The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 53, Ed. 1 Friday, February 22, 2008 Page: 4 of 12
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OPINION
4A
Friday, February 22,2008
THE BAYTOWN SUN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Father
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of America
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Deserves a holiday of his own
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The black media
President’s Day
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Editorial was written by David Bloom,
managing editor of The Bay town Sun, on
behalf of the newspaper s editorial board.
David Bloom
Managing Editor
Luke Hales
City Editor
M.A. Bengtson
Community member
WRITE TO US
The Sun welcomes letters
of up to 300 words and
guest columns of up to 500
words. Guest columns
should include a photo of the
including the emergence of two black-owned
and operated nationwide radio networks, the
Mutual Black Network (which is now the
Sheridan Broadcasting network), and the
National Black Network.
The first black owned and operated televi-
sion station in the United States was WGPR-
TV in Detroit. For several years black owner-
ship of TV stations experienced steady
growth, but today’s economic downturns have
resulted in a 60 percent decline in black
owned TV stations.
Today when we think of black television
programming, Black Entertainment Television
(BET) comes to mind. Founded in 1979 by
Robert L. Johnson (Johnson sold BET to
Viacom in 1999 for $3 billion) with over 80
million subscribers, BET is the largest black
Bob Hicks
Baytown
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HOW TO REACH US
Clifton E. “Cliff” Clements,
Publisher
cliff.clements@baytownsun.com
Sandy Denson, Business Mgr.
sandy.denson@baytownsun.com
Joshua Hart, Circulation Manager
joshua.hart@baytownsun.com
Gordon Gallatin,
Advertising Director
gordon.gallatin@baytownsun.com
NEWSROOM
David Bloom, Managing Editor
david.bloom@baytownsun.com
MISS YOUR PAPER?
You should receive your
Baytown Sun by 6 a.m.
Monday through Saturday and
by 8 a.m. Sunday. If you do
not receive your paper on
time, call (281) 425-8066 by
9 a.m. to ensure redelivery.
to publish any submission.
Send signed letters to:
David Bloom, The Baytown
Sun, P.O. Box 90, Baytown,
77522; fax them to (281) 427-
1880 or send an e-mail to
sunnews@baytownsun.com.
Items featured on this page
are the views of the persons
identified with each submis-
sion and do not necessarily
reflect the views of The
Baytown Sun or its advertis-
ers.
FRED HARTMAN
Publisher Emeritus
1950-1974
202-224-2934
713-572-3337
Fax: 202-228-2856
Fax: 713-572-3777
comyn.senate.gov/
contact Zindex.html
Ted Poe,
Dist. 2 Rep.
866-425-6565
866-447-0242
www.house.gov/
poe
Ron Paul,
Dist. 14 Rep.
202-225-2831
979-230-0000
www.house.gov/
paul
Gene Green,
Dist. 29 Rep.
202-225-1688
713-330-0761
www.house.gov/
green
jBaptoton &un
1301 Memorial Drive, P.O. Box 90
Baytown, Texas 77522
Main: (281)422-8302
Newsroom: (281) 425-8016
Retail: (281)425-8036
Classified: (281) 425-8008
Circulation: (281) 425-8066
Fax: (281)427-1880
E-mail: sunnews@baytownsun.com
Web site: www.baytownsun.com
pr
TWXlDI9iNtyOtE
si
ITU I
RAY WILSON the radio industry’s growth
Government officials
Federal
George W. Bush,
President
202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2326
president®
whitehouse.gov
Dick Cheney,
Vice President
202-456-2324
Fax: 202-456-2461
vice-president®
whitehouse.gov
Kay Bailey
Hutchison,
Senator
202-224-5922
713-653-3456
Fax: 202-224-0776
Fax: 713-209-3459
hutchison.senate.
gov/e-mail.htm
John Cornyn,
Senator
EDITORIAL BOARD
Clifton E. “Cliff” Clements
Editor/Publisher
Jim Finley
retired Managing Editor
Jay Eshbach
Community member
Baytown resident Ray Wilson is a retired
Exxon process supervisor. He can be reached
at rayehasen@msn.com.
California Street
in shambles
I would like to report that California
Street is in shambles. My family has
been living here for over 15 years and
they have yet to see any improvements
done to our street. The closest we have
come to having the road redone, was
when Florida Street was renovated last
year. The street is so bad, that I no
longer use it. I would rather fight the
Exxon traffic in the mornings and
evenings on Missouri Street than to ruin
my tires and suspension.
I challenge the mayor and City
Council members to drive down
California Street and drink a soft drink
without spilling it on yourself. It is a
real shame to see my taxes go up yearly
and not to see any improvements that
are badly needed. Knowing the billions
of dollars in earnings my neighbors at
the Exxon plant are bringing into our
community, it would be nice to allocate
some of the taxes being collected by the
county back in the community.
Carlos Garcia
Baytown
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women, and Black Enterprise, a monthly 2005 joint venture between Comcast and
black business magazine, successfully fills the Radj0 ]argest radio network taiget-
. , ing Biack Americans) created TV One, which
taigets an older black demographic audience
than the hip/hop format of BET. Since its
inception, TV One has gained over 40 million
subscribers.
With the end of segregation and as blacks
began to make substantial inroads into main-
stream media, black publications, especially
newspapers, began to lose their primary mar-
ket. Coupled with decreased subscribers and
advertising revenue, many black publications
ceased to exist. Black publications, in some
cases, are responsible for their own demise,
by covering too many cotillions and not
enough hard news. Like the mainstream
" )m
the Internet, black media too must reinvent
themselves to regain relevance in their com-
munity.
r any adults remember celebrating the
|\/| Feb. 12 birthday of Abraham Lincoln
IV JLand the Feb. 22 birthday of George
Washington each year when they were children.
The office of president is a very difficult job
that can also be a dangerous one. Four of our 43
presidents - Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William
McKinley and John F. Kennedy - were assassi-
nated in office. Others, such as Gerald Ford and
especially Ronald Reagan, who was seriously
wounded, had narrow escapes....
When the next Presidents’ Day rolls around,
America will have a new president living in the
White House. That person, the 44th U.S. presi-
dent, will face opposition from the first moment
he or she takes office and will endure criticism
that will last long after the 45th president has
taken up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
It is an extremely difficult job in which it is
impossible to please everyone.
Not every president has the stature of George
Washington or Abraham Lincoln, but they all
have earned their places in history, and they
deserve recognition from their nation.
— Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
writer.
We publish only original
material addressed to The
Baytown Sun bearing the
writer’s signature. An
address and phone number
not for publication should be
included. All letters and
guest columns are subject to
editing, and the Sun
reserves the right to refuse
Middle class angst
This letter is in response to Mary Apn
Mills-Fiero’s letter to the Baytown Sun
on Feb. 18.1 support the fact that the
City of Baytown voted down the pro-
posal for low income housing. It is very
obvious that you have not visited our
town lately, as I see that you are from
Austin. If you drive through Baytown,
take a look at the older “low income”
housing projects. They’re horrible. Not
only does the government not take care
of these houses, but some of the people
who live in them have no respect for
what they’ve been given, and they trash
them up.
My husband and I were looking for a
rent home, and found that they come
and go quickly. When we went to the
Piedmont Apartments, we were told that
we make too much money. Then we
were told that the Rosemont Apartments
and the new apartments on North Main
were also low-income housing. So that
leaves the only decent apartments in
Baytown being the Camden Apartments
and then Stonebrook Apartments.
Thankfully, we found a great rent
fiome. However, it was devastating to
And out that we couldn’t live in some of
the newer apartments because they were
considered “low income” apartments.
We were beginning to wonder if we
would have anywhere to go. If you are
saying that the City of Baytown is dis-
criminating against the lower income
families, then what about discriminating
against the middle class families who
make too much money to live in those
nice apartments. You are right when you
wrote that “Many of these families and
those in the future are needing help due
to economic problems that are plaguing
not only the very poor but also the mid-
dle class citizens.” Guess what - my
husband and I are considered part of the
“middle class citizens” that you write
about, and we can’t even get a decent
apartment because we both work, and
therefore make too much money, and
because most of the apartments are low
income facilities.
1 feel that our City Council did take
that into consideration and that is why
they voted down the low-income hous-
ing. You were right, until you are in that
situation, you don’t know what it’s like.
Brandi Contreras
Baytown
Council foresight
This letter is in response to Mary Ann
Mills-Fiero’s offering of Feb. 18.
Low-income housing is an economic
issue, not a social issue. Low-income
housing requires construction, upkeep
and staffing which must be paid for.
The major benefactor for low-income
housing is the local property and busi-
ness owners who pay the taxes.
This city has two low-income devel-
opments on Decker as well as a third
currently under construction on
Rollingbrook to house rent-subsidized
tenants. The fly in the ointment is that
these properties are under-occupied,
thus not being paid for. And the taxpay-
er foots the bill.
The City Council and City Manager
are to be commended for their foresight
and sense of accountability. Thank you.
As for Ms. Mills-Fiero’s letter: nice
words, but you don’t live here or pay
taxes here, so with all due respect you
have no more standing here than a
Baytonian would have in the affairs of
Austin.
FTloday is the George Washington’s birth-
| day. Hands down, Washington was the
JL greatest president of the United States
of America.
To call this past Monday “Presidents Day”
does an injustice to our greatest president and
the man without whom we would not have a
republic of our own. Yes, we have had some
great presidents since, but none as great as
George Washington.
A day should be set aside to honor George
Washington. For without his leadership, it is
possible the United States of America would
not exist today.
Born on February 22, 1732 to a Virginia
farming family, Washington demonstrated his
tremendous leadership qualities long before
becoming the first President of the United
States (1789 to 1796).
During the Revolutionary War, Washington
proved himself to be a great general as he led
our troops in the war for independence from
Britain.
In the nation’s first years, before the presi-
dency was created, he declined an invitation to
become king, setting a tone of president-as-
civilian.
In eight short years as president,
Washington helped to establish our nation’s
Constitution and defined the president’s role
in the new country. He had the foresight to
step down after his second term, hoping to
distance America further from the monarchy
rule of Britain. This was an instrumental
move, which taught our nation the importance
of elections and democracy.
“His integrity was most pure, his justice the
most inflexible I have ever known, no motive
of interest or consanguinity, friendship, or
hatred, being able to bias his decision,”
Thomas Jefferson wrpte.
That is the standard Washington set. It has
not always been followed, of course. But
Americans to this day strive to put someone in
office who can live up to Washington’s ideals.
The media, whether print or electronic, is
central to almost every issue affecting the
world. The availability of information can
enlighten and bewilder. In the years before the
passage of racial desegregation laws in the
1960s and for many years following, black
Americans felt that the flow of mainstream
media information was racially slanted and
distorted. So black Americans depended on
the black media for the chronicling of events
affecting their lives.
The black media came into existence in
/ - * ______
SB ACS
various information needs of the community.
The Houston Defender, Houston’s leading
black newspaper, is owned by McNair native
Sonceria Messiah-Jiles, a 1971 graduate of
Ross S. Sterling High School. Since she pur-
chased the newspaper in 1981, the circulation
has tripled. Prior to purchasing the Defender,
Messiah-Jiles, daughter of the late Clyde
Messiah and former Goose Creek school dis-
trict trustee Olivia Messiah, had already
established herself in the media as a news
reporter and television talk show host. She is
a community leader, serving on several chari-
ty boards and was the first black female board
member of the Greater Houston Partnership.
She also chairs the University of Houston - . .
Alumni Board. Gov. Rick Perry appointed her PresTs’ whiclUs now facing challenges fror
to the Governor’s Commission for Women * ’ “* * ‘
and she is the chairperson of the National
Newspaper Publisher Association.
Radio has been an integral part of the black
community since the 1920s. On Nov. 3, 1929,
“The All-Negro Hour” debuted on Chicago’s
white owned radio station WSBC. Featuring
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music, comedy, and dra-
mas, it was the first radio
program to feature exclu-
sively black performers.
Jack L. Cooper, the first
black announcer in radio,
hosted the program.
Following World War II,
led to a rise of black-orient-
ed radio stations, featuring
formats that emphasized news, public affairs,
1827 in New York City, when Samuel Cornish music, and church and social events,
and John B. Russwarm published the first
black owned newspaper, Freedom’s Journal.
The front page of the paper stated; “We wish
to plead our own cause. Too long have others
spoken for us. Too long has the public been
deceived by misrepresentations in things
which concern us dearly.” A cascade of news-
papers, magazines and other literary writing
followed. These publications chronicled black
life in America and covered issues affecting
black Americans. Collectively, these publica-
Institutional racism and a shortage of capital
discouraged black ownership and manage-
ment in radio until the 1970s.
The 1970s marked a period of dramatic
change in black radio as radio industry-wide
de-emphasized news and public affairs pro-
gramming formats for a “more music, less
talk” philosophy. Hosting rhythm and blues
programs, black disc jockeys developed color-
ful on-air personalities, attracting large audi-
_______________________ ;____ ences. The 1970s also saw a significant
tions contain the most detailed record of black increase in black-owned radio stations,
life both in America and worldwide, docu-
menting the lives of millions of people that
were otherwise ignored.
Through the first half of the twentieth cen-
tury, black newspapers like the Amsterdam
News (New York), the Baltimore Afro-
American, the Chicago Defender, and the
Pittsburgh Courier thrived. The Chicago
Defender was the first black newspaper to
have a circulation over 100,000. It was also
the first to have a health column, a full page
of comic strips, editorials, editorial cartoons,
and blazing headlines. The Defender also
facilitated the Southern blacks’ migration to
northern cities.
Several general-interest magazines, like Jet
and Ebony, serve the black mass market for
society and entertainment items. Specialty ____________________,___________
magazines like Essence, directed toward black programming TV network in America. A
women, and Black Enterprise, a monthly 2005 joint venture between Comcast and
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Clements, Clifford E. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 53, Ed. 1 Friday, February 22, 2008, newspaper, February 22, 2008; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1191143/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.