ENTERTAINMENT
THE COMPASS
FALL 2009 9
THE LOSS OF
A BROADCAST
LEGEND
Bj: Keith Wharton
Walter
Cronkite
Jr. , former CBS
news anchorman
who was once
called “the most
trusted man in
America,” died
July 19. The NewYorkTimes reported
the cause of Cronkite’s death was due to
complications of dementia. He was 92.
Walter Cronkite entered broadcasting as a
radio announcer forWKY in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma in the 1930s where he went bv
the name “Walter Wilcox.” In 1937, Cronkite
joined the United Press in Kansas City; he
became one of the top American reporters
in World War II covering battles in North
Africa and Europe. He was only one out of
eight journalists selected by the United States
Army Air Forces to fly bombing raids over
Germany. As a reporter, Cronkite also worked
as the United Press main reporter in Moscow'
for two years.
joining CBS News in 19S0, Cronkite
served as a news anchor. For 19 years, he
covered stories such as The Nuremberg trials,
the Vietnam War and the death of John F
Kennedy (JFK). He also reported Watergate
and the Iran hostage crisis. Alongside Wally
Shirra, Cronkite covered the U.S. space
program which included Project Mercury and
the Moon landing.
At WTOP-TV, an affiliate station to CBS in
Washington D. C., he was the anchor of the 1 5
minute news cast “Up to the Minute”
Cronkite was also hosting the shows
“You Are There”, “Its News to Me”, and the
documentary “The Twentieth Century”. In
1954, Cronkite appeared on the Morning
show and was the lead anchor in the stations
broadcast of the 1960 winter Olympic.
Walter Cronkite became the anchor of CBS
Evening News which had just expanded from
IS minutes to 30 minutes making it and him
the first anchor and nightly network television
half-hour news program. CBS Evening News
competed against NBC’s Himtley-Brinkley
Report, who was anchored by Chet Huntley
and David Brinkley. The Huntley-Brinkley
Report dominated the ratings until CBS New's
gained recognition for having greater accuracy
and depth in its broadcast journalism. The
show rating soared with Cronkite’s coverage
of Apollo 11 and Apollo 13. He ended the
showr every night with the quote “... And that’s
the way it is.” He retired from CBS Evening
News on March 6, 1981 and was succeeded
by Dan Rather.
“Report the news, don’t become it”
- Walter Cronkite
VIBE MAGAZINE
FALLS AFTER 16 YEARS
B y: David Walker
Vibe Magazine, one of the premier Hip-Hop and R&B magazines of the last decade
ceased publication this summer. At the time of its final issue the magazine had a circula
tion of 800,000 according toThe NewYorkTimes.
The NewYorkTimes said that Vibe couldn’t handle the constant demands of the big
time companies especially during the current economic downturn.
“I think that we changed hands so many times that the owners never understood the
mission ofVibe,”Rob Kenner, an editor ofVibe magazine.
The Times said that the Vibe owners had been experiencing financial problems before
its announcement to cease publication. The magazine was bought out by a Wicks Group, a
private equity firm in 2006. It died less than four years later.
Quincy Jones, founder and music icon, told EbonyJet.com that he has already began the
process of buying back from the Wicks Group and plans to run it as a web only publication.
“We were working on a Michael Jackson tribute issue; so I feel we weren’t done,” said
Kenner.
Vibe leaves two large-circulation music magazines battling for top rank now, XXL and
Source. Last year, the source filed bankruptcy and surfaced with new ownership.
Vibe’s diverse staff has been forced to find work elsewhere. Editors accompanied Jonathan Van Meter, founding editor, like Hilton Als and Alan Light
who all supervised content within the magazine.
Other members of the Vibe team didn’t take long to find other work. Mimi Valdes Ryan, former editor in chief, is now editor in chief of Latina maga
zine; Emil Wilbekin, another former editor in chief is managing editor ofEssence.com; Noah Callahan-Bever is editor in chief of Complex. Some moved
to bigger gigs such as Minya Oh is a Hot 97 personality, one of New York’s top hip-hop radio stations. Carter Harris is a producer of the television drama
“Friday Night Lights.” Vibe’s news left a bitter taste in the mouths of loyal hip-hop fans.
“It was unexpected, one day you’re talking about The Dream and Christina Milian photo on the cover and how they’re dating to discussing Vibe’s last
issue.” Marvin Gainey, junior at ECSU said.
The magazine went against the grain when it came to the materialVibe covered. Unlike mainstream magazines Vibe targeted real hip-hop heads, which
were interested in the underground artist just breaking into the industi'y. Covering fresh talent gave artist exposure many big name magazines would not
dare include underground artists in issues. Vibe magazine was one of the first magazines to cover emerging artists.
+m
HARVARD PROFESSOR JAILED;
OFFICER IS ACCUSED OF BIAS
Bv: Keith Wharton
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Colleagues of Hen
ry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard’s most prominent
scholar of African-American history, are accus
ing the pohce here of racism after he was ar
rested at his home last week by an officer inves
tigating a report of a robbery in progress.
Henry Louis Gates Jr., being interviewed in
his home in Cambridge, Mass., in 2008.
Professor Gates, who has taught at Harvard
for nearly two decades, arrived home on Thurs
day from a trip to China to find his front door
jammed, said Charles J. Ogletree, a law profes
sor at Harvard who is representing him.
He forced the door open with the help of his
cab driver. Professor Ogletree said. He had been
inside for a few minutes when Sgt. James Crowley
of the Cambridge Police Department appeared at
his door and asked him to step outside.
Professor Gates, S8, refused to do so. Profes
sor Ogleti'ee said. From that point, the account
of the professor and the police began to differ.
According to Professor Gates lawyer, he told
the sergeant that he lived there and showed
his Massachusetts driver’s license along with
his Harvard identification card; but Sergeant
Crowley still did not seem to believe that Pro
fessor Gates lived in the home, a few blocks
from Harvard Square. At that point, his lawyer
said. Professor Gates grew frustrated and asked
for the officer’s name and badge number.
According to the police report. Professor
Gates initially refused to show identification.
Sergeant Crowley said a white female caller
had notified the police around 12:4S p.m. about
seeing two Black men on the porch of the home
at 17 Ware Street. The caller, who met the po
lice at the house, was suspicious after seeing
one of the men “wedging his shoulder into the
door as if he was trying to force entry,” accord
ing to the report.
A spokesman for the Police Department did
not return a call seeking comment. But in the
report. Sergeant Crowley said that as he told
Professor Gates he was investigating a possible
break-in. Professor Gates exclaimed, “Why,
because I’m a black man in America?” He pro
ceeded to accuse the Sergeant of racism.
“While I was led to believe that Gates was law
fully in the residence,” Sergeant Crowley wrote
in the report, “I was quite surprised and confused
with the behavior he exhibited toward me.”
The report further stated that Professor
Gates followed him outside and yelled at him
despite the sergeant’s warning “that he was be
coming disorderly.” Sergeant Crowley then ar
rested and handcuffed him. Professor Gates was
held at police headquarters for hours before be
ing released on his recognizance.
“He is cooperating now with the city to re
solve this matter as soon as possible,” Profes
sor Ogletree said, adding that Professor Gates
wanted the charges against him dismissed.
Professor Ogletree said that Professor Gates
had “never touched” Sergeant Crowley, but did
“express his frustration at being subjected to
the threat of arrest in his own home.”
He would not say whether Professor Gates
believed he had been the victim of racial pro
filing. However Dr. S. Allen Counter, a Black
professor at Harvard Medical School, said he
and a number of his university colleagues were
“deeply disturbed about the actions of the Cam
bridge police.”
“My colleagues and I have asked the question
of whether this kind of egregious act would
have happened had Professor Gates been a
white professor,” said Dr. Counter, who said he
had talked to Professor Gates since the arrest.
“We think that it has to be investigated, and we
are deeply saddened by what happened.”