Blogcritics Author: Richard Thompson

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

The VT Massacre: Using English Teachers as a Defense

Richard Thompson — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 06:32:20 EDT

The man behind the worst shooting rampage in U.S. history was an English major, a creative writer. Though I claim no connection to the 23-year-old loner, I admit that as a creative writing student myself, I shuddered when I learned this about Cho Seung-Hui and read some of his writings.My body's visceral reaction was unexpected but eerily familiar despite its slightness. It was akin to the same lamenting reaction that I have, as an African American, every time I read the newspaper or watch TV news and discover yet another man who looks like me has either been killed or is heading to jail. When John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo were arrested as the D.C. snipers in 2002, nausea set in something fierce.Before committing suicide, Cho killed 32 people, injured at least 30 others, and fissured the conscience of thousands, if not millions more - including my own. I reclaim no comfort in knowing that Cho was South Korean. My nausea is just the same. I fear what might happen next.People want answers to that question and some insight. They want to know why Cho committed that horrific act and how to prevent it from ever happening again. In searching, a psychological profile has developed through interviews of eyewitnesses, former classmates, his neighbors at school and at home, instructors, and scanning every bit of Cho's writing in hopes of revealing further clues. One of the eminent questions: Could there have been some kind of advance warning to Cho's behavior?There were. At least two people acted on them: noted poet Nikki Giovanni, who had Cho as a student in her fall 2005 poetry class, and Dr. Lucinda Roy, the alumni distinguished professor of English and co-director of the creative writing program. Giovanni knew she had to act when her class of 70 students fell to just seven because they were afraid of Cho's dark poetry. After talking to Cho, she went to Roy, who took it upon herself to teach Cho one-on-one. Even Roy feared for her safety. In a Washington Post interview, Roy said she told university officials about her concerns and that they were responsive, but there was little they could do because no actual threat had been made.Giovanni later told CNN that she knew Cho was the shooter as the details of Monday's rampage emerged, but she added a very important clarification: “But I’m not prescient." People will certainly disagree. Consider the words of Professor Carolyn Rude, chair of the English department: “There was some concern about him. Sometimes, in creative writing, people reveal things and you never know if it’s creative or if they’re describing things, if they’re imagining things or just how real it might be. But we’re all alert to not ignore things like this.”With that in mind, there is a larger and more foreboding question. As part of any University's security plan, should English teachers -- or any other faculty who gets insight into student psyches through that student's writing -- be a line of defense, a kind of Minority Report pre-cog?As Rude noted, people do reveal things through creative writing. The same goes for composition classes, too. As a graduate assistant in the creative writing program at the University of Memphis, I, like any other G.A. or professor, can attest that I've read more than a few poems, research papers, short stories, and personal essays produced by students. Some are quite disturbing and painful (i.e. the kind that emanates from reading and grading writing that is often poorly developed, grammatically horrific and, at times, the depth of the author's cluelessness astounds).In a way, though, I kind of invite that pain. I subscribe to pedagogy that suggests students will put more effort into their writing and increase their abilities to think critically if the subject matter is of personal importance to them. The more passionate the subject, the more the student focuses to produce the kind of work that's worthy of a passing grade.There are some drawbacks, if you will, like the repeated use of the "hot" button. These are well-trod topics that never fail to incite writing passion: abortion, homosexuality, race, familial and domestic abuse, and personal failures. It's okay, in my opinion, especially in freshman composition classes.Beginning writers tend to feel comfortable writing about what they know. Also, being in college and away from home, they feel more inclined to express previously repressed beliefs. To that end, errors are likely because they haven't quite figured out the best way to think out of the proverbial box and express themselves. To be an effective writer, you have to be a little crazy.The best writing is often the kind that takes the most chances and pushes the writer (and later, his/her readers) beyond their own comfort zones to question their own beliefs and realities. I want my students to feel free to take chances and to be able to explore the painful moments in their own lives through creative or researched writing. I push them to do this -- not just because it's my job -- but also because I am a strong believer in the necessity of good writing.In order for students to buy in, they have to trust me as a teacher - and on some level, a confidante. For me, there is a real fear that creativity -- even the most demented and misconstrued -- will be stunted if students are afraid to take chances and if they feel like their teacher is a pseudo-cop (again, a Minority Report pre-cog) feeling them out to prevent an undeterminable act in the future.It’s important that universities and colleges address this issue with great sensitivity. As an instructor, I don't want to be a psychological profiler. Who gets to differentiate between "creativity" and "disturbing"? Grading is hard enough as it is.

Richard Thompson is a veteran business journalist who originally hails from Montgomery, Ala. He currently resides in Memphis, TN, where he spent seven years as a reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal. He is the lead writer for Mediaverse:Memphis, an online trade publication that covers the Memphis media.

The World Needs Garden Tools Like Don Imus

Richard Thompson — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:05:25 EDT

At the University of Memphis, students are marching -- across campus. Commercial Appeal columnist Wendi C. Thomas has written a figurative letter of support to the Rutgers Women Basketball Team. She knows about being denigrated. An excerpt: Women who achieve anything of note, who step into the limelight even for a moment, run the very real risk of being torn down for no good reason. Mean-spirited men who devalue women -- be it Imus or misogynist rappers or flaming bloggers -- are everywhere, and some of them have bigger megaphones than others. But your supporters are legion. People you will never meet -- parents everywhere, athletes all around, women of all colors -- are praying for you. Some prayers have been answered. Through the power of advertising, MSNBC kicked him to the curb. Now, so has CBS.They'll regret it soon enough -- and so shall we.Did Imus and Bernard McGuirk cross the line? Yes. They spoke ill of the underdog. That's what Rutger's Women Basketball team personified. No one expected them to be in that championship game against the Lady Vols, but there they were. Fighting to the last second, which is the basic requirement we ask of any American. For that, they didn't deserve to be denigrated. Maybe, Imus and the gang thought that no one watches Women's basketball since only one or two can dunk. They're not flashy. They just grind it out. Fundamentals. Girls trying to be like the men, they perhaps thought, echoing what so many think. (More on that later.) No, these women are athletes. Pure and simple. Gracious ones at that.But fire Imus? Whatever. He'll end up podcasting. Or on XM or Sirius Radio doing what Howard Stern's feeble mind only dreamed and has yet to fully realize. He'll end up simulcasting on FuseTV or Comedy Central. So, yes, CBS and MSNBC will be sorry.We will too because the censorship advocates have been emboldened. And that's the main reason why Imus's firing was a bad idea. Now, we'll be subjected to those who want to bleach our airwaves. We'll hear idiots -- and yes, that's what they are -- who say that Imus, who is in his 60s, was unduly influenced by hip-hop, which is the real target in all this. In excusing Imus, there are those who will argue that rappers have said and shown worse in their videos. Tis true, but there's a difference. In hip-hop music, the women -- be they black, white, brown or yellow -- are willing participants. Some are true entrepreneurs, building franchises on the natural resource God gave them, like it or not. People simply don't like it. We can argue all night over what women should and shouldn't do with their own bodies. But I digress.More importantly, I don't believe in idolization. We all know women who are less than Godly just like we know all men aren't perfect. The world needs "hoes" and "bitches" -- females and males, alike. You won't know "good" unless you have something to compare. Without the video chicks, we really couldn't appreciate the gracefulness of the Rutgers women. (And if all else fails, what my Mama said still holds true: you are what you respond too. Kids, listen to your parents. Parents, be parents. But I digress again.)Back to the main point, Imus needs to be on the air like Limbaugh needs to be on the air, like all those other ill-mannered SOBs need to be on the air. Because in a society that values a free exchange of ideals, censorship in any form is unacceptable.The better response: demand that CBS and MSNBC develop shows with more diverse views. Imus is gone. Yet, what do we have to show for it: nothing.

TV Review: Adventures in HollyHood

Richard Thompson — Sat, 7 Apr 2007 10:00:59 EDT

So, this is what it feels like to be Punk'd?The minds of MTV's Punk'd are the conspirators behind Adventures in HollyHood (MTV, Thursdays, 10PM ET/PT), a "reality" show that portends to show how Memphis's own Three 6 Mafia tried to capitalize on their enhanced fame after becoming the first rap group to win an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2006. That perhaps explains why the first episode of HollyHood felt like a 30-minute practical joke on Punk'd, except that Ashton Kutcher didn't come out at the end laughing. He should have.A disclaimer: though I live in Memphis, Tennessee, I am not among the city's residents who disavow any knowledge of Jordan Houston (Juicy J) and Paul Beauregard (DJ Paul), the hearts of Three 6. I was pleasantly conflicted the night of March 5, 2006 when they -- aided by the strong vocals of Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow's "Shug") -- performed It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp at the Oscars. I mean, a man named Crunchy Black (who is no longer with the group) stood on the red carpet, grill blinging, and basically, in our city's own flair, told the world: How do you like me now? Who couldn't love that?Yet, HollyHood has none of that flair, that unforgiving bravado. It has no soul, no drum beat, no harmony, no life.It just feels scripted and forced, starting with the Beverly Hillbillies country-twang in the opening scenes filmed in Memphis (and by the way, Memphis is not hardly "country" -- ghetto, at times, yes -- country, never) that turn Juicy J, DJ Paul, Project Pat (J's brother and a rapper with strong cred in these parts), Big Triece (their personal assistant), and Computer (an assistant and friend) into stereotypical caricatures: uneducated black men who can't help themselves around white women.Now, we really know what HollyHood thinks of them, but I digress. It would have been nice if the producers allowed viewers to see that 1,700-mile trip in a luxury car from Memphis to Hollywood. (Did that trip really happen?) It reminded me of the road trip that Oprah and her gal pal, Gayle, took cross-country. With big men like Triece and Computer alone in the back seat, that would have been a trip worth watching. Comedy for days. But the show seemed to be in a hurry to get Three 6 to Hollywood, even though the footage was shot last year. So, you don't get to understand Juicy J's life as a preacher's son, or why DJ Paul avoids showing his right arm, or how much work they really put into their music, or anything that really matters. You're just supposed to sit there jaw-dropped like Fern, one of their quirky HollyHood neighbors, and just listen to the music, see these "gangstas" sambos dance, go crazy and pimp themselves -- for Hollywood.

Movie Review: I Think I Love My Wife

Richard Thompson — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:29:28 EDT

I love my wife.After seeing I Think I Love My Wife, starring and directed by Chris Rock, I'm sure of it -- not that I wasn't sure before going to see the 94-minute sophisticated comedy.The movie is about love and marriage and the reasons why one chooses to do either or both. It's an introspection inspired by Richard Cooper (Chris Rock), an investment banker who has been married for seven years to his lovely wife (Brenda, played by Gina Torres) with whom he has two lovely kids. They have the perfect life, and a beautiful home in the 'burbs. Yet Richard is bored. He and Brenda aren't having sex at all. She's plainly disinterested because of her career, taking care of the kids, cooking dinner, taking care of a husband, etc. She's too tired to be sexy and have sex with her husband. It's a typical marriage tale that drives them into counseling. Out of the blue, Richard hears from an old friend, Nikki (played by Kerry "You want me to get a divorce, don't you?" Washington), who proceeds to slowly seduce him. It could happen. Sure, one day, a woman from your past could seek you out because she feels that you were the one for her all along. Yet, you're married, but she's fine! Yet, you're married and not having sex, and she's fine and asking you if you still have sex! It could happen. What would you do if a woman like that came into your life and made you feel alive, broke up the routine that married life has settled you in?It's a funny and insightful movie for married and single folk alike. We are all searching for or chasing after something. And Richard finds himself chasing what he thinks he wants -- which is sex and feeling seduced -- but comes to the realization that what he has at home -- his wife, his children, his own perspective on who he is -- is so much more meaningful. It's that kind of epiphany when a man realizes that just having sex is not the key to his happiness or what finally pushes him down the aisle. (Remember that, ladies.) It's when he sees his wife or significant other for who she is -- the woman who supports him no matter what -- that helps him make the right decision.Of course, that doesn't mean that he doesn't want to have sex. He does! And I Think I Love My Wife stresses that married folks should have the same kind of sex life that they had before they were married.Yet, is marriage really all about the sex? No, it isn't. But, um, err, it sure keeps things interesting.I love my wife. I love my wife. Amen.

Banning The "N-Word" Makes No Sense

Richard Thompson — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 05:37:57 EST

It’s not in America's best interest to assimilate. As confessional poet Alan Shapiro says: "Cultures are fed by impurity. ... Mongrel dogs live longer than purebreed dogs." Our cultural "impurities" are the nuances that make our lives so interesting, so challenging, so inspiring from one day to the next. They give life to our poetry. So, when someone misguidedly preaches the values of assimilation, I ask myself: do you want us to die?The other day I wrote a column about a restaurant visit where an African-American woman said the word "nigga" several times in the course of jovial conversation - and loud enough to make those around her uncomfortable. It was the loudness of her voice, not the word itself that prompted me to propose a ban on loud mouths, much like the ban for cigarette smokers. Maybe, it's time for me to explain why I wasn't bothered by the word. It's not because I'm African-American, though there are many within my culture who say that should be the very reason why I should oppose "nigger" and its derivatives "nigga," "niggaz," etc. For anyone of us who says it, even in private, that could be considered evidence of self-loathing, given its racially-charged history.Yet, as a poet, I believe in man's ability to alter meaning, and as an African-American, I certainly believe in the power of a culture to endure oppression in such a manner that ultimately allows citizens to empower (i.e. define) themselves. Let me put it this way, since others typically use their cultures/experiences to measure the African-American experience: what's the difference between "bitch," "fag," "kike," or "nigger"?Certainly, each word has led to hardship. There have been women, homosexuals and Jews (and the list could go on) who have been oppressed and murdered (the ultimate oppression) by others who have used these "obscene" terms against them. Yet, in each case, the oppressed have taken the word and redefined and embraced it.No, they haven't forgotten the word's troubled and bloodied history -- no one can actually "forget" such things -- but in using the word it is possible to say that such history can no longer define how people choose to view themselves. So, back in the day, when N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude) said "F--- Tha Police" on behalf of all real niggas, that was not only a powerful rebuke of an institution that had long been a source of oppressing the African-American community, but the song was also a strong message of self-definition to a damning society that would consider us to be "niggers" no matter how much we achieved. It's the kind of "If you like us, fine. If you don't like us, that's fine. We know who we are" stance that African-American culture has thrived upon for decades and centuries.That's redefining - much like Britney Spears choosing to shave off her blond hair as a way of redefining "beauty" in her own terms instead of society's. That's power. That's language at its best.So, why are there no calls to remove "bitch" or "ho" or "queer" or "faggot" or "redneck" etc. etc.. from our lexicon? Why the word "nigger," even though anyone could be called this word, this reflection of a state of mind, of being?It's because there is a class struggle within the African-American community. Lacking a Better Word?And I'm not blaming rap music, but a number of African-Americans are simply tired of the capitalistic system that elevated the "ghetto" life to be "true" black experience so much so that anything to the contrary was considered to be "white" -- for lack of a better word or description. Not all African-Americans grew up in the ghetto. There is a battle of definition, a strong desire to police our image.As the African-American middle class grows and overt racism decreases, they are beginning to realize that their use of the "nigga" toward low-income blacks - who might seem lazy or unwilling to change their circumstance or just embarrass the race - has the same inflection of contempt and hatred that whites from yesteryear used when they called us "niggers." In other words, all things being equal, people of the same economic standing have the tendency to talk and think alike.That's what vexes a culture that ought to know better. That's why you have African-American leaders saying that it's impossible to change the meaning of the word. They want to get rid of it so they don't feel so conflicted. It enables us to avoid a much-needed, introspective discussion about class.See, "nigger" or "nigga" causes you to look inward every time you say it or hear it or read it. It's the reason why some whites hate rap music. They want to sing the songs, and secretly they long to be able to say "nigger/nigga" without guilt. They pout that they are not like their forbearers, the ones who enslaved, lynched and cursed African-Americans who sought for basic human rights. They feel falsely accused when they have to skip the word or PC it (the "n-word") in public when everyone knows that they use it in private as much as African-Americans do. They pine to accuse African-Americans of black racism, which is oxymoronic. Some whites want to be able to say "nigger" as loudly as many of them who shun it as measure of their progressiveness. They are tired of having to explain the duplicity to their kids. (Welcome to our world.)They don't want to confront their own conflicts.I’m not going to tell white people how they should or shouldn't use "nigger," but suffice to say, given their history with the word, it should make them think twice before using it in any context. Why are you using it? In any event, regardless of the answer, I can't be mad. Ban "nigger" and another word will take its place. Human nature is human nature. Language is language. The African-American experience is the American, even the global, experience. So, Vietnamese kids listen to "black" music and call themselves "niggas" and I can understand on so many levels why they do - and respect it, too.

The Etiquette of Dining Out: Use Your Inside Voice!

Richard Thompson — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 02:59:17 EST

Tonight, I thought I would try something different. My wife loves dessert, so why not just go some place, any place, and just eat the sweets? It would be soo cool. We went to Outback Steakhouse. I had the Towering Chocolate Cake and she had the Chocolate Thunder Down Under.We live in Memphis, the city of "It's Hard Out There For a Pimp" and The Firm fame. (I coupled in the last one to show some diversity.) My wife is from North Memphis, so I have an appreciation for ghetto tendencies. After all, it's within us all (white folks included).To give further context, we just came from seeing the movie, Norbit, Eddie Murphy's 21st Century version of Coming to America. It was pure ignorance: funny, over the top, but endearing. Eddie Murphy, for better or worse. But I digress. The point is that the movie was stereotypically ghetto - pimps and a huffing, puffing, big, black sista character named Rasputia. My wife and I know several Rasputias.In any event, we're in Outback. Across the aisle is a party of four, all friends, maybe even co-workers, but definitely loud. It's hard not to overhear their laughter and conversation. I wasn't really bothered by that - at first. I mean, I'm all for having a good time and enjoying the company of friends.Then one of them, a sista (did I mention the table was full of my people? Yes, I claim them, even the ones who won't act right in public) said the word "nigga," not once, but twice over the course of one aspect of their conversation. I wasn't mad at the fact that she’d said "nigga" (correct spelling and usage, but that's another column), but I was mad at the fact that the whole section of the restaurant heard her say it. She was just that loud.I cringed. I imagine the people at the other table across from them -- a black couple and a white couple having dinner -- were probably cringing on the inside, too. It was such an awkward moment. I wished that sista had used her "inside" voice. That got me to thinking. Across the country, city after city bans cigarette smoking in restaurants and public places because it's not only dangerous, the smoke also tends to sully your dining experience. Who wants to smell like smoke? In the same vein, who wants their dining experience sullied by boisterous people whose voices waft over the entire section, simply choking out other people's conversation? Why not draft a law mandating that they shut the hell up? Or better yet, since this is a free country, draft a law that forces them to use their inside voice, or else.Think of the funds the state could raise for childhood education, even for more courses on etiquette.

Mary J. Blige: The Blessing of a Breakthrough

Richard Thompson — Wed, 7 Feb 2007 09:36:29 EST

On Sunday, the Queen of Hip Hip Soul, Mary J. Blige, will have the opportunity to win eight Grammy awards for her album, The Breakthrough. If she wins, fine. If she loses, well, that too shall pass. For me, and other fans, MJB already has the greatest award: her life.She's been through so much in her 36 years. In a recent Parade magazine piece, she says: We lived in the ghetto ... I’d hear women screaming and running down the halls from guys beating up on them. People chased us with weapons. I never saw a woman there who wasn’t abused. It was a dangerous place. No one wanted anyone else to get ahead. When I was 5, sexual stuff was done to me. My mother was a single parent, a working woman. She left us with people she thought could be trusted. They hurt me. After that happened, I thought: ‘Is it somehow my fault?’ I've heard her say that before, but now I truly understand how it's shaped her music. She always sought love and wanted it so badly -- and the reality is, for me, her search and longing mimicked my own. When I first listened to "You Remind Me" and "Real Love" back in '92, it gave context to my own search for personal understanding and wondering about my inability to find the loving relationship that others seemed to have in abundance. Was it my fault? What's wrong with me?I've been lock and step with Mary ever since. Trading our pain and sorrow, hopelessly addicted to finding love in others. I begged like she did for someone to "Share My World" with no real concept of what would happen next (as expressed in "Seven Days"). When she hit bottom (in my opinion) with the instantly depressive Mary album (which is my favorite), it simply summed up everything: I am who I am. Who wants me? Though the light at the end of the tunnel peeked through with No More Drama and the poem on that album, Breakthrough is a testament that she is drinking her own Kool-Aid and lovin' every sip of it. For better ("MJB da MVP") or worse ("Father in You").So, it's not that the eight Grammy nominations mean Mary J. has arrived. She's already here. It means that she can truly enjoy the scenery -- win or lose -- because her music, her life, and her story prove that the greatest awards can be something that no man can give you.You earn it for yourself.Do the damn thang, Mary.

Progress After "The Soul Bowl"

Richard Thompson — Mon, 5 Feb 2007 11:05:57 EST

So, Tony Dungy won. And Lovie Smith lost. Or did he really?More than once, Super Bowl XLI has been characterized as a no-lose situation for African-Americans since either way one of our own will win the first Super Bowl for an African-American head coach.(For the record, I'm a Cowboys fan, which might not be a good thing since I like to do some ribbing. But I digress.) Before the game, I simply enjoyed being on the fence, not having to pick an allegiance - a task so ingrained in the American experience, acutely so for African-Americans. It was just nice to be able to watch without the weight of the whole race hanging in the balance. (Though, I must admit I pulled for the Bears because DE Mark Anderson and I are fraternity brothers; we pledged at the same chapter, though I was years before him. Suffice to say, some allegiances can't be forgotten.)In any event, during the game, I inwardly reflected much like Commercial Appeal editor of opinion and editorials Otis Sanford did in his column Sunday. It certainly felt like an Up From Slavery moment, a pivotal time for the consideration of African-American achievement much like when Booker T. Washington directed Negroes to cast down their buckets.How should younger African Americans follow Lovie's and Tony's example?In his column, Sanford writes about Fred Davis, an African-American pioneer in Memphis, Tennessee politics as well as a successful businessman. "Davis is proud of his role as a black pioneer in Memphis politics. But he speaks more fondly of his success in business and is quick to credit a white insurance executive, the late John Stuart Collier, who was his mentor."Sanford continued, "Politics historically has been a means for many African-Americans to crack racial and gender barriers, but our political leaders today have done a woeful job of mentoring and preparing the next generation of officeholders. 'We are not getting the best and brightest in public office,' Davis asserts." Sanford added that political appointments are often not done with consideration of who is the best qualified and voters can, at times, fail to pick the best candidate. That's why Sanford feels that the best hope for young African-American achievement lies within the business world, not politics.It's an interesting, but troublesome, conclusion. Here's a piece of the political landscape for African-Americans in Memphis: Dr. W.W. Herenton is on the cusp of his fifth term as city mayor and even the county mayor, A.C. Wharton, is African-American. In other words, African Americans are now an integral part of that political leadership. To that end, we, as African-Americans, are equally to blame now just as whites were when Davis opened doors if there is a problem with young African-Americans getting into politics. So, if there is never another Soul Bowl or African-American coach hired, African Americans need to also be held accountable - if not, moreso than the rest. We will have failed to prepare ourselves to continue to succeed in all facets of life.Waiting for white men to see and invest in our competence is now, as it should be, just an excuse.

On Corporate Media

Richard Thompson — Sun, 4 Feb 2007 07:27:11 EST

Earlier this week WMC Newschannel 5, the NBC affiliate in Memphis, kicked off the February ratings period with an "exclusive" feature: a patron in a McMinnville, Tennessee restaurant had taken cell phone photos of Mary Winkler on New Years. For the unfamiliar, Winkler is the preacher's wife accused of murdering her husband in Selmer, Tennessee and fleeing with her kids to Alabama last March. As she awaits trial, she's living with her kids in McMinnville, about four hours east of Selmer. Considering she's a preacher's wife, these photos were supposed to show a different side of Winkler. Instead of showing the grieving widow or allegedly abused wife who has been taken in and supported by good church folk, the photos were supposed to show how Winkler might be taking advantage of all that goodwill. They might, if the photos weren't so damn blurry. WMC says, “In the pictures featured [...] you can see her bellied up to a bar, cigarette in hand and a bottle of beer in front of her.” To be sure, you have to read between the lines: "the beer in front of her." After paying for these pictures, WMC could not confirm whether the beer actually belonged to Winkler, but the station tries to establish guilt by association nonetheless. Winkler's attorney denied the beer belonged to his client, and even if it did she wasn't violating the conditions of her release. She can drink, but not in excess. She was at a restaurant, not a bar. In the Memphis newspaper, Commercial Appeal, Winkler's attorney Steve Farese said, "It's like Mrs. Kravitz on Bewitched," referring to a character from the 1960s TV sitcom. "There's always some nosy neighbor who wants to gossip and make something out of nothing. That's the way the world is. People wanting to interject themselves into a story." This is particularly interesting, especially at a time when media outlets are encouraging citizens to contribute to the news. How should the media weed out people who simply want to "interject themselves"? Better yet, what extra work should the media do to make sure these citizen contributions are in proper context? WMC is pushing the powers that be to review the pictures and see if she did violate something. It's quite shameless for such a non-story. Unless Winkler is skimming cash from the register, selling laundered dresses out of the trunk of her car, or wildly gyrating as she karaokes "It's Hard Out Here For Pimp," then there's no story there at all. WMC's fellow Raycom Media station in Huntsville, Ala., WAFF-TV, ran the same story - same text, same sources, different reporter. (As an aside, WAFF's news director has been hired as WMC's new news director. Sada tai.) I'm used to corporate-owned radio stations deceiving their listeners by running national contests as if they were local, but I never expected two corporate owned TV stations to try and pull the same scam.