. So let me ask you because we kind of went into, um, this whole thing and I could see where you kind of felt a little jaded by news what kind of, I guess, if I can use such a term, turns you off from covering news and not in that form. What was the thing? That was like destroyed. I broke the camel's back with you to say you know what I?
Speaker 2:I think this is the first time I've talked about this publicly and I'm going to try and protect people as much as I can in this. Uh, I was working at a station and we we had like a young black kid. He was presumed missing. No one could find him and I hate even telling this story. I'm sorry I'm taking so long.
Speaker 3:This is triggering, but basically, do we need to put a trigger warning on this before you say anything?
Speaker 2:I honestly probably a little bit of one, because it was really f***ed up. Can I say?
Speaker 3:that we don't want to put too much profanity on this show.
Speaker 2:I wasn't sure, because I listened and I was like y'all talking about some crazy stuff to not curse, but okay, okay all right, sorry y'all.
Speaker 3:No problem, here's your trigger warning folks. Just beat that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it will happen, go ahead um, yeah, so I guess I was trying to like distract myself for a second there, um, but yeah, so I was in charge of the story and just to veer off for a second. This is one, but yeah, so I was in charge of the story and just to veer off for a second. This is one of my frustration with being like a black reporter in any station is that as soon as a community story come up or a story about black folks, it's your story. You know, they don't even want to try, they just like, oh no, you can do it, you know, and I get it to some extent. But it also means that a lot of times you get the hardest stories in the newsroom, um, so in this case, there, you know, the kid was missing and it happened quite a while. He was only like eight, nine, 10 years old, um, and I remember our first press conference. We were going there and I was just charged with like getting the details. What do the police know? What does the family want the community to know?
Speaker 2:And my editor, who was this white guy and I presumed I was working for a very liberal kind of NPR-y kind of place that was my naivete and he makes this joke like well, you need to figure out how to really say this kid's name. And I'm like, okay, it's not the hardest name, but okay, okay, I'll double check with his mom. Like I'm very much like how the mama says his name is the way to say his name, right, right. So when I came back to the station he goes oh yeah, I've been telling everyone while you were gone this joke that like maybe if he had a more normal name he'd be easier to find wow, yeah, wow, wow and I was just like what did you just say to me?
Speaker 2:it's a wake-up call, yeah it was, and you know it was just such a flippant remark. It wasn't something that was like, oh, this family deserved it, or anything, but I think it was very much a maya moment where it's like when people show you, you know you've got to believe them. And so that was just one in a string of really flippant comments that let me know that if this was a newsroom that prided itself on its attention to diversity, we in trouble. So I was working simultaneously for a black magazine at the time. I was the editor of it and I just I stepped fully into that role.
Speaker 2:I loved traditional news and I did that for a while. I didn't own the magazine, so I learned that issue. But yeah, that was kind of the straw right there, where it was like a sequence of so many different things across the newsroom, being told that certain stories didn't matter as much, or I needed to diversify and cover suburban stories more, you know, being told that, well, that source needs to be balanced out, and so I really have not looked back. I don't. I don't miss it in that traditional format.
Speaker 3:OK, and let me ask you about traditional formats because, as you said, if this is a I'm assuming a smaller you know newsroom that you dealt with in the beginning, so it's not like a huge national.
Speaker 2:This one isn't, but they're part of and I'm trying to be careful here they're part of a national, they're just one of the stations.
Speaker 3:Okay, one of the stations, All right, so it's an affiliate station.
Speaker 2:Exactly so. Our stories went national all the time.
Speaker 3:They went national all the time. However, it's just like, if this is what is being said in this particular corner of this news corporation, can you imagine what we're looking at on the scale of and will say this a cnn or msnbc, the way that things are covered? So, going into from that to this, what do you think about the new media? Because I've had the opportunity to sit on a lot of your town hall meetings now, thank you for inviting me by the way and of course, and, um, I often said, like during the town hall, we have the comments and everything like that, and you say well, what?
Speaker 3:do we need to do to make this better. And I'll be honest with you. At one point I had said in the comments listen, we're sitting here talking to a bunch of reporters. What do you mean? What do we do? Do you start your own thing? We have enough people here that's having the same gripe, if I could use that, that word that you had in terms of how it is to be black in the newsroom.
Speaker 3:So what do you think about this new if I can say, quote-unquote urban media or, you know, live media? I see everybody pivoting to it now, so I don't think it's as urban as it used to be when you see, like Don Lemon and these guys, you know, getting on live yeah. So what do you think? You?
Speaker 2:know, my frustration with these kinds of things is that sometimes I feel like if other people were to do them, they would get the funding they deserve. But because we're the ones doing them, you know people just steal the idea. Sometimes. My frustration you know this has been my frustration for a long time for black outlets is just the lack of funding a long time for Black outlets is just the lack of funding, and that can be everything from like a very serious county state budget or even just where do you take your advertising dollars.
Speaker 2:And so I think about this a lot like what are the next steps? And so you mentioned our town halls and everything, and we've been so careful about actually creating that reparations model because we want to include everyone. It's like the last thing we want is to design something that doesn't go far enough. You know the folks out there who are still running incredible outlets in Tulsa, or you know all of these different pockets of incredible Black history. They need to see that funding too.
Speaker 2:And so I think about the folks who have been toiling, you know, episode after episode, print after print, and I really, really do believe that, as much as we're kind of preaching to the choir right now. Some of that, at least for this first phase, is to show each other the numbers. You aren't alone in this, and there's a level of solidarity here If you can see how many other people want the same thing as you. So I would say my, my biggest thing is I don't and this is something we really debated a lot Do we integrate into this burning house. News is dying as it currently stands. Are we about to walk up in this house and try and help them, knowing that they don't want our help?
Speaker 3:That makes sense.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's. The tough conversation right now is as we start to acknowledge that news doesn't serve us. What do we build instead, and how do we support? What does support us for now?
Speaker 3:You see what the whole situation at one point, where Mark Lamont Hill and all these reporters had what was it? Bnn or something, it was like, yeah, and come to find out that was owned by a foreign entity. It wasn't even owned by black folk. So you know, I can understand you saying that, wanting to have that, you know have the funding, no matter where you're getting it from. I can understand you saying that, wanting to, to have that you know, yes, and what's funnier is that you can be mad profitable.
Speaker 2:You know your show could be paying for itself. The second they feel like they want to put that money somewhere else, or the there you're not getting enough of an audience. They're pulling the rug out from under you and my frustration is that I feel like our community operates differently. You know, like, okay, yes, there's clicks, there's views, that matters, but we're a very communal type of people. We talk to each other and I don't think news can measure that right now. You know, like I might put out a story that only gets 300 clicks. I might put out a story that only gets 300 clicks, but everybody in the hood was talking about it at dinner, you know, and like you can't measure that, no, matter how much I try and tell reporters and stuff that these community stories matter, they look at the numbers and they go from there.
Speaker 1:When you look at like a lot of these new urban media guys I mean I'm just talking about the entertainment stuff like the Dream Champs, the what's the camera on them guys, the sports show and everything like that now, and I think even Gillian them guys went out of Philly and it seems like a lot of these major news networks are taking information from those guys and promoting it. You know what I mean and they're talking about it.
Speaker 1:It talks like if they're the first one with this information. You know what I mean. So it's kind of funny when I see a lot of this stuff. I mean I kind of like urban media because I'm looking at it now and I'm like you know, it's the only place where somebody can ask somebody a real hard question. Now it seems like all the other news websites and other stuff like that is following the script.
Speaker 2:You know, it's always been yeah, people get pissed at me when I say this, but I firmly believe, like if aliens were to come down right now and a reporter was to ask the pentagon and the pentagon said no, they would print that, and so like there's this crazy reality warping that we're seeing, that, you're right, a lot of only urban media or newer blogs and reporters can step into, and so much of it is because we have to be objective and that's a that's a whole different conversation.
Speaker 3:You mentioned, like Charlamagne. Okay, you have a lot of political cats come on and you, you know and you're not the first one with this argument when it comes to outlets like the breakfast club or certain talk shows and things like that, that says, well, you have these people on here, but you're not really hitting them with those questions and not understanding that these guys are under contract.
Speaker 3:They have bosses they gotta they gotta listen to and they got people that's telling them this is what you should say, no offense, but they have publicists that they deal with to tell them this is what you need to say and things like that and it's you know, it's all controlled.
Speaker 3:But, like you said, when it comes down to urban media and I use don lemon as an example, because when his thing went left with elon musk, it's like, okay, now I'm taking that interview what you know is going to get like a thousand clicks and views I'm using a thousand loosely, but you know millions of clicks and views and things like that which you know that interview is going to build his network when he takes it online, when you see I think Rachel Maddow is doing the same podcast thing and all, do you think?
Speaker 3:that eventually, like when you see all these major people who already had their audience already jumping on the same platforms that we're jumping on, like you said, you know, to my brother's credit is that they're going to take these stories that we already put out there and it'll be bigger because it's coming out of their mouth and not out.
Speaker 2:I think it already is an issue, to be fair, and I think there's a lot of creatives and hosts, and I wouldn't even say bloggers.
Speaker 2:I think there are smaller scale journalists who just don't work at these mainstream papers, who are still having their stories lifted, and I think what it boils down to and I'll be totally honest is a lack of respect for outlets that don't look like the mainstream screen, and sometimes I worry to take this further is that, as you leave this big outlet and you bring your audience with you and you you know you're on these platforms as well Are you just bringing that culture here or are you actually stepping fully into this new role? Because you know there's so many people as they leave these bigger outlets, they are hired there for a reason. They still practice that kind of journalism. They may be a little bit more radical, or maybe just left or right of the bell curve, but I don't fully believe that they step into that kind of radicalness insofar as the audience allows. You know they're radical enough to get the likes, but not so radical to actually push this conversation further.
Speaker 3:And now that you mentioned it, because you're a journalist and I have to throw this on the table to you Candace Owens.
Speaker 2:Why are we doing this? Because it goes back to interest.
Speaker 3:It goes back to interest. And when she got fired off of Daily Wire for mentioning her thoughts on the whole Palestine situation, it was cool when she was talking about black folks and you know, saying what she was saying and you know, I have to say, I have to say I don't agree with everything that she says. There were some things that you might have been right in terms of, you know, A broken clock right, Right. How people represent it in the industry and things like that.
Speaker 1:It's one of my favorite sayings, so.
Speaker 3:I hear a lot of people basically saying well I, well Candace can't come back home, no more. And I? You got your argument with that. However, is it any different that if she said like free Palestine and got fired from the Daily Wire, if Charlamagne said it and got fired off of the Breakfast Club? So I tell people all the time that no matter who it is, that pendulum still swings the same way once you go against the actual interests that own these companies.
Speaker 1:And nobody's allowed to say it.
Speaker 3:Nobody's allowed to say it.
Speaker 1:You say anything about the Jewish community, you're going to have a problem but any community that's not our community.
Speaker 3:I'm going to just put it out there, which is the truth. Any community that's not our community, as you often say to your credit. The black community is one of the most disrespected communities across the globe at this point, because you can say whatever you want and get the interest that you need to get out of it, but the minute that you veer off of that, you know everybody. You know what I mean. So what's your, what's your thoughts upon that?
Speaker 2:You know I'm gonna take this off of Candace just a little bit, and I get the sentiment here where it very much is who is allowed to speak out on certain things. Now, I'm not going to lie, I didn't expect Candace to have that ideology. I was surprised by it. But I think there's also, like you were saying, once you go against the interests of the people who own the station, you know everyone is at risk, right? I do start to wonder, especially, like you said, the Black community is the most disrespected and so as soon as we do anything that deviates from what they want from us, it's an immediate problem. Candace still can't come to the cookout, she's not invited, but at least she's not 105% wrong, but I think there's also a hundred and five percent wrong, right. But I think there's also a level of when you really do stand up for your values and what's right or wrong. An industry that's supposed to champion the underdog, the little guy, the people who are not in power, to be pushed out of it, is really interesting.
Speaker 3:Yeah, most definitely. So let's jump into Manning Media Management. Yes, like I said, you've sent us a lot of people who've done a lot of wonderful things on, if I can dare say, a local level. Reason why I say that is because not too many people know what these people are doing and this is why you know we give them a voice, if we can. You know, if you can please tell the listeners about the management company, what it is that you're and if you have anything that's coming up that we should all be aware of.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So our firm specializes and really working with folks who are trying to make change. So a lot of times that's working with clients right on the precipice of making that change. It's folks who dreamed of a new system, you know, they've started implementing it and now they need to bring it to the mainstream, and so that's what a lot of this work is. If you have, like, I'm not really interested in product publicity or things like that, really interested in product publicity or things like that, I'm more so. Wow, you have this really fringe idea for how the courts could work better. Okay, let me help you disseminate that in a way that actually brings people on, and so that's what we specialize in is, over time, how do you create a sustainable movement? How do you make real change in the world that you want to see, instead of feeling burnt out and then just withdrawing back to your home? So that's a lot of work that we do.
Speaker 2:So much of our work right now is like media reparations and figuring out a reparative model, and the crux of that work, if I'm going to be honest and this is something that I haven't really another I guess kind of exclusive for you guys is having a discussion on what is Black journalism. You know, journalism and storytelling is in our blood. All the way back we have had people who pass stories on, who have folks. You know all of these tales and everything like that, and so I've played around with this idea that it's not Black journalism, isn't Black reporters doing American journalism. It might be something that looks entirely different. You know, it's something where we're one, not scared to ask the tough questions. Two, we also know there is no such thing as objective. Two, we also know there is no such thing as objective.
Speaker 2:I think that's something that Black folks have known for a long time. You can't be objective. You have a stake in everything, and so I think there's also a certain flair. But that's with everything Blackness, whether it's how we get dressed, how we talk about things, everything has a certain flair. And so I think white journalism is very eh eh eh. It's supposed to like be smart and heady, and I think and you see a lot of this with the style of black bloggers and hoax where there's more personality, there's identity. That I'm bringing into this, and so I've been playing around with that and that's a little bit more of a long term project where we are revolutionizing news entirely, but then, like my more short term work is just working with outlets everyone from Gannett and USA Today to Mother Jones you know just cool folks to figure out how they can do better stories right now. So, yeah, it's a lot of work and a baby.
Speaker 1:Right, I'm wondering how the landscape of things are going to change, because when you look at news now, like you know, like just I'm using the camera on them again, I don't even really watch ESPN anymore. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of people that are like ESPN was had had a cornerstone for a long time. You know people will leave that all wake up at 2 am and watch analysis. So I think when you're starting to see the shift turn, even on like sports news, it really does highlight there's a big issue in the industry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and again, I think it's just a fact of them just saying things that people are thinking like no more you know, can you look at ESPN or a lot of you know, cnn, or you just can't have a real conversation and I think that's just boring they allow you to have as a real conversation. Yeah, they boring. People don't want to hear that boring talk anymore. They actually want to hear your real opinion. People don't want to hear that boring talk anymore. They actually want to hear your real opinion. I wonder how they're going to keep up with that, because I think right now, even some of the white podcasts.
Speaker 1:That's why they got Pat McAfee Right right, right right. So they're doing a lot, but I'm saying that they're doing a lot of different.
Speaker 3:You know a lot of podcasters are doing things that people now are is is as a product of like a bygone era, to be honest with you, like they still focus on, you know, terrestrial radio and they still focus on television, which is the crux of what they do, but it was never something where it kind of elevated and said, okay, well, this is where where the trend is going now and instead of us getting people to follow the trend.
Speaker 3:You know we can. We can hire podcasters or we can hire, you know, people to do things on youtube and all. But they'll stick with the same model, because that's just what the institution was built on, not knowing this you know sinking the ship at this point and there's also a level of exhaustion in news.
Speaker 2:You know like it takes a very purposeful change to see anything long term, and I feel like everybody in news from the reporters to the news leaders they're so exhausted they just want to go home. They just put out the story and they go home, and you'd be surprised how many people in news don't watch the news either.
Speaker 3:I often wondered about that because you being a journalist yourself is like what. I mean, you can speak to yourself personally, but how do you, kind of like, detach yourself from all of this information?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the news being 24-7 and constant has completely devalued it. I think they're just always chasing like that short story to fill content. So I typically engage in like longer form stuff. I'm a magazine kind of girl. I still get subscriptions. Um, you know, I very much, I still. I still see documentaries as news. You know like I want a deeper, yeah, a deeper dive and, um, I think there's a bit of frustration with everything from like wow, this story was only a minute and a half and I heard from a community resident for five seconds. And then there's framing like I'll watch the local news and I'll be like, oh yeah, and there was like a homicide on the city's east side. And then the next story is the suburban lilac festival or the fire. You know like, wait a minute, y'all.
Speaker 2:It's sad to say that's the only time you get to see the brothers and sisters man when the homicide, you know, because they'll sing you out in the hood and let you do the commentary out in the hood, you know, in the middle of the street somewhere, or you got to be so exceptional you got to be the high school student who got a full ride into 18 colleges and it's blackness exists on such a beautifully diverse spectrum and I don't know. I I think the news is not equipped to tell a lot of different stories, but especially a lot of our stories I think.
Speaker 1:I think that's why there's some more revamping things. I don't know exactly where they're going to go with it, but you know, you know, if you notice, most of these news outlets are, you know, firing most of their, like the old cast and everything like that. So I don't know if they're coming up with something new to change things. I know ESPN fired a lot of people, I think CNN, I believe, got rid of a lot of people one time or another. So I think it's coming down the pipe that, to talk to people, we don't even do good interviews anymore. Nobody goes and asks a person a tough question anymore. This has been going on for the last, so many ever years. Now it seems like these local podcasters are forcing people to answer some tough questions.
Speaker 2:I also want to point out, at the end of the day and this is a struggle I've had since college when I asked the professor this what recourse do we actually have if someone lies to us? You can do your research, you can file a million different FOIAs, you know, you can try and find the paperwork, but at the end of the day, I'll be honest, it's a lot easier to lie to journalists, and especially overworked, exhausted journalists, and I think that's a lot of the political climate right now, where you know this reporter is just trying to put out their end of day story. Let me give them the the bite and let them go on. So it is, uh, it is tough and I don't think it's sustainable, um, but I also I think there's a lot more floundering. I think there's a lot of hope that maybe they're figuring out the next thing, but having spoken to a lot of news leaders, I know that they're kind of just floundering so let me ask you uh, is journalism dead?
Speaker 3:I asked. Uh, I had an interview with um carlos beltrane from nbc and we had this discussion on the show some time ago was with the. You know, at this time, you know, urban media was just kind of like really picking up, like how you see it is now and it's like okay.
Speaker 3:Well, I told him that if you see people now where urban media will probably give you access to places that you can't go as an nbc reporter amen people you can't talk to as a as a nbc reporter, but they'll talk to me, even though this is a guy who's been talking like drug kingpins and stuff like in Columbia and stuff. I give him credit for that. But it's just like, all right, you might be able to do that, but you might not be able to get into this trap house or something or talk to the people that's in the street. Now the question I asked him. I said can anybody be a journalist with these cameras, with this podcasting things of that nature?
Speaker 3:there are people who know how to write, who never been to a j school in their life okay so he's, he kind of counted it like well, no, with certain things that go into it, and I said I get that. However, you know, I mean you can't downplay the fact that people are putting out better stories than you guys are right now I'll take it even further.
Speaker 2:Journalism can't die because it is so integral to humanity. I firmly believe the big mama on the porch who watches the street all day, that's a news person. You know when she goes and she tells people about different things. She is a news teller, a news person. You know when she goes and she tells people about different things. She is a news teller, a newsmaker. She is a journalist. This is journalism. You know, when you talk about these bigger issues and you share perspectives and you share insights. Um, I think the Americanized, very 1950s version of who gets to talk is dead. Um, 50s version of who gets to talk is dead. Um, but I think journalism just as an ethos. Like you, you can't exist without news. As a people, you know, there's always that relay of information among people right, right, right.
Speaker 3:I just have to bring this up wait a minute.
Speaker 2:What you about to ask me?
Speaker 3:wait for it. News but not news. Okay, just want to get your thought and opinion and, guys, I want to get your opinion on this. Billy Dee Williams just recently said on Bill Maher's podcast that it's okay to do blackface now. I know this can't believe what he off bucked with. Look at her face. It's okay to do blackface now. This is a man of a very, very high age and has been in the movie business for quite some time.
Speaker 1:Back on the Colt 45s man. He need a check Drinking that old gold.
Speaker 3:God man. So not only did he say it, he said it on Bill Maher's podcast, who has a track record of seeing some really crazy racist stuff. So on Bill Maher's podcast who has a? Track record of seeing some really crazy racist stuff. Gentlemen and lady, what is your thoughts?
Speaker 2:I'll let y'all go first the iconic Billy Dee Williams.
Speaker 3:He need a check. Blackface is okay.
Speaker 1:He just need a check. He was looking for a check At this point in his life. He just say anything for a check, Anybody can get it. Billy D can get it too. Yeah, it's disappointing, but it's the truth.
Speaker 3:This is, what say you, tiana? What do you think Billy D getting it?
Speaker 2:If you can't be funny without resorting to them kind of things, you probably ain't funny.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry, no, sorry no, it's 2024 man, you know? I mean, like, what makes you think you can feel comfortable saying something like this?
Speaker 2:look. I don't even like when ig models use too dark foundation. Okay, I don't like it stop approximating Blackface and you know what? The people he's giving permission to use Blackface, people who use Blackface. Come on, they are the worst kinds of people to begin with.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh my gosh, if you really look at it though, and the reason why I bring this up is because we talk about kind of policing our own, and I haven't seen too many people reason why I bring this up is because we talk about kind of policing our own, and I haven't seen too many people say too much about this statement. I know a lot happened news-wise between now and then, focused on Billy D Billy.
Speaker 1:D is pretty old man, he might be slipping.
Speaker 3:You think he's quacking out? He might be slipping.
Speaker 1:Something's wrong with him.
Speaker 3:They say his logic is that it was an actor back in, I believe, the 50s or so I could be wrong that played Othello, which was a white man playing a white character.
Speaker 1:I thought you were about to say he's a fan of Al Jolson or something. Well, you might as well be at this point.
Speaker 3:He played Othello and he said he respected the guy so much he didn't see what was the problem with actors putting on blackface.
Speaker 2:That's retarded Well you can't use the R word.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Bleak that one out too if I can't use the F word. I never knew he was sensitive. He's special. Let me just change it he's special.
Speaker 2:I think there's also a level of in our culture. We're very respectful of our elders and some of that you know. You can feel how you feel about this comment, because that was wild. Ain't nobody even asked him Like he should have just whooped, but like at the same time his legacy is incredible.
Speaker 2:And so I also want to make a space for white people who ask us real dumb stuff. You know, and it's very unfair to us, billy d isn't a leader of this community, so what if you, if you want to wear blackface, go home, go do what you want. Um, but I do have this issue with, I think, to some extent within our own community, as much as we're not afraid to ask the tough questions. Sometimes our elders do get a little bit of a pass. That just goes back to how we were raised to treat our grandmas and stuff.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, you can give them a little pass, but you can tell the truth about where you got your line he bugging out. We can give him a pass on the fact that we not going, you know.
Speaker 3:We not going to go crazy on him. Yeah, he tripped.
Speaker 1:He definitely tripped. I told you he on them Colt 45s man.
Speaker 3:Is it the fact that he said it? Would it make a difference if he said it on Bill Maher Club, Shay Shay.
Speaker 2:Would.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't care what he said I wouldn't, care what he said, I bring up no Club Shea, shea.
Speaker 3:I wouldn't care what he said of that. You got to bring it up at this point.
Speaker 2:You do, you do. Club Shea. Shea is a very interesting turning point in journalism.
Speaker 1:Let's unpack this for you Say the least yeah, wait, wait, leah, I'm not going to let you go right now.
Speaker 3:Now you got to unpack that one. Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1:I'm not being no hold on, yeah, yeah. Go on, I know where she's going. I seen Shannon Sharp in Queen's Bitch Project the other day. I was like where is this going? Yeah?
Speaker 2:yeah. You know what, though, when he said he made more money off of where you come from. Sometimes in this industry the money speaks Um, and sometimes I feel bad because I think Kat went on that show, I was, he was tripping sometimes, but he was really bearing a lot too. My frustration with outlets like club Shay Shay is that they come on the scene after years of people are already doing this and then these bigger names go straight to them instead of going somewhere.
Speaker 2:That has been, you know, toiling building their show up episode by episode, and then they're surprised when Shannon ain't asking like real questions. And so I think the whole podcast industry, or like kind of the more speakery part of journalism, could be taken a little bit more seriously. But when you have, like we were saying earlier, these big names, whether they're from the mainstream news or they're celebrities, they come into this without understanding the culture of what they're joining. You see them kind of undermine exactly what the podcast is supposed to be and instead of a deeper conversation, an hour long conversation that you can't have in any other outlet, now it's these long conversations as purely for shock value. It's a who should who should pay for the first date, type stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, and that's what I was going to say. Once you hit those certain amount of numbers and you got that stride on your show, don't you think it's almost like a responsibility, if you can, to just say all right, let me shine a light on something that's going on community-wise. You have the audience at this point.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think there is, and I think there also needs to be. You know, having worked in this for so long, I know there's also a level of bandwidth you need to have. You cannot just step into community issues and think that you're going to lead a good interview without showing how stupid you are. And so I liken it to when LeBron posts one of his books that you know he ain't reading. You know he just opened it up. Or when he posts and he's singing a song and he don't know the lyrics. It's kind of like that. And so I think sometimes podcast hosts take the easy way out and they say you know, I'll post something about Black Lives Matter, but I don't have the ability to take this to a deeper conversation. Whether that's a conscious or unconscious belief, they're saying instead I'm going to go with this celebrity. There's a little bit more money over here, even though a lot of these people don't even need more money.
Speaker 3:And it's funny you mention that because and I know where you're probably going with this is that we often say on this show we take the road, less travel, we can easily get on here and talk about rappers and all kinds of stuff.
Speaker 2:Well, let me say this, let me flip it, because this is something we struggled with too, cause I I tend to kind of criticize, like black entertainment outlets, without giving that same weight to people magazines. You know, does every single black journalist have to carry the weight of the community, or can they just want to tell stories, and I don't know the answer to that. That's why I'm pushing it back on y'all. You know, does Shannon have a responsibility to this community? Does every Black podcast? You know, what does this actually look like when we start to push people and hold them accountable?
Speaker 1:I'm not sure if you were saying this earlier, but I kind of got. I get this from Shannon Sharp it's a lot of foot shuffling. To me it's not a lot of boot scratching, you know, I mean is that where you were going with this earlier?
Speaker 2:I mean, do you feel that way? I feel it's like a second step. I think for someone who has a team, I'm still always interested in the lack of substance. It's only substantive, like when his guests bring something to talk about. Very rarely is his team able to really like pull something out of them. They bring the conversation and that's important journalism. You know, you guys ask some crazy questions, some harder-hitting questions, but that's what journalism is, instead of just depending on your guests to bring their audience in the hoopla.
Speaker 3:And it's funny you mention that because, to answer your question, you summed it up in word of substance, you know. So when we do have people on the show, we can have our light conversation, have fun, just like we did. However, you know we might not say, well, we're taking it upon ourselves to save the world, but I might spotlight the person that's trying to do it. You know you might be going further than me in a situation to say, all right, well, this person is doing something within their community, or this person wrote a book that might be important. Or, you know, this person might have had an experience in their life that, if the person is listening to the show, might change their life or change their view, or something like that. So, even in everything that we do, we have to. You know the puffy thing is happening.
Speaker 3:You have to I'm so glad y'all didn't ask me about that no, you know, I'm actually tired of talking about puff, to be honest and uh, what it is is that you have that situation and I'm gonna be honest with you as a as podcasters here, we can say something about puff and we will get hundreds thousands of views on something like that right, and that's a fact. However, you can't interview somebody opening a views on something like that right, and that's a fact.
Speaker 1:However, we might Interview somebody opening a school or something like that in a. Black community and get 16 views. 16 views we Black people like the Negro stuff.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. I hate to say it, man, but that's what it is man.
Speaker 3:We love it.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. I remember the old people used to say, man, you gotta put applesauce around the pill in order for them to get it. Man, you know I mean, uh, I think that's what I think. We gotta kind of find a, a balance too, because you gotta put the, you gotta put the medicine in it.
Speaker 2:You know I mean because, because we, as black people, we like foolishness as much as we don't want to say I mean as mean as a whole. I'm not going to say it in any given community, but I've also just been doing a lot of thinking about the fact of how many initiatives are reported on that disappear or they go away. And so I also wonder sometimes if our folks are tired of another school opening, you know if they want to hear instead how that school is performing five years from now. But at the same time we literally can't deliver those stories because our initiatives aren't being funded to last that long.
Speaker 1:I mean even like something as simple. I mean like I thought this was something that was huge. You know what I mean Taking you know Black history out of school. You know what I mean the average Black person doesn't even know that this is going on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's a slow burn because, if you notice, february's are coming and going and you still kind of see, I feel like this was the year exactly where you're seeing way less black history month stuff, and I know firsthand from experience.
Speaker 2:I would pitch a bunch of stories and usually february is like an easy month, like we're doing too many interviews, and it was interesting how many people still turn down our stories. Um, you know, I'm very open about the fact that a lot of my friends are journalists and so we're still talking about everything, and I have friends who would pitch stories to their editors that they wanted to do and had them turned down, and so it's like, well, this is black history, mom, we're not telling these stories now. When are we going to do this? So I think there's that frustration both outside and inside the newsroom. And to go back to your statement of us being so disrespected, it's almost as if it doesn't matter, like they hired a ton of Black reporters, you know, after the whole George Floyd thing, black Lives Matter protests and things like that, and then over the past few years they've just systematically laid them off or closed those sections. So I'm definitely with you guys on a lot of this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, because you got to keep the candle lit on a lot of things that's going on and not just focus on the foolishness, and you know you know like you've been exactly.
Speaker 2:You've been working all day, you're dealing with other issues of racism in your own community, and now I feel like so much of the news puts it on you to make change. I don't want to do something else. I'm sorry I don't got home, I don't work all day. I got to take care of this baby and now y'all want me to make changes in systems that I didn't even design. So I think there's also a latent frustration with people who, for the most part, are just kind of corralled through these systems, but then they're expected to change them, but then when they start to get involved, they're ignored. So it's just a very unfair situation.
Speaker 1:Regular black people stuff, stuff we've been dealing with since the beginning of time.
Speaker 3:Before I really let you wrap, because I know you got to get back to the little one.
Speaker 2:I'm free for the night. I'm about to go watch some Netflix.
Speaker 3:You still got to get back to that. You need your time.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 3:I wanted you to do was just let everybody know where they can reach you at and your handles and all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, I would say. The best way to keep in touch with us is on Instagram. We post about a lot of the different work that our clients are doing. For example, we have National Black Authors Day, may 4th. Um last year that was our first year and it was huge, so it was.
Speaker 2:It was like I'll be back on the show um, nice, it's just getting huge, like there were all these black authors posting about their books. So, yeah, you can look for us on instagram at M-A-N-O-N media, m-e-p-i-a, and that's just to see everything that we're doing, whether you want to be a part of this work or you just want to just have your spirit uplifted a little bit, and you know you always got an open invite here. I appreciate that, but when y'all want to ask me about crazy people again, I don appreciate that.
Speaker 3:for when y'all want to ask me about crazy people again.
Speaker 1:We didn't really ask you about crazy people.
Speaker 2:We could throw some crazy people out, See now I'm worried for next time I'm going to need a glass of wine with me for next time yeah.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you.
Speaker 3:And by the time you come back it might get a lot deeper. Yeah right, we got a lot of nuts in our community names added to that list.
Speaker 1:We got a lot of nuts in our community. Man, we could talk about that and outside the community, definitely outside the community.
Speaker 2:You need to be able to have these spaces where we can talk about ourselves, but not like the white folks, the white gays. Well, hey, listen.
Speaker 3:We all come from, you know New of fashioned the show to say listen, this is the stoop talk, you know. So, whoever comes, on the show welcome to the stoop. This is what we're going to talk about.
Speaker 1:Everything all right we got, the shop we got the stoop, you know I mean.
Speaker 3:So that's how it works, all right. So we thank you once again. Tiana Manning, thank you. We really appreciate everything that you do for us. You know, I mean in terms of Sending us the right people to talk to.
Speaker 1:Let's get them out there. Let's do it.
Speaker 3:Listen. If 16 people listen to that episode, then that's 16 people that hopefully Gain something out of it. That's how it works, alright, so I'm going to give us our handles Away real quick alright people to hopefully gain something out of it.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean. I believe that that's how it works. That's how it works All right. So I'm going to give us our handles away real quick. All right, check this out. The Only One Mike podcast is available on all platforms to stream your podcast on. Also, check out our Only One Mike podcast YouTube channel to catch up on the past and current episodes, and please don't forget to rate the show and subscribe. You can catch us on Instagram and x slash, twitter at the OnlyOneMikeP1, facebook and LinkedIn at the OnlyOneMikePodcast. You can email us at theonlyonemike00 at gmailcom or call us at 302-367-7219 to have your comments or questions played on the show.
Speaker 3:We thank you, the audience, once again for your time. We thank everybody here for their time. Tiana, thank you once again, and we encourage you, please, to speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant, because they too, have their story to tell. So until next time, please keep in mind. Before I go, I wanted to say this you know, condolences to everybody that was was shot out there in philly during their um e celebration. You know, gotta get better with this stuff, folks. So check this out. Until next time. Please keep in mind that we never had to run from the klu klux klan, so we shouldn't have to run from a black man. Peace, tiana. Thanks again, thanks again peace.