How Will the Cincinnati Media Tackle the 10th Anniversary of the Riots?

We are less than two months away from the 10 year anniversary of the Riots that followed the police shooting of Timothy Thomas. It is the time for the local media to be planning how they are going to commemorate that event, if at all. I think I found one such plan from WCPO with this Twitter account: @TEN_YEARS_LATER. A quick search on WCPO's website turns up this test post, which indicates that a least a story is in the works, if not more.

I'm not looking forward to looking back on the Riots. Other than living in Cincinnati at the time and from my ninth story office watching a couple dozen kids cause some minor vandlism Downtown, I didn't experience them. I followed the news coverage of the riots like a hawk, and it was terrible. It showed a lack of understanding and of experience in coverage of the rioters point of view. No journalist had any remembered ability to get inside the story as it was happening over multiple days.  Instead the press was driven off by small incidents of rock or bottle throwing or were held back by the police from entering  most of Over-the-Rhine, which was the center of most of the violence.

There were several good pieces that ran well after the riots, but the importance of the early and first draft of history type reporting is critical. In the case of April 2001, our local media failed to know what was going on. They couldn't or wouldn't get into the scene and cover it. They stood by the sidelines and bought the hype and what little they could get from police scanners or the handful of contacts on scene as the only story. That was not good journalism.  With the vast reduction of news gathering resources of today's media, I don't believe they could do any better now.  Citizen journalists can't make-up the difference and provide objective reporting that is comprehensive, serving every part of the public.

The City and it's citizens overall ability to deal with those types of situations, like both the shooting and the riots after, can better be handled with a local media that can engage all segments of the population. 10 years ago, one segment was vastly undeserved.  I don't think it has measurably improved.

Make Cincinnati Weird is Still Really Weird and We Like It

A new team has relaunched the local blog Make Cincinnati Weird. They've put out a new mission statement which reads:

This Blog was created by Gerard Sychay. Recently, a group of Cincinnati weirdos have joined forces to carry on the mission Gerard began. The goal is to document the quirky, offbeat, and… well… weird goodness of Cincinnati. The single guiding principle, is that diversity breeds strength.

Jake Gerth, Kevin Feldman, Rebecca Nebert, Latria Roberts, Josh Laichas, Chris Grunden, Kara Driscoll, and Hannah Gerth have joined forces to embrace Cincinnati’s weirdness and support the road less traveled. Welcome to our journey…

As the most normal person in the entire world, I can't relate to this website in any way, but I applaud their effort to shed some light on Cincinnati and show a side of it that I will never know.

(Yes, I am joking...it really is just a bunch of weirdos)

Looks Like a Northside Bar Needs to Close

When someone is murdered at your bar, it moves to the top of the list to be closed. It is time to close Club 360.

Too Much Fluff, Not Enough Gruff

Is is just me or does it seem that most of the news stories you see on local TV news about our members of Congress are Fluff pieces?

Yes, I know, Local TV news viewers don't care about politics, at all. I also know this is rather obvious, but am pointing it out again, just so everyone doesn't forget.  Courting ignorance is no way to run a news operation, but local TV News has a big ass box of chocolates and is camped out on ignorance's doorstep.  They've been camped out there for years and show no sign of looking for a better litter box to sniff.

Jake Speed and Bock Beer, What Else Do You Want at Bockfest, a Goat?

Bockfest 2011

The People Behind the Know Theatre Share Why they Do It

The Know Theatre is one of my favorite organizations in Cincinnati and that has to do mostly with the great people that work there. The newly hired Managing Director, Haley Elkins, wrote a blog post about why she works in the non-profit arts world and got her coworkers to chime in as to why they work incredibly long hours for relatively modest pay.

As fan of Know's work, I am very happy they are doing it and it makes me proud they do it right here in Cincinnati.

If you want to show your love for this organization, you can do so in person on Tuesday March 8th at their Mardi Gras fundraiser.  Starting at 5:30 PM you can join in a Fat Tuesday celebration. Enjoy music provided by Cincinnati's only Cajun New Orleans Gypsy Band, Lagniappe. A $10 suggested donation at the door includes light fare provided by Washington Platform and beads. Know cash bar will be open and serving New Orleans' style hurricanes.  Just come out to the Know Theatre at 1120 Jackson Street and learn more about great Theatre in Cincinnati.

Three Possible Berding Replacements?

CityBeat's Kevin Osborne reports on interviews for Jeff Berding's replacement when he finally resigns from City Council. These interviews were reported to have taken place for the Cincinnati Business Committee with Berding and Chris Bortz. The three candidates interviewed were:

Brad Wenstrup
Kevin Flynn
Crystal Faulkner

All three are Republicans, with Flynn locally endorsed by the Charter Party.

Yes, you read the first name correctly, Brad Wenstrup. Wenstrup is the former mayoral candidates who thinks Iraq is safer than OTR.  If Berding picks him and Bortz accepts it and actually appoints Wenstrup, I don't think either would win another election in the City, let alone find allies anywhere outside the suburban Republican Party.

I don't know of Faulkner at all, but as a radio host on WNKU, I hope she's not an anti-Public Broadcasting Republican, yet she probably voted for some or held fund raisers for them.

Fynn is the only viable candidate of the three, so I am guessing this was just going through the motions for the big money donor base. Give them a more conservative anti-city Republican, like Wenstrup, and an insiderish newcomer like Faulkner for comparison, and that makes the pro-city Republican/Charterite Flynn look good.

The question now: When is Jeff Berding actually going to resign?