Journalisticks

JOURNALISTICKS.COM IS COMING SOON!

2007-01-11T06:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, we know it's been a minute but we've been busy legitimizing our game.

Journalisticks.com is Coming Soon!

And we are looking for you!

While we're diligently working to launch Journalisticks.com we are looking for fellow journalists to contribute original content.

Types of stories we are looking for:

Critiques of media coverage
Did you read a story that made you go "What the F@*%!"? Would you like to point out the holes in the article, contest the hypothesis or question the intent?

The Story Behind the Story
An editor or writer is interviewed on why they wrote/ran a specific story and reveal the challenges, reaction, controversy or idea that sparked it all.

Journalism as Activism
In light of the tragic Sean Bell murder, what are our responsibilities as journalists to make sure that stories that target our community don't fade from the page?

The Art of Branding
Now that we are a part of the "everybody is a star" generation should journalists step from behind the pen/computer/lens and become the story themselves? Is branding a necessity these days?

Send ideas and questions to:
Journalisticks@gmail.com
Feel Free to Forward!

Or check us out at myspace.com/journalisticks

Drop the Hip-Hop…We’re Just Journalists

2006-07-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

If you’ve taken offense to the title of this post you obviously haven’t been listening to the radio. The music that has lent itself to this over-populated genre of journalism isn’t what it used to be. To put it bluntly: HIP-HOP MUSIC IS WACK.

Haven’t you wondered why many of the heralded writers of yesterday have cashed out their Hip-Hop Journalist cards to become consultants, talking heads and (God forbid) authors of books that most people aren’t going to read?

We’re not saying that these folks aren’t talented. No, not at all. What we’ve refused to realize until now is that Hip-Hop has infiltrated the masses, which means that there are a lot more demands to supply. With more demand comes a decrease in quality. So, if you’ve gone to j-school and now find yourself trying to rationalize the impact of the fucking Chicken Noodle Soup song…something must not be right.

The door to the Hip-Hop journalism world is no longer protected with a velvet rope, discouraging wannabees from trying to infiltrate. The door is now a revolving one. Every doe-eyed kids who “wrote well” in high school and has an undying love for Hip-Hop but doesn’t know the founding elements is spewing their myopic views on life and music via blogs (like this one, but trust we have a substantial amount of dirt under our nails).

Before you go calling us traitors think about this:

For all the CDs you’ve copped for free, all the celebs you’ve interviews, all the “industry” parties you’ve attended, does any of that make you a good journalist? When you apply to a newspaper or non-urban magazine do you think they care that you had the exclusive Busta Rhymes interview?

Hell No!

So all’s we sayin’ is broaden your horizon. Don’t aspire to be apart of something that has limits. Pick up the Wall Street Journal every once in a while. Pitch to white magazines (the pay is WAY better anyway… trust us). Figure out a plan for yourself before the red light in the palm of you hand starts to blink.

Sidebar: Looks like now that DSW is callin’ the shots a lot of “seasoned” scribes are being nostalgic. How about looking for hot new talent instead of living in the past. This is a young man’s game—unfortunate but true.

Buy This Book:
Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete
By: William C. Rhoden

We want to hear from you!

2006-06-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

We know you ain't doing *ish but updating your friends on Myspace.

Take 5 minutes and share your $.02.

1 - What's the worst thing you've made an intern do?

2 - Name an editor you hate working with?

3 - Writer/Editor you'd most like to shag?

4 - Most overrated writer?

5 - Hottest up and coming talent?

6 - Everyday I'm hustling... Hardest working professional freelancer?

7 - Book you wish you wrote?

8 - What's your dream gig?

9 - Have you ever gotten tooclose to a celebrity subject?

10 - Knowing what you know now, do you STILL want to start your own publication?

EXTRA CREDIT:

How many of your co-workers are getting over?

So Many Critics, So Little Solutions

2006-06-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

mass medium

Function: noun

Definition: a medium of communication (as newspapers, radio, or television) that is designed to reach the mass of the people -- usually used in plural

crit·ic

Pronunciation: 'kri-tik

Function: noun

Definition 1 a : one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique b : one who engages often professionally in the analysis, evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances

2 : one given to harsh or captious judgment

******************************

Opinions are like….You know the rest. Now, imagine if just 2% of these baseless “media critics” who bash everything on newsstands used their time to create a publication or company to employ the qualified journalists and educate the clueless ones. Or is it just enough to spew incorrect information, hearsay and declarations that you are on a crusade to:

1: Make publications better

(How can you do that if you are only throwing stones from the outside?)

2: Get writers paid

(Why not get your bizness together, hire them and pay them yourself. Working hands get paid more than begging hands.)

In order for you to be a critic you have to have earned your stripes. Writing for allhiphop.com and having your byline on some music reviews does not make you a MEDIA CRITIC.

WE REPEAT:

Writing for allhiphop.com and having your byline on some music reviews does not make you a MEDIA CRITIC.

Also declaring yourself “Hip-Hop’s Best Kept Journalists” is a smack in the face of the REAL JOURNALISTS who continue to raise the bar that you ignorantly ignore.

This Week’s Suggested Reading:

Books:

BRONX BIANNUAL, Issue No. 1

The Journal of Urbane Urban Literature

Edited by: Miles Marshall Lewis

Magazine Articles:

The Offical Baby Daddy Handbook

By: Aliya S. King

KING (July/August)

We’re All Snitches

2006-05-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

USA TODAY

XXL - June 2006

Before you go reciting the code of the streets (a code, by the way, that has yet to be presented in written form and seems to change according to the ideology of the person who is using it in their defense) or calling the No-Snitch Patrol keep reading.

If you are a self-proclaimed writer, journalist, reporter, blogger, scribe, media critic…whatever you want to call it…you are indeed a Snitch. That is if you go off of the skewed definition being beat into our heads by Hip-Hop.

Think about it, we (yes, we are all in this together) get people to confide in us and then what do we do? Put it out there for everyone to read. We get artists in a comfort zone and before you know it they’re telling us about their drug habits and rented jewelry, child support cases and bad hair weaves. Police complain about the hood's unwillingness to cooperate yet journalists have no problem getting quotes from Taye Taye the neighborhood hustler. We make money of off their lives.

In essence, we are snitches.

We're baaaaaaaacck! Well, we will be soon.

2006-05-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

"It's been a long time, we shouldn't have left you without a smart blog to read from..."

New Journalisticks post coming soon.... We're not dead, just trying to make the real world a better place for Hip-Hop lovers offline.

2006-03-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Moments in Negro Journalism

Hey Ladies!
Jet Magazine, one of the bedrocks of Negro magazine journalism, has chronicled important issues within and pertaining to the black community. From the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Jet has always been there. But after 54 years it still hasn’t outgrown its perverted side—“Jet Beauty of the Week.” The predecessor to Black Tail, XXL’s Eye Candy, The Source’s Dimepiece and King. Black America never seems to get enough of it’s sistas who “love music, taking long walks and reading.” Maybe they will one day discover airbrushing.

Light Skinned News Anchors
Yeah, nowadays there are brothers and sistahs of all shades on the air. But back in the day (read: the ‘80s), it was hard for an African-American to make it on the network news—unless your name was Bryant Gumbel or Spencer Christian. Light-skinned, curly-haired brothers and sistahs dominated the airwaves. That all eventually changed…. Right?

Hip-Hop in CyberspaceThe internet boom of the 90’s didn’t exclude the sprawling world of Hip-Hop. From UBO (Urban Box Office, which of all things is now a Latin and Reggaeton web site!), Hookt.com, Russell Simmons' 360hiphop.com (holds the world record for crashing the most times in one day) and the future ass market BlackPlanet.com. Numerous up and coming as well as accomplished journalists (Want to name a couple?) fled their gigs for the internet—huge mistake!

Jason Blair Proves that Affirmative Actions Ain’t Always the Way to Go
Brother gets a job at one of the most prestigious newspapers in the world and what does he do? Set all black journalists back 10 years by lying to the white man. Jason, if you didn’t want to work, why take the job in the first place?

Earl Graves Bosses Up
After 38 years, Earl Graves’ Black Enterprise Magazine is the only magazine that teaches black folks how to make money, keep it, buy homes and builds a secure financial future for their families. So why aren’t more of us millionaires?

The Godfathers and Mother of This Here Game
Before the internet had us all going nuts and the radio waves became dominated with gossip, shock jocks and bad music the newspaper was the leading voice for us Negroes. Before the all-white newsrooms let us in the door there were dozens of black owned and operated newspapers that empowered, educated and entertained like The Chicago Defender (John Sengstacke), The California Eagle (Charlotta Bass), The Amsterdam News (James Henry Anderson) and The Pittsburgh Courier (Edwin Harleston).

Vibe Magazine—The Golden Years
The oversized magazine came into our lives at the right time. There seemed to be no one speaking to the R&B fans out there. And as hip-hop soul acts like Mary J. Blige and Jodeci came up, so too did Vibe. And while the magazine has changed focus—several times—depending on who was at the helm (Alan Light, Danyel Smith, Emil Wilberkin or Mimi Valdez), it seemed to be the only place where you could get the real on your favorite R&B stars. Vibe, where have ye gone?

BET Fires Tavis Smiley Then Cancels “BET Tonight”
We already know what you’re thinking… easy target. But in all honesty, BET does what it does and we get that. But what we don’t like is being teased and that’s just what they did with “BET Tonight.” Just when we go used to getting the biggest news in our community brought to us in a conversational manner by the verbose Mr. Smiley (sure he either cut off or talked over most guests but so what), he was gone. And after a series of failed guests hosts (including Kevin Powell, one of our hip-hop journalist heroes), we knew it was only matter of time before the show would go away as well. Only to make room for the Black Man’s answer to “Must See TV”… re-runs of “Amen” and “227.” At least now we have BET News updates in between videos.

“Strickly” For My Niggas
If the success of independent rap labels like Cash Money and No Limit (nice dancing P) taught us nothing, it taught us that “do it yourself’ ingenuity can take you far. Just look at the new subgenre of hip-hop magazines: gritty street mags. Endless tales of drug dealers, murders, snitches. You know who you are? Don Diva. F.E.D.S. Murder Dog. Sure, they all have loyal followings. What they don’t have, apparently, are credible copy editors or fact checkers. But it seems like their time to shine is fading with readers opting not to read but watch the same torrid tales on street DVDs.

Stay Tuned...

The Birth of a Journalism Genius

2006-03-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

In the wake of so many self-proclaimed and inexperienced media critics and bloggers staking their claim JOURNALISTICKS has emerged to settle the score.

We are literary purists.

We want the age of GOOD JOURNALISM and GREAT WRITERS to return.

JOURNALISTICKS is a movement.
Either you are with us or you will be erased.

Let this forever be known as the day that Journalism got its swagger back.

Stay Tuned...

Sincerly,

journalisticks

Write. Edit. Life.

http://www.myspace.com/journalisticks