Magic Johnson to launch a black television network

[Lkr]

CEO of Apple Tim Cook wants young white people to understand how to build computers better so he moves the plant back to America and only hires white employees.

 

Is it different?

This doesn't say blacks only. Like I said, he's not going to deny a good show made by a white person.

[Lkr]

http://online.wsj.com/article/APd9c80dc8d8fd4dbf9820de46a7deec8d.html

 

Woah they're letting hispanics own TV networks now too! stop discriminating against me!!!

Edited February 22, 2012 by Lkr

[Flash]

you can look up to people of other races but it is easier to look up to someone similar to you. notice the Chinese Americans and Taiwanese americans embracing lin the most? And please elaborate on someone being discriminated against for being white

 

http://www.cnn.com/2...tion/index.html

 

 

That article offers both sides of the argument so you decide on what you believe. However, lets be honest...whites are fair game in the media and in pop culture for everyone but if a white makes a joke about blacks or hispanics they're gonna have to issue a public apology within 24 hours.

 

As for the Magic Johnson thing..honestly I stand by my comment earlier that there's no need for an entire channel dedicated to celebrating a specific culture...especially when there's one that already does that. If you can come up with a good TV show it shouldn't matter what race you are because it'll be recognized. All the shows that RD mentioned were shows that people of both races grew up watching including myself so its no coincidence that they were all on either NBC, CBS, ABC or Fox.

 

In terms of Jeremy Lin, I think that's a story that everyone is embracing to be honest but I haven't really looked into who's behind him the most.

 

Finally, when it talks about shows "written, directed and produced by blacks"...that right there already sounds like what ECN was saying and so does this:

 

 

He also wants the 24-hour channel to also offer opportunities for black people who have struggled to find work in mainstream Hollywood

 

 

What about all the other white/hispanics struggling to find work in Hollywood? Should we just make a channel celebrating white history and achievement so they can find work? The idea is just ridiculous IMO.

This thread should also get moved to the lounge.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Flash

[Universe]

This doesn't say blacks only. Like I said, he's not going to deny a good show made by a white person.

Neither does Tim Cook but all he does is hire 99.9% white,

 

Clearly you don't mind being called white or black. We are humans and I just wish morons like Magic Johnson would use words like underprivileged or phrase it better. Racism is never going to go away unless people realize what they are doing on this planet.

[EastCoastNiner]

1) When you're adding a topic in one of the team forums, or basketball forums, make sure you're not putting your opinion in the title. Everything basketball goes to the Twitter feed, automatically. That's why I ask that titles are non-biased and to the point.

 

2) Who cares what Magic is doing? Back when I was young, I was watching shows (some reruns) that were "all black" because they were good for TV.

 

Family Matters

Good Times

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Sanford and Son

Cosby Show

The Jeffersons

Martin

 

Those shows were awesome. My parents watched some of those in the 70's (such as the Jeffersons), and back then, nobody gave a damn. There were probably more whites tuning in and watching, to be honest.

 

One of my favorite shows to watch on TV was "In Living Color" back when I was in grade school, because it was hilarious comedy. The only white actor (that was featured) was a very young Jim Carrey, and one original white actress (Kelly Coffield Park) through five seasons.

 

I sense political ties in this topic, by the way...which is expected, when you consider the subject at hand.

 

Personally, I don't have a problem if a company hires people based on certain factors if they think it will give their company the greatest chance to be successful. However, that's not how it is today because of the Civil Rights Act. You can't just come out and blatantly say that you're hiring black people for your station, while making it sound like you will choose them over white people.

 

This isn't an exact parallel, but it's well known that you have (assuming you still do) a problem/disability with one of your eyes. What would you think if a company came out and said, "We're only hiring people with perfect 20/20 vision, regardless of them having glasses or not"? Or, if you're in a wheelchair, are you going to be content with a company saying they'll be "hiring people that can walk on their own" when it's a cubicle job? As I said, those situations aren't exact parallels, but both race and disabilities are clearly defined in the Civil Rights Act.

[Real Deal]

This isn't an exact parallel, but it's well known that you have (assuming you still do) a problem/disability with one of your eyes. What would you think if a company came out and said, "We're only hiring people with perfect 20/20 vision, regardless of them having glasses or not"? Or, if you're in a wheelchair, are you going to be content with a company saying they'll be "hiring people that can walk on their own" when it's a cubicle job? As I said, those situations aren't exact parallels, but both race and disabilities are clearly defined in the Civil Rights Act.

Unfortunately for your argument, Magic didn't come out and say that he would. The station itself would promote the work of black men and women...the work of black men and women, meaning, shows and series produced by them. That doesn't mean that all shows, and anyone working for the channel for that matter, would only be one race.

 

None of that relates to what you're asking me about my eyes, but I'll dig into that as well. I have absolutely no vision in my left eye, doesn't matter what I do or wear...glasses won't help. If a company requires 20/20 vision in both eyes, I'm screwed, and I accept that. I believe you have to have 20/20 uncorrected to be a military pilot. So what?

 

Magic's "company" (channel) promotes the work of black men and women. The requirement to get your show listed is, well, to be black. Doesn't mean you (a white guy) won't get hired to work on a set of his talk show he'll more than likely have on it, or hired to work for the channel doing whatever.

 

I really don't see what the big deal is, and not because it's Magic (because I really don't give a damn about him, aside from what he did as a Laker), but because it's a television channel that will more than likely be like BET (targeting the black community, had to elaborate), something that doesn't bother me as well.

 

If Larry Bird did this for white guys, I wouldn't care, either...and it would still be a go, regardless of how much criticism it would receive. As you can see, Magic is already getting criticized for this...and he will for years. There really would be no difference.

 

This isn't why racism exists. Racism exists as long as the human race does, and it's because people will always be judged by their looks, which includes their skin color. MLK didn't end racism, and neither did Malcolm X, and it's not always about the black man or woman, either. A white man can turn down an Asian worker because of his race, as quick as a black man could turn down a white man for the same reason.

 

What DOES sting, though, is making a big deal out of things like this. As long as it's not encouraging terrorism or illegal activities, anyone with the money and showing a demand with a legitimate idea can produce a channel.

 

Why won't a white man do something similar? Because, honestly, it would be no different than most of the popular channels, and would quickly fail. I'm sure there are far more white producers than there are black, and channels like TNT, TBS, FX, and USA (national channels that provide movies and shows frequently) would bury it within the year...what would really be the game-changer? Assuming it was a premium channel, it would never stack up to HBO, Cinemax, Showtime or Starz...and that's why you don't see very many successful movie channels popping out of nowhere and going big.

 

I pay around $140 a month for hundreds of channels on my TV (and internet). Skipping over Magic's channel (if I wanted to) would be no different than me skipping over Lifetime, or Oprah's channel, or C-SPAN.

[Lkr]

Neither does Tim Cook but all he does is hire 99.9% white,

 

Clearly you don't mind being called white or black. We are humans and I just wish morons like Magic Johnson would use words like underprivileged or phrase it better. Racism is never going to go away unless people realize what they are doing on this planet.

Things in the US are never going to be as good as Canada when it comes to bigotry and racism. That is the bottom line. I have heard people bitch about the NBA doing their Latino Nights before, because "this is america and we speak english." That is the stupidity of some people in this country. In all honesty, we are all people, but different races and different nationalities have some unique cultural practices. I am just stating the obvious when I say there is a clear difference between growing up in a black household and growing up in a white household. For starters, look at the large gap between median income between black and white households from 2006:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104552.html

Here is the median income in 2009: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0695.pdf

 

I know we are all humans, but there are obvious divides in society. I don't agree with them, but they are there. I don't have a problem with a guy like Magic Johnson trying to improve the lives of the black youth. When you realize that a greater percentage of black children grow up under the poverty line than white children when looking at a fair sample size, you realize that these kids do have different environments when growing up. Yes, there are white children who grow up in a similar or worse atmosphere, don't get me wrong. Magic is trying to give these kids tv characters to aspire to be like that are similar to them and send a positive message. As a white child in the United States, I grew up watching Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood. A lot of the stuff in this show applies to EVERYONE, but if I grew up in the inner city, I would never be able to relate to the things he discussed, because it was aimed at children growing up in the suburbs.

 

I really didn't want to touch on this, but your Apple argument is flawed in the sense that Apple is a multibillion dollar corporation, and Magic Johnson is trying to provide diversity programming on television. No one is stopping white people from watching this channel or producing content for this channel, but at the end of the day, I'm not sure if many white people would be interested in it, because it is not catered towards them. The same way that CMT, BET, cable news, etc don't cater towards me in a way. You don't see me getting mad because CNN and Fox News hire people of a certain political bias to be commentators on their network.

 

Was Bill Cosby in the wrong for hiring a bunch of relatively unknown black actors to star in the Cosby Show, which is one of the most successful television shows of all time? No. Was it wrong of him to create the show Fat Albert, which was targeted towards the black youth, to send motivational and encouraging messages? No. The messages in both of those shows still applies to everyone, and they are allowed to be watched by anyone, just like this show. TCS is also interesting to study, because people were taken aback at the time of the thought of a *gasp* successful black family living in the suburbs. Thankfully, that show was able to show that black families are indeed not much different from white families, and hopefully Magic's channel will have similar content to reinforce that message

 

bee tee dubs, i don't think we should compare Magic's network to BET, because I believe he wants it to be the opposite

Edited February 22, 2012 by Lkr

[Real Deal]

bee tee dubs, i don't think we should compare Magic's network to BET, because I believe he wants it to be the opposite

Well, right, lol. I meant in a sense that it targets the black community.

[Lkr]

isn't oxygen, lifetime, etc meant to target women?

[Real Deal]

isn't oxygen, lifetime, etc meant to target women?

Yep. Must mean I could never be in those movies, or be employed by Lifetime. I'm pissed.

[Guru]

Fun fact: My parents bought my current house from Rudy Huxtable aka Keshia Knight Pulliam's parents right before she went on the Cosby Show.

[EastCoastNiner]

isn't oxygen, lifetime, etc meant to target women?

 

 

Yep. Must mean I could never be in those movies, or be employed by Lifetime. I'm pissed.

 

That has nothing to do with anything. His comment had nothing to do with "targeting" an audience. He said he was going to hire black writers and producers, while pretty much saying he was going to do that based upon race, which, in case you didn't know, it not legal.

 

You both know you aren't making sense with your lifetime network comments and crap like that. You're making no sense at all, and both of you sure as hell know that.

[EastCoastNiner]

isn't oxygen, lifetime, etc meant to target women?

 

Can you find a quote where it states that lifetime is going to hire women to write and produce their shows?

[Lkr]

pretty sure most people that write that crap would HAVE to be women. can you show me where magic says he is only hiring black people?

[Lkr]

ECN, how pissed off do you get at amusement parks when handicapped people get to cut you in all the lines?

[NomarFachix]

You both know you aren't making sense

You're making no sense at all, and both of you sure as hell know that.

Redundant redundancy is redundant

[EastCoastNiner]

ECN, how pissed off do you get at amusement parks when handicapped people get to cut you in all the lines?

 

What does that have to do with anything? That's a ridiculously stupid comparison to race and sex. You couldn't have tried to give a worse example.

 

How much do I care that major businesses have to provide reasonable access for employees with a disability? I have little problem with that because it's the LAW, something you still have no grasp on.

 

I'll help you out. Go read about the Civil Right's act and tell me about it. Once you read it (because you obviously haven't before), you'll realize how dumb you sound.

 

Seriously, comparing handicap people having their own lane or quicker access to a person saying that they're going to be hiring black people to write their scripts and direct their programs is flat out dumb. i don't have to see Magic Johnson say, "I'm only hiring black people" because his quote and the context of it says that already.

[JYD]

I can't wait to see the network. ECN can suck a dick

[DunkinDerozan]

surprised this thread isn't closed yet lol

[Lkr]

What does that have to do with anything? That's a ridiculously stupid comparison to race and sex. You couldn't have tried to give a worse example.

 

How much do I care that major businesses have to provide reasonable access for employees with a disability? I have little problem with that because it's the LAW, something you still have no grasp on.

 

I'll help you out. Go read about the Civil Right's act and tell me about it. Once you read it (because you obviously haven't before), you'll realize how dumb you sound.

 

Seriously, comparing handicap people having their own lane or quicker access to a person saying that they're going to be hiring black people to write their scripts and direct their programs is flat out dumb. i don't have to see Magic Johnson say, "I'm only hiring black people" because his quote and the context of it says that already.

You didn't answer my question

[Flash]

http://www.cnn.com/2...tion/index.html

 

 

That article offers both sides of the argument so you decide on what you believe. However, lets be honest...whites are fair game in the media and in pop culture for everyone but if a white makes a joke about blacks or hispanics they're gonna have to issue a public apology within 24 hours.

 

As for the Magic Johnson thing..honestly I stand by my comment earlier that there's no need for an entire channel dedicated to celebrating a specific culture...especially when there's one that already does that. If you can come up with a good TV show it shouldn't matter what race you are because it'll be recognized. All the shows that RD mentioned were shows that people of both races grew up watching including myself so its no coincidence that they were all on either NBC, CBS, ABC or Fox.

 

In terms of Jeremy Lin, I think that's a story that everyone is embracing to be honest but I haven't really looked into who's behind him the most.

 

Finally, when it talks about shows "written, directed and produced by blacks"...that right there already sounds like what ECN was saying and so does this:

 

 

 

 

What about all the other white/hispanics struggling to find work in Hollywood? Should we just make a channel celebrating white history and achievement so they can find work? The idea is just ridiculous IMO.

This thread should also get moved to the lounge.

[Flash]

You didn't answer my question

 

That's your only response to what he wrote?

[Lkr]

That's your only response to what he wrote?

i was just asking a simple yes/no question, he implied a bunch of shit that wasn't there.

[EastCoastNiner]

i was just asking a simple yes/no question, he implied a bunch of shit that wasn't there.

 

I don't get mad because I know they are handicap and don't have the same abilities as most people, and it would be ineffective to have them in the same lines as people without a disability. They would not be able to stand in line the same amount of time as a fully bodies person without needing some help.

 

Your point?

[Flash]

I don't get mad because I know they are handicap and don't have the same abilities as most people, and it would be ineffective to have them in the same lines as people without a disability. They would not be able to stand in line the same amount of time as a fully bodies person without needing some help.

 

Your point?

 

There was no point. He just had to deflect and resort to childish shit like that as usual.