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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2000)
Afoot in the door NAACP threats make headway with television networks Months of threats aimed at the major television networks by the nation’s black community are finally being answered. NBC president Bob Wright acknowledged last week that minorities have been denied positions throughout the organi zation, resulting in a palate of programming targeted at white audiences. This isn’t much of a revelation. The development of cable networks devoted to black programming shows the minority programming void at the main three networks. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Kweisi Mfume called the network program ming a “virtual white-wash.” NBC has promised to bring several young minority writ Wright told the New York Times the main reason for denying minorities opportunities in (television) was because it made good business sense. ers and producers to all ot NBC’s new shows, and days later, ABC followed suit. Before the agreement, the NAACP pressured all three net works and threatened to lead a boycott against all NBC pro gramming. Perhaps NBC’s effort is a good first step. Their program does promise to recruit hun dreds of young people from minority groups to fill graduate fellowships, internships and entry-level positions. Unfortunately, the future of minorities in television will not be based on the success or fail ure of these new employees. it win aepena on me ratmgs. If audiences approve of the new programming and the net works see a visible increase in their viewership, the recruit er ment of minorities will continue. Efforts to employ more minorities may be successful in various government and private sector venues. The competitive, viewer-driven environment that sur rounds television makes it difficult to guarantee minorities the same success. Wright told the New York Times the main reason for deny ing minorities opportunities in one of America’s most influ ential industries was because it made good business sense. We are happy about the strides NBC and other networks are trying to take to make their programs more ethnically and racially diverse. But we don’t think their motives are humani tarian. Instead, these decisions will probably continue to be made based on one thing - the bottom line. Editorial Board Josh Funk (editor) • J.J. Harder • Cliff Hicks • Samuel McKewon • Dane Stickney • Kimberly Sweet • Lindsay Young Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any Submissions.Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous mate rial will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448 or e-mail to: let ters@unl.edu Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the spring 2000 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents acts as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, super vises the publication of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. The Daily Nebraskan strives to print fair and accurate cover age; any corrections or clarifications will be printed on page three. . . • Obermeyer’s VIEW A Build a better mousetrap Twenty-first century’s mark could be innovation Whatever happened to Stanle> Kubrick’s version of2001? You know, space stations, explo ration, faraway colonies, whatnot... etc. Doesn’t exist. Probably never will. Costs too much money. Other stuff we don’t consider, like risk and danger. But what will we do? What will be the great revelation of the 21st? Hearken to the beginning of the 20th century. Imagine the ingenuity! The invention! Oh, the excitement there must have been in those early years, right before the boys got sent off to twc world wars and were slaughtered. Cars were invented. Flight. Radio. Later, television. Movie pictures. Soft cover books, fast-food restaurants, space exploration, fruity pies, caffeine free Diet Coke. Sorry, Diet Pepsi. And let’s not forget the fifth horseman of the apocalypse, computers. What is there left for us to do? Like the BASF commercial has told us, there may not be too many products left to buy outside of the George Foreman grill. It might be time for us to make those products we buy better. a There’s no use.for invention— we’ve hit our pinnacle of enlighten ment. And so now, there’s nothing left to do but plug in, log on and let it ride ... So it’s better tacos. Better blankets. Better sport utility vehicles. Better fads that stay hip longer. Stronger steel beams. Smarter arti ficial chess players. An even easier way to sign up for classes. Cooler summers. Warmer winters. And more effective ways for activists to be vocal about both. Bloodier violence. Sexier sex. Tougher toughmen. Bigger baseball players. Creamier creatine. A chamois that sucks up more water than it evei did. Televised telephones. A comeliei Communism. A more polished politi cian. A “Real World” more real than you ever imagined, where die seven cast \ members live in total poverty and occa sionally deal some drug that is made from an as-yet undiscovered preserva tive of peanut butter and paint thinner. A 42-ounce 40. Two more free rolls of Charmin. A super economy size of cheese for a family of 12 to be con sumed over 10 months. A record-length filibuster. The greatest performance you’ve ever seen. A bag of popcorn the size of a three-gal lon jug. A food song to replace “beans and combread.” A techno remix of a major Power Station hit done by the resurgent Air Supply. Another “Karate Kid.” A European Union. An Eastern Asian Union. A Southwestern African Union. A South Dakotan Union of Mennonites. Things built beyond Ford-tough. The realization that going with the flow is even more mainstream than we thought it was. A bigger God. A more powerful God. A meaner God, and, in response, a kinder God. A backlash against God, which brings a reconciliation with God. And finally, a new God. Rocky IX. King Hussein IV. Nebraska vs. Florida State, part XXVI II. Malcolm XI. A few new curse words. Profound ways of discrimination. Racism buried so deep in our subconscious, there is no way to detect it. A White House Christmas at the Clinton Center hosted by Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera-Stewart. An era of complete clarity mired in total incoherence. The new age, just like the last one. Only much, much better. Will no one stand in the way of the non-stop train of convenience? Why, yes. The University Bookstore contin ues to keep its South Entrance closed, pissing off any number of students who venture through the back way and find themselves denied. They are forced to bum approximately five more calories and waste 12 seconds, which could have been spent in the chat room. At least that institution has chosen to be an obstacle in the headlong race towards total oblivion. Happy New Year. i * Samuel McKewon is a senior news-editorial and political science major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.