This morning I drove to Ledyard street in Detroit's Cass Corridor to meet with MI Chronicle Editor Bankole Thompson. Thompson had agreed to an interview with us about his weekly news paper's new position that calls on Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to step down. The story was going to be a web-only exclusive on the ABJ blog. However, by the time I arrived the Chronicle's big boss, Sam Logan had squashed all media interviews. Logan does not want to give the appearance that the Chronicle is piling on the mayor. It's a missed opportunity for our web viewers and the news paper.
By any measure, the Chronicle calling for the mayor to step down is a big deal. As I spoke to Thompson on the street in front of Chronicle headquarters his cell phone rang at least 15 times.Local and national media are buzzing about the Chronicle.
Critics of the Chronicle point to the paper's earlier position that called for letting the legal process play out and the fact that the city of Detroit and the Mayor make media buys in the weekly as signs that the paper has sold out. Today's headline may be late in coming but it's still a big blow to the mayor.
The black media has historically been a place where black leadership could get a fair hearing. When the so-called mainstream media is ready to throw them under the bus, they could rest assured that we would give them a chance to tell their side of the story. A fair hearing is not a free pass or an opportunity to pander to black folks. The Chronicle's action is a clear signal that whatever pass Mayor Kilpatrick thought he had has been revoked.
Tony Mottley is the producer of American Black Journal.
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