Trophy - Julie Rybarczyk (CC)

In the category of Investigative/enterprise:
First place to Jill King Greenwood for “Epidemic,” an examination of the causes and effects of black-on-black homicides.

Is this a real surprise? The article talks a lot of the black on black violence that occurs in the inner city. If we were to write about the black on white violence we would be called racist for bringing it up. The story goes on to talk about how drugs are what caused the decline in the inner city neighborhood, mainly blaming crack cocaine. We also get a comparison to the number of black men killed by the Klan over the years. The story goes on to tell of a young black man trying to avoid the street gangs that roam the streets like packs of wolves looking for a victim. I can’t leave out the part that says how “going to jail is like getting a college degree” and “It’s considered a badge of honor to shoot someone or go to jail”. Finally, I have to mention the hero, Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper, a black man that spent most of his career on the streets as a narcotics investigator. I have to ask, when you read the story does it really tell us any information that we don’t already know?

In the category of Spot news story: First place goes to Jeremy Boren and Adam Brandolph for “Mother alleges son brutalized by police.”

When dealing with awards to honor excellence in journalism coverage of the African-American community we have to have a case of police brutality and this is that story. An 18-year-old black male was beaten by 3 police officers after not complying with their orders. Well that is no surprise there but this story has a twist. The teen in question here had performed for the First Lady Michelle Obama during one of her visits to Pittsburgh. The incident took place in the Homewood section of the city at 11:00 PM in a poorly lit area. For those of you that may not be familiar with the City of Pittsburgh let me explain it to you in simple easy to understand terms. I am legally permitted to carry a concealed weapon and I do very often. You would not catch me walking the streets of Homewood anytime of day and I try to avoid driving through that area as well. In the end though all charges were dropped against the teen and all 3 officers were reinstated to their regular assignments after the U.S. Department of Justice declined to prosecute them. So a story of no wrong doing and no guilty parties won an award.

In the category of News feature: First place goes to Margaret Harding for “Living with homicide”

After some research I was unable to locate this article so in all fairness I will not comment on it.

In the category of Feature story: First place goes to Chris Togneri for “Glimmers of hope”.

This is honestly a good story of one man’s idea with the help of God trying to make change. The Imani Christian Academy takes troubled kids that no other school wants and tries to make something out of them. This is great, one man working to make a change and truly is. However, I noticed in the video with the article all of the students shown are African-American. Well, I guess that is to be expected when you’re dealing with troubled inner city youth. But I have to ask, what if this was an all white school? Oh yes, the federal government would step in and scream that we can’t have an all white school, they must be intermixed to make it politically correct. Now maybe I am wrong and the Imani Christian Academy has a few white students and they just were not shown in this article so that the writer could win an award so he and his employer could not be called racist. I do wish the best of luck to the leaders of the Imani Christian Academy.

In the category of Sports feature: First place goes to Scott Brown for “Second chance”

Again, I was unable to locate this particular story. When searching for it I located numerous stories by Mr. Brown in regards to second chances. So once again in all fairness, I will not pick this article apart.

In the category of Column: First place goes to Nafari Vanaski for “Should anyone use the ‘n-word’?”

Um yeah…..okay after reading this article I am kind of at a loss for words. Really? Writer Nafari Vanaski got an award for telling us something that every white person in America already knows? FACT: If a white person says the “n-word” in any context we are racist. It’s okay for African-American people to use it as the third word of every sentence but if a white person says it one time he must be a member of the Klan right? In fact, I am pretty sure that if I even spell the “n-word” out in this article I will get yelled at by the people above me so I won’t use it (this is very difficult for me to do being I normally speak my mind not caring who I upset along the way). But I promise I won’t do it even though I am tempted. On that note, being the proud white male that I am I have to ask. Why is it okay for African-Americans to use terms such as “Cracker”, “Honkey”, “Whitey”, “White bread”, “Wonder bread”, “Wood”, and “woodie”? I as a proud white American male am offended by these words. Oh that’s right; I forgot we don’t matter because we are “white devils”. There are many more names white people are called but I didn’t want to waste your time by listing them all. I mean really, I will guess that 99% of you that are reading this are “crackers” and know the other names we are called. But then again stating the obvious has once again won another award for the Tribune-Review and that makes them less racist. Does writing about this whole thing make me more racist?

In the category of News photo: First place goes to Andrew Russell for “Family braces for horrifying news”

If I come across as a cold hearted person here, I don’t mean too. I’m sure the people in this award winning photograph just found out some of the worst news they will ever receive. However, if it was white people in the photograph would the pictures still have won an award? Do the people grieving in these photographs know that one of the worst moments of their lives was caught on film and won an award? You want to see grieving blacks? Turn on the 6:00 news. You want to see grieving white people? Turn on the 6:00 news. I’m sorry but these photographs didn’t say anything to me. The first thing I noticed was the Steeler jersey. I don’t know maybe I am wrong, do white folks grieve? I’m sorry but, if my family is grieving and I see some clown taking our picture, all he is going to get is a close up of my fist into his camera. Many times I have been tempted.

And finally, in the category of Business news: Second place goes to Chris Ramirez for “Curiosity spurs a Roots cause”

Once again I am unable to locate this story, so being the nice guy that I am, I will leave it alone.

Now as a proud and loud white American male, would happen if I created the David E. Duke White Journalism Competition? To start things off I am pretty sure I would have a long line of people calling me many of the racial white discriminatory names that I listed above. While that does not bother me, I am bothered by the fact that I can not be a proud white. What bothers me even more is that media both written and broadcasted have to prove that they are not racist. Why is it necessary for media to prove they are not racist? In fact, I feel it makes them more racist, yes that’s right. They are bending over backwards to show the black communities and African-American Organizations that they are not racist against blacks but end up leaving the white people in the back of the bus. Yes I am aware that it’s no longer the 1940’s and that in the 1960’s there was a civil rights movement giving African-Americans their rights but what about my rights? What about the right of every American to vote? When President Obama ran for his current office the Black Panthers intimidated many white voters in Philadelphia. The outcome of this was nothing. Americans once were tough and strong people but much of that America no longer exists. Today, too many Americans are more concerned about what other people think and do. If something goes wrong we blame the system. We must be politically correct. Well, if that’s the way you want it then let’s be correct. I am sorry to tell the African-American people that you are not the minority. In fact, the real group of minority people in America today is the American Indians. Yes, that’s right. In fact, I am sorry to tell the African-American people this but if any group of people have a right to be pissed of at white people it’s the American Indians. They led a simple easy life until we took over their land forced them into reservations, introduced them to disease and almost forced them into extinction. It is because of the white man that the American Indians became very angry people wanting to fight off the white man.

While the white man or the politically correct term European Americans may be the majority in America, we are made to feel as the minority. We have to watch the communities we go into, watch the words we use, we can’t celebrate being proud of our white heritage and we have to bend over backwards to prove that we are not racist. Thanks to groups such as the Pittsburgh Black Media Foundation they have made the task of proving you are not racist easier. As a proud white male I will continue to show my pride. While my family fought for the South in the War for Southern Independence and they were not slave owners I will continue to show my pride in my ancestors standing up and fighting for their land, the land they worked hard to get and keep. I believe in writing the truth. I believe in telling stories and history the way they are meant to be told. I will not write a story that I don’t believe in and I won’t write it to be politically correct. I will tell you it as it is no matter who I upset. Much of the media in America today have lost track of this. They are so worried about what other people will think that the truth gets lost. I am what I am and if that makes me a racist because I am proud of my heritage than so be it, call me what you want. I will promise you this, no matter what color your skin I will tell you when you are wrong and when you are right. With what the media is doing today, I say it is wrong. If a young black man is beaten by three police officers don’t twist it into a hate crime. The facts are the facts. He didn’t obey the orders he was given by the officers and he resisted them. I don’t care what color your skin is, if you resist them they have the right to use force. When those same three officers are cleared of all charges then the same media that accused them of brutality should print that they were cleared. When I searched the story of “Mother alleges son brutalized by police” I found it all over the internet in a matter of seconds. However, when I tried to find out what happen with the three officers involved, well that took a little longer to find. This kind of stuff doesn’t just happen with newspapers such as the Tribune-Review, its all of the news media. Fox News calls themselves “Fair and Balanced”. Well, while I do watch a lot of Fox News I am sorry to tell you that you are not always fair and balanced. I am sorry to inform the media that none of you are fair and balanced. Every news media outlet out there sways to one side or the other. I will give Fox credit; they are fairer and more balanced than many of the news media companies out there. Someone once said, “The truth hurts”. They are very right and maybe that is why the media wants to try to make everyone happy so they don’t hurt people’s feelings. Maybe this is what has led many Americans to become weaker as people. Maybe the media feels that by being politically correct nobody will get hurt. Well, let me tell you this, hurting people’s feelings is what toughens them up.

In closing I would like to congratulate the winners of the 2011 I Am Not a Racist Awards. I hope that every night you go to bed telling yourself that you are not a racist and I hope that you don’t dislocate your shoulder patting yourselves on the back for proving it. I want the winners to remember one thing, while you are writing to prove what you are or are not and working on winning your fancy awards there are people like me working in the shadows to spread the truth. The people like me that are not afraid to tell people the way it is no matter what color of skin they may have. If you are right we will tell you and if you are wrong we will call you on it and if we hurt your feelings, well maybe that’s because the truth hurts and you need to toughen up a little bit.

Now, I understand that it’s neat to see the bizarre laws we have all over this country (and I’ll get into the ones in the ‘burgh in a moment), but I still think that the fact we have our own language sets our city apart from the rest on the sanity scale. Pittsburghese – the slang that is found throughout the Pittsburgh Metro area, and is actually documented in a book – is definitely something that can be considered at least a little crazy. The history behind many of the terms that I try very hard not to use is at the very least, creative.

To be fair, at least the folks at the Daily Beast gave a pictorial nod to our obsession with all things black and gold, particularly where the Steelers are concerned. It’s not a celebration in the ‘burgh without a Steeler Santa – except for on St. Patrick’s Day, when we have Santa wearing the green!

As for picking the law against sleeping on refrigerators, I guess that’s alright, but our law against bringing a donkey or a mule on a trolley car is much more bizarre. It brings new meaning to Trolley from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, that’s for sure! Personally, I also would have preferred someone poking fun at the Commonwealth laws on the sale of alcohol. Maybe one day our legislators will figure out it’s time to move into the 20th century where that’s concerned – hopefully before the 22nd century, that is!

All I can say is “Yoi!” Am I glad that we can officially say the City of Brotherly Love is crazier than the ‘burgh! They beat us by 12 places, coming in 6th! Take that, Governor Rendell!!

During the snow storms, Pittsburgh has been faced with severe problems with snow removal – a situation that resulted in one particularly disturbing tragedy. A woman tried ten times to get an ambulance to assist her common law husband during the storm. Pittsburgh EMS failed to respond, and the man died.

The 30-year-old Mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl, has been hounded by local journalists throughout the situation – some may say that is the direct result of his being snowed in at a local ski resort when the storm first hit. Regardless of the reasoning, the situation hit a fevered pitch yesterday when Ravenstahl was apparently unavailable to the press or certain city officials throughout the day. Rumors of his taking a trip to New Orleans hit the streets, and snowballed. The end result was a brow-beating of the press late in the day.

Instead of thinking that Ravenstahl may have been meeting privately with officials about the death of a resident – the very story that the press undoubtedly wanted more information from the Mayor in the first place – journalists bought into the rumors. When City Council members implied that Ravenstahl was being negligent during a state of emergency because he was unavailable to them, journalists didn’t think twice about it, and kept the rumor mill turning. If any of them did think about it, and realize that Council members are entitled to briefings, but don’t actually “do” anything when it comes to emergency situations, they didn’t seem to bother saying that publicly.

The real story of the day was that Ravenstahl met with his public safety director to decide what the city should do next, as far as the tragic death of that resident was concerned. The press conference that degraded into the lecture to the press by the mayor was about that issue, and was handled as well as it could have been. The city officially apologized to the family, and stated that there would be an investigation and reevaluation of the city’s emergency procedures.

The whole situation was the direct result of Ravenstahl making himself unavailable to the press. The Mayor’s detractors – including those holding office – may very well have been the sources of the rumors. In hindsight, some journalists are considering the entire situation just a ploy. Perhaps it was, and perhaps it was a little bit deeper. Maybe Ravenstahl was taking the opportunity to see who would make something out of nothing. Whether or not that was his intent, he undoubtedly learned quite a bit about both the Pittsburgh media and members of his administration and City Council. One can hope that everyone learned the lesson he was trying to teach – while he is a public servant, he is not meant to be available to everyone at every moment. It’s pretty hard to do your job when you’re constantly being stopped to tell the press about what you’re doing.

I snapped a few pictures as they approached, and then talked for a short time with one of them. It was a colorful group, literally – Tibetan flags and gold t-shirts. Others in the group noticed my interest, and offered pamphlets and cause bracelets as they passed.

It was largely business as usual on the rest of CMU campus at that time. Security was a little more visible than usual, but not obtrusively so. The students had displays in the quad, and some were selling G-20 themed shirts. Two appeared nearby selling white shirts with just “Apathy” printed in black on them. “Wear your ‘real’ cause” was their sales slogan – it earned them at least a few laughs from passersby and steely glances from students supporting homeless rights.

As I walked down Forbes Ave. from CMU campus to the Pitt campus, I started getting the idea of what I was meant to show people about the G-20, and more importantly, Pittsburgh. It hit me as I saw the intersection for what is arguably my favorite street in the Oakland neighborhood. Craig St. is filled with small businesses, from specialty shops to independent booksellers, to ethnic restaurants. It is a “dream street” for anyone who works with community redevelopment projects, because vacancies are few and far between. Shops may change, but the atmosphere remains the same – a quiet, but busy side street. That day it was quiet, and with fewer shoppers than usual. But outsiders would never guess what was happening in the rest of the city if they looked only at Craig St.

Farther down Forbes Ave. the atmosphere was obviously different. From the covered windows and statues in front of the Carnegie Museums, to the barricaded intersection by the Cathedral of Learning across from Schenley Plaza, it was obvious that the city was preparing for the worst. Another group of protesters was gathering in the Plaza, but they did not appear as peaceful as their Tibetan counterparts. The local ABC affiliate had a camera crew there, and ACLU legal observers were on the outskirts of the group. “Education is a Right” was their chant, but all the students milling around didn’t receive it very well. It wasn’t a radical response, more like incredulous glances, perhaps because the university students, who worked very hard to be accepted at Pitt and were putting themselves in debt for their educations, weren’t pleased with the idea of “just anybody” getting what they had without having to do the same.

As the group began to march, a group of police officers across the street formed a line on the sidewalk to prevent the marchers from going down Forbes Ave. The leaders of the group quickly realized they were meant to go up to Fifth Ave., and switched direction with no incident. The media watching all of this quickly lost interest once they realized there wouldn’t be a confrontation between the protesters and law enforcement. If I’d seen this immediately after getting off the bus, I may very well have reacted the same way the other members of the media had – at that point, I ended up rolling my eyes at them. The news of the day for them would be the violence and vandalism that would occur in the path of the protesters that gathered in Lawrenceville later that day. Smoke bombs, broken glass, protesters with masks and bandanas over their faces, and arrests would be the majority of the coverage. Shots of protesters lying face down at the feet of police officers would be their “news.” It’s the nature of the beast, not to say that the beast is right.

“In the last more than 50 years of Chinese illegal occupation of Tibet, over 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed, thousands have gone missing and still several hundred languish in prisons…Neither has China been cooperative on resolving global economic issue in any means nor does china have any intention to sincerely contribute their thought to upgrade of global economy…The continued gross violation of human rights in Tibet, East Turkistan and mainland China proved against Hu Jintao’s previous commitments of promoting and safeguarding world peace and seeking a harmonious society. China’s leaders should stop making rhetorical statements and false commitments to the world…Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey (RTYC NY&NJ) while reiterating its stand for the complete Independence of Tibet appeal to the UN and the world leaders to raise the issue of Tibet through these G-20 Summits to the leaders of People’s Republic of China. We also appeal to the international community to not remain indifferent to the sufferings of the Tibetan people and to continue your support for the just struggle of the Tibetans.”

Excerpts from a white sheet of paper I was given by one of the “Free Tibet” protesters, the previous words were the only succinct, coherent statement I could find from any of the people taking to the streets to be heard. It is a simple request offered with legitimate, verifiable evidence supporting it. And, unfortunately, in spite of the fact that it would be relatively easy for world leaders to actually attempt to grant it, the request either didn’t reach them at all, or fell on deaf ears. The Tibetans gathered very little attention from the press, probably because they weren’t very boisterous, and didn’t break anything. It is hypocrisy, because on one hand the press claims they don’t want to see violence, but when they see peaceful protesters, they pass them over for the rabble-rousers. I have managed to tell others what the Tibetans want, but it’s a pretty fair guess to say that the media covering the violent protesters couldn’t tell anyone a single thing about why those people were in the streets in the first place – other than to raise hell.

Self-proclaimed anarchists were gathering in Lawrenceville, and their answers to why they were protesting were either ambiguous generalities about society, or were radical statements on capitalism that no realistic individual would ever believe that the leaders meeting at the G-20 Summit would even consider implementing. Some have simply stated that they are against “everything G-20.” Pittsburgh residents who are annoyed with the disruption of their lives have been pointing out the hypocrisy of these groups in places like Twitter – fancy cell phones and video cameras are fine, but materialism otherwise is bad. Add the fact that anarchists came out publicly shortly after three Pittsburgh police officers were killed stating that the shooter was “right”, and it is no wonder that these protesters are being met with resistance not only from law enforcement, but also from the citizens.

There have been several high-minded analyses about why Pittsburgh was chosen for this summit, but beyond economic and geographic factors is one that I can’t help thinking was the deciding one – the people. Pittsburgh is not a hot bed for political unrest. That is not to say that there aren’t politically active groups at all. It is to say that the “regular” citizens far outnumber the activists. Also, there will always be a general attitude that Pittsburgh is a strong city made up of smaller communities that have a definite idea of who and what they are. This strong sense of identity isn’t easy for outsiders to tear down, so while the residents aren’t impervious to whatever may happen in the streets, the bottom line is that within a week or two after the G-20 is over, all signs of it will either be gone, or well on the way to being removed. This isn’t a “be all, and end all” situation for the people – it is an annoyance, a spectacle, a diversion, an excuse to work from home, or even an excuse to party.

There’s even a decent chance that Pittsburghers may make the same observations that I am now. They may condemn the media for blowing everything out of proportion, and giving far too much attention to the people who caused harm to their city. They’ve already started talking about the militaristic presence of law enforcement in the streets, however they are largely thankful for it – several broken windows, and under 100 arrests on day one is far less than most anticipated. Beyond any of the economic issues being discussed during the summit, they are concerned about the state of their hometown businesses, particularly in the downtown district. They may poke fun at the mayor for complaining about the lack of patrons downtown, since getting there is not very easy.

The real story about the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh is about people. It isn’t about boisterous and violent protesters, confrontations with law enforcement, or world leaders coming to the city to talk (or act like they are talking) about world economic issues. It is about people muddling through in spite of all of that, finding their own ways to stimulate their local economies, trying to voice their concerns coherently to the powers that be in the hope of promoting real change, and learning to accept what they can’t change even if it involves cleaning up after someone else. No matter what decisions are made by world leaders during the summit, the people will continue on with their lives – hopefully it won’t be in spite of their leaders.

Now that I’ve clarified where I’m coming from, here’s a little advice for our welcomed visitors:

Number one – Don’t touch! We like our city the way it is, and bluntly, we won’t be very happy (or nice) to you if you find it necessary to break things. Also, please don’t insult yourselves by carrying around banners and signs claiming that you’re all for the environment, and then leave tons of trash in your wake! Not only does it defeat the purpose, but it also makes it very easy for members of the press to imply that you’re hypocrites.

Number two – Follow the rules. Contrary to what you might think, we’re not stupid in this town. Don’t cry every five minutes that our police are harassing you, unless they legitimately are. If you were told to do something at a certain time, and in a certain place, do it that way. When the rank and file police on the street say you’re not supposed to be doing something in spite of your having permission from their superiors, be patient! Ask them to call their superiors to verify your information. Remember that the officers on the street are more concerned with the safety of all, as opposed to your ability to protest on your schedule. Bottom line is that they don’t trust you, and bluntly, given their job description, they shouldn’t no matter how peaceful your particular group is.

Number three – We’re Pittsburghers. That means that while there are some of us out there who are quite patient and willing to listen to what you have to say, the vast majority are more concerned with how your presence is going to disrupt our lives. For the most part we’re polite to strangers, but we’re not real patient with people who are obviously hell bent on causing chaos on our streets. Regardless, there are Pittsburghers who are known to not take “crap” from anyone. Don’t dish it out – literally, or figuratively. We’ve survived the fall of the steel industry, numerous floods, tornadoes, and the mistakes of numerous silly politicians who had no business leading a one-man parade, let alone our city. We will survive you. It’s up to you whether or not you’ll survive us.

I know that comes off as a little rough, but that pretty much covers what this town is. Pittsburgh is no Seattle. We work hard and play hard. There’s a soft side at times, but particularly when it comes to an event like the G-20, its not very smart to expect to see that soft side after beating up our streets and buildings. Remember that you’re protesting against the people in our convention center, not the people on our streets. Be nice to us and our city, and we’ll be nice to you. Leave it at that, because just like many other Pittsburghers, I don’t want to think about what it will be like if it doesn’t play out that way.

We love having you here, and would hate for you to change our minds on that!