Friday, January 30, 2009
Scene Called Racist for Steve Ganaway Cover Story, Illustration
Posted by PJ Tobia on Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 11:00 AM
"That article was very, very racist, very, very inappropriate and very, very ignorant...You should be ashamed of yourself," says one loyal reader. Another reader I spoke with says that the cover art (pictured right) is offensive because it portrays Ganaway as a gangster, even though that's exactly what cops say he is.
This reader also says that the story was the talk of 92Q FM, and was even read aloud during an afternoon broadcast yesterday. She says that the story was especially offensive because the Scene so rarely covers Nashville's black community and the one time we do run a story about that community the coverage is negative.
While I disagree with all of these sentiments, that last statement particularly bothers me. At the risk of doing the journalistic equivalent of saying "But I've got black friends," I'd like to point out that in the past two years I've written three cover stories on black Nashvillians, to say nothing this story from '06 about a legendary former Black Panther who lost his job amidst accusations of racism at a local non-profit.
Sure, the Scene could do more to cover every community in Nashville, but I think our track record isn't nearly as bad as the folks who've called me believe.
Comments (9)
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The accusation that the Scene devotes little attention to Nashville's black community is not a new one. So I was intrigued by the claim of 3 cover stories in the past two years, which didn't quite jibe with my own recollection.
Turns out that two of these cover stories were about Titans' players, Albert Haynesworth and Jevon Kearse. The third is about a Vanderbilt law professor. While, strictly speaking, these are all "black Nashvillians," I think most people would consider it a great stretch to claim that profiling these three celebrities (none of whom are from here originally) comes close to covering the life of Nashville's black community.
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Scooby,
Yes, we did. And in 2007 our Nashvillian of the Year was Clemmie Greenlee.
too bad the callers weren't conservatives instead of blacks, you could've avoided this post and proceeded to not give a damn what they think.
The daily papers were guilty of a lot of exclusivity and outright racism, so by the time I came along, we got a lot of training in sensitivity and inclusion. So perhaps I'm hypersensitive, but when I saw the illustration of the Superfly-mobile, my first thought was, "Uh oh. I hope that's really what his car looks like, or there will justifiably be brickbats for stereotyping."
So is it? His car, I mean?
Anon:
Actually it’s a hearse. In the story—which I’m sure you’ve read—we mention that Ganaway owns a funeral home. In fact, all of the items on the cover come from the story. The stacks of cash are mentioned in police reports, the gun is from when Ganaway shot a man in the gut, the street sign represents the corner on which he lived as a child (and where his office is now,) the record album is for his record company, and he favors the kind of sharp, double-breasted suits he’s wearing in the illustration.
Hope that helps. Brickbats though? Seriously?
Well, while you are busy trying to tear down this mans charcter, go look at the channel 4 news that aired tonight about a certain law firm that you were suppose to be writing about in the first place..
Some of you reporters make others look really bad.....
Who cares what the police think...they well say just about anything to prove a case in some instances......
I don't think that it is racist, but I do think that was done to portray a one-sided negative depiction of him, that didn't work, becuase anyone that truly knows this man, doesn't believe the hype, his past is just that, his past.
One of the biggest problems with America today as a whole, is the need to hang a persons past over them for the duration of their life.
You are one sad indiviual........
