links for 2010-05-12

"When I left, I immediately went on Twitter and noticed that even the young feminists, who attended the panel were more offended by the realization that Richards, Stoller, Baumgardner and Wolfe didn’t understand the importance of social media then by the racial comments that were made (or not made). For the majority of women in that room, race was not in their consciousness.

When it comes to race, is the feminist movement walking in the vacant path of our predecessors? It seems as though not much has changed.

Why are women of color still not included in the immediate conversation?"

"Again, big picture: I would argue that reporters of color face a constant scrutiny about our motives that actually inhibits favoritism; and that white, heterosexual reporters, especially men, see themselves and their actions as neutral even when they are not. You may find a black reporter talking about her “sista-girl” circle in an article on Michelle Obama… but I’ve never seen an example in the mainstream media of a black reporter signing off on a program that broke one of the fundamental tenets of journalism–that paid access for lobbyists and journalism don’t mix. (Some of the pay-to-play antics of traditional African-American media outlets will be another story for another day…)

Of course, Kurtz went on CNN today to criticize the Washington Post. Who isn’t chiming in? But I wish Kurtz would do a deeper investigation of the fig leaf of white neutrality; and take a harder look in the mirror as well."