Foreign Coverage?

From a series at Salon.com described as "The latest installment of a continuing series in which American events are described using the tropes and tone normally employed by the American media to describe events in other countries" comes the following analysis of the NY Times/Abramson firing debacle:

"Once considered a regional media outlet for the city whose name it still anachronistically bears, the New York Times has long been a national force, though it is primarily consumed by the economic elites who cluster in the coastal metropolitan areas of this economically stratified country...Reports have since emerged that Abramson may have been paid less than her male predecessor, and that some in the paper’s leadership may have resented her aggressive style. While the laws of this rapidly modernizing country outlaw gender discrimination in compliance with international norms, inequalities rooted in centuries-old patriarchal practices still persist, even in elite institutions, and those who challenge these unwritten rules can face severe backlash." - Josh Keating via Slate

That's right folks! "Inequalities rooted in centuries-old patriarchal practices still persist, even in elite institutions..." and we should all be ashamed. #Pushy.

#Pushy

Abramson Fired

A prominent New York media observer wrote in a recent post, Why Jill Abramson Was Fired, that former NY Times editor Jill Abramson was fired, in part, because she inquired as to pay discrepancies between her remuneration and that of her male predecessor:

"...Abramson discovered that her pay and her pension benefits as both executive editor and, before that, as managing editor were considerably less than the pay and pension benefits of Bill Keller, the male editor whom she replaced in both jobs. “She confronted the top brass,” one close associate said, and this may have fed into the management’s narrative that she was “pushy,” a characterization that, for many, has an inescapably gendered aspect." 

I will wait to hear from Ms. Abramson herself before tearing the NYT a new one. In the Twitter feed of Solange Knowles (I know, right?) lies this gem: "Yo. I don't believe in violence but I almost beat someone's ass tonight. Lot a bit of Martin, but a lot a bit of Malcom" (via Huffington Post). As white as I am, I know the feeling well.

This Lifetime

See more: Unbelievably Sexist Ads From Classic Magazines via Buzzfeed

Women's Magazines

I'm an old now but when I was young I quit reading women's magazine's (when I was premenstrual especially) because they made me feel shitty about myself. Not surprised - but still mad and sad - to see that few things have changed. So You Think Women's Magazines Aren't That Bad? Bullshit - The Vagenda

I still don't read women's magazines for pretty much the same reason(s) though thankfully, premenstruality new word is a thing of the past. The through-line is that women's magazines - in fact pretty much most media- is designed to arouse desire in their readers, which translates into ad revenues. In other words, as my dear Dad used to say, "FOLLOW THE MONEY".

Furthermore, the name of the website where I found the essay, The Vagenda, is such gorgeously punful new word wordplay that it brings tears of delight to my eyes.

Time Cover

"Beyoncé, Time magazine's Most Influential Person of 2014, covers the issue in what appears to be a bathing suit covered by a sheer shift. That's annoying on many levels. Why is the most influential person of the year half-clothed? As Brogan Driscoll at Huffington Post observed,

"Thigh-high boots, corsets, the teeniest of short shorts may be Beyoncé's look du jour, but do they really have a place on Time magazine's cover?...Bey says Time magazine's recognition is important 'because it's not about fashion or beauty or music; it's about the influence I've had on culture.' So why does she have to come half-dressed?"

There are three other alternate covers for the Most Influential Person of 2014 issue: Robert Redford, Jason, Collins, and Mary Barra, all of whom are fully clothed. I could not resist painting them all with the same brush, so to speak. Below is Bey's cover.

Bey's cover style modeled by Jason Collins

Bey's cover style modeled by Robert Redford

Bey's cover style modeled by Mary Barra