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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE Primary


SEN. HANSEN CLARKE talks to BankoleThompson, Chronicle senior editor, on the night of his victory.


part because of the scandals of her son, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. It was hard to believe that voters would judge her only on her record, and not the actions of her son in an age where political guilt by association is an effective tool. We are not saying that what the voters did was right in that respect, but it is not surprising.


Yet it is important


to note that voters spoke and that deci- sion ought to be re- spected. They have made it clear that they want change, and that business as usual won’t do.


Already some are debating if Detroit’s clout in Washington will increase or decrease with Con- gressman Clarke. That remains to be seen, even though the state will lose its seat in the House Appropriations Committee.


There is no doubt that Clarke has critically im-


portant work to do. A junior lawmaker in Wash- ington will face tremendous challenges, coupled with the rituals in Congress, before he takes his congressional seat. It will be an uphill battle.


But the era that President Barack Obama intro-


duced in Washington is one that is predicated on effective and bold representation, and something new and different for a new and different era.


Clarke has an opportunity to connect with the


Obama administration to bring home the bacon to the Metro Detroit area. His district, like the rest of Detroit, needs all the help it can get. He must build on the commendable work of Congresswom- an Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and ensure that his constituency comes first, before any kind of spe- cial interests, as he has repeatedly promised.


Michigan is in a crucial state and cannot afford


lawmakers who have no clue regarding what can and must be done at this juncture.


It is also time out for self-serving politicians.


We wish Sen. Hansen Clarke well and offer the kind of support we hope all of Metro Detroit and beyond will extend. It may border on being a cliché, but we are all in this together.


A decision has been made. It’s time to move for- ward.


RICK SNYDER won the GOP gubernatorial nomi- nation.


From page A-2


Clarke says his victory is not about politics. It is, on the contrary, representative of putting power back into the hands of the people.


In fact, during his victory speech, he led a large and enthusiastic group of his supporters in chanting “Power to the people!” — a slogan that harkened back to the 1960s and 1970s, years of political and social upheaval.


Truth be told, Kilpatrick lost for the most


August 4-10, 2010 Page A-4


SEN. HANSEN CLARKE and his supporters. Ellcessor


the health and well-being of our children, the security and stability of our families,” he said.


A radio veteran, Ellcessor


said that questions of how to be spiritually whole as a com- munity are what preoccupy people, not “the kinds of petty sideshows that really matter the most to small groups of people.”


In our current environment


of political rancor and “get it first, no matter what” attitudes by some in the media, Ellces- sor said there are a couple of important object lessons the media can take away from the Shirley Sherrod imbroglio.


“One is nobody will be hurt


by stopping, taking a breath, and asking really asking what is the source of this story,” he said. “Andrew Breitbart is a known provocateur that con- sistently animates his stories along race lines.


“Two (for the media con-


sumer), when your media makes the mistake, engage with your media and let them know you’re watching and you’re paying attention.”


He said there has to be re-


sponsibility on both sides. The news media has to look at things more carefully; and the consumer has to re-engage with the media and let them know they’re watching and ex- pecting better.


He also said media con- sumers shouldn’t accept “trite


false equivalencies.” “Don’t let people shrug it off


with that,” he said. “Andrew Breitbart fabricated a story, and passed it, like a virus, into our culture. There needs to be accountability across the entire spectrum on that, and I think it’s really on consumers to step up and become vocal with their media and to say we want better.”


Ellcessor’s principal goal


when he came to Detroit in late 2008 was to revitalize WDET’s relationship with the community. He said the sta- tion’s credibility diminished because it had executed a lot of schedule changes over the years that pulled it further away from issues close to the heart of people in Southeast Michigan. He’s focused on re- orienting the station toward a very natural authentic local voice, even with the national programming it carries.


He cited the recently added


Michael Eric Dyson Show, which premiered Aug. 2, at 1 p.m.; “Tell Me More,” “The Takeaway” and the locally- produced Craig Fahle Show.


Ellcesor said Dyson, a De-


troiter, is “out of his mind ex- cited” about being on the air here.


He also said the people


from Tell Me More and The Takeaway hear from Detroi- ters a lot.


“They really feel the pres- ence of the Detroit commu-


From page A-1


nity, because people here are not quiet,” Ellcessor said. “They speak up. They’ve got a really interesting point of view. That’s what we’re looking for, shows that welcome that.”


WDET News Director


Jerome Vaughn cohosted “The Takeaway” for a week when the program first aired on WDET, and former WDET staffer Celeste Headlee is a co- host.


“It’s the exact opposite


of what a lot of folks have observed about the way the national media relates to De- troit,” he said. “We’re spe- cifically finding partners. We don’t just put a show on the air. We want to find these pro- ducers and these hosts who really want to be partners with WDET and with people here in Southeast Michigan.”


Ellcessor said Vaughn co-


hosted that week because the producers of “The Takeaway” wanted to kick off their re- lationship with Detroit in a strong way.


WDET also recently joined


American Public Media’s In- sight Network. Ellcessor said that’s already made a differ- ence, because WDET has been able to reinforce its message that the station is a place to enable more voices to be heard in the media.


“By opting in to the net-


work, people say that they have a unique expertise, they have a point of view that can add something. And then they


volunteer themselves out,” he said.


Ellcessor added that wheth-


er it’s participating in a public insight query, or using texting and other technologies to pro- vide information on unregulat- ed trucking in Southwest De- troit, the average person helps contribute to the story.


He also said WDET has


oriented itself around the basic idea that there’s a deep wisdom embedded in the com- munity, whether it’s the actual idea for story itself or the way it covers the story.


“It’ll be changed and im-


proved if we have more voices from a wider cross section of the community involved,” he said, adding that a resident and/or business owner in Southwest Detroit, who’s rais- ing a family in that neighbor- hood, feels the passing of the trucks, and knows of kids in the neighborhood with nega- tive health effects because of the unregulated trucking, has a legitimate view into that story.


As to the Shirley Sherrod


incident, Ellcessor does not believe either the media or the Obama administration learned its lesson. He believes some-


thing like this could “abso- lutely” happen again.


“That’s why we have to go


on record and say this is what to expect going forward,” he said.


A native of Dayton, Ohio,


Ellcessor came to Detroit in part because his wife’s family is from the area, and the move supported what they wanted to do as a family.


He said the values of non-


commercial radio that WDET holds dear can make an enormous difference in all of Southeast Michigan.


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