Sometimes I ignore the elephant in the room. And this morning, it's #Ferguson, Missouri. Overnight a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, refused to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. Summer marches turned into winter burning buildings overnight, gunshots heard, anger across the board from black America.
And all I could do last night was blog about my day in radio. Lulu didn't like that. "Who cares? Blog about the news #Ferguson."
Okay, you're right. I argue that radio as we know it may very well come to an end and I'd like to chronicle it somehow, but you're right on this one.
As a white guy in middle America, I'm a little surprised at the strength of the outcry from black America. That's my issue. What will be your issue for the next few hours of radio will be how did we get here and where do we go from here.
And the #Ferguson decision isn't the only racially-charged happening on the board. It came out last night that the FBI has notified the city of Hammond that they're no longer investigating the Taser incident in Hammond. That's the one where a white and Hispanic cop tasered a guy in front of his family. Charges of racial insensitivity around this one too.
So let's hope Verlie is ready. Ms. Suggs joins me every other Tuesday as a cohost and today's the day. She'll bring the African-American perspective and no doubt that will clash with the MadMacs and Walts of the WJOB world. It could be good but ugly radio.
Also I was woken a couple times from texts from Jordan Beasley, who's been with me for five or so years since he was a student at Hammond High. Sports-oriented Jordan is as pissed as I've ever seen him, texts about his "anguish and disappointment." As a white guy who can't even begin to pretend that I understand, I just counseled him not to do anything he would regret later. He said he agreed and would go to bed, stay off social media. Maybe he'll call the show this morning with Verlie.
It's a busy day later after the show. I'll head to Ohare to pick up my daughter from the bus from UW Madison. She was trying to come home last night but a big snowstorm halted that. We'll hurry back for an 11am meeting at Purdue Cal in which a group of four students will present their findings on what WJOB should do going forwards. It's part of an exit course in the business school. Professor Jamal Hussein's class picks a few companies and does a consulting job on them. No doubt they'll critical of our PMS.
That be the Passive Marketing System.