Sooo........about that Jonetta thing.....

Jonetta Rose Barras's firing seems to be the big WAMU news of the week. Personnel issues are notoriously difficult for outsiders like us to judge, but it looks like she did have a point. WAMU put her name on the show and tripled the amount of coverage she was expected to provide, but didn't want to consider that a full time position?? Something there doesn't smell right.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Cherlow on May 24, 2008 at 12:08am: it took me a while to get used to her voice, and that is so important on the radio especially when paired with the buttery smooth tone of Kojo. I feel like now that i have gotten to where I wanted to hear what she had to say, she isn't here and I am disappointed. I know a lot about local politics, and lord knows I have opinions, let me fill her spot.

Permalink Reply by Meredith on May 25, 2008 at 11:27am: I won't miss Jonetta. She was very caustic. I really hate the new format, trying to cover all three localities in one hour a week is too much. DC should have its own hour. And the coverage of Maryland and Virginia is weak if only because there are so many places to cover and they can only pick one or two each week. I'd like to see three hours a week of local coverage, but most importantly, the DC Politics Hour should be restored, we need the local government coverage.

Permalink Reply by Carla on May 25, 2008 at 4:20pm: Am I the only one who found Friday's Politics Hour, umm..., lacking? Maybe it will take a while to get used to Jonetta not being on the show.

Permalink Reply by dan on June 1, 2008 at 7:21pm: i will also not miss her, for the same reasons.

professional accusations of any "-ism" are serious, and if untrue hurtful and insulting charges that seem to be tossed around at the drop of a hat these days. and not that i'm saying to don't believe her... although i'm leaning toward not, considering my distaste for her so-called "professionalism"... but considering the ethnicity of her co-host, it makes her look rather silly.

beside the fact that i know a lot of people that are annoyed by her and would listen to the show more if she wasn't on it... seems to tell me, at least anecdotally, that she was sacked for the good ol' fashioned perfect reason: she was bad for the show.

i mean, come on. there's "persistent" and then there's just being a jerk. yeah, maybe she got results. but so does hamas (that's my new personal 'godwin' example).

Permalink Reply by Jo Arpee on June 1, 2008 at 11:01pm: Well, I really like Jonetta's style. Yes she's persistent but she's a journalist! She's supposed to be. I love her laugh. What a welcome change from the oh-so-careful NPR reporters. She kept it real. And I really enjoyed her interactions with Kojo which really brought out his wit and humor. I will really miss her. Frankly, I will really miss the African-American perspective she brought to the show. I'm sorry the show is no longer just the DC Politics Hour. Even though I live in VA and have often listened to the VA politics hour, my favorite was the DC Politics hour. It really helped me connect the city now that I'm in the burbs.

Permalink Reply by Renee Kofi-Bruce on August 31, 2008 at 8:14am: I miss Jonetta too!! Kojo carries the show but Jonetta was no more provocative than the other long time commentator on the show (can't remember his name).

Permalink Reply by Mark Stoneman on August 31, 2008 at 9:48am: The cumin analogy works for me. I'm sure she would also be indispensable for a number of DC-specific issues.

Permalink Reply by Mark Stoneman on August 31, 2008 at 9:56am: I don't get the charges of discrimination, though I have no doubt that Barras did a whole lot of work and definitely deserved more pay. Thing is, though, how much can WAMU invest in this local program? Hasn't their model been to invest in people who already possessed expertise instead of having someone go out and do new reporting?

Perhaps WAMU also had to consider the issue of collegiality? There seems to be a hint of it in the City Paper article.

I sometimes enjoyed her style, but the show was often too much about her personality and not the subject matter. You see this on some cable news too. I believe journalists need to get out of the way and let the subject matter take center stage. This doesn't mean they should shut up or not ask tough questions. It's more about style.

Permalink Reply by Anna Gardiner on August 31, 2008 at 5:25pm: I'll miss Jonetta! Top rated media like Chris Mathews and many others, in general, are confrontational and obnoxious. It's entertainment. As a former reporter, it's often necessary to get politicians off their memorized spiels used to deflect actually addressing the subject issue or from answering your question. Look at how confrontational Jonetta's replacement can be! It leaves me in stitches because it brings out the humanity of Kojo's guests. It's all a game, you know -- edutainment. It's a way to spice up what might otherwise be a rather boring recitation of uninteresting facts. That's why we almost never hear the specifics of the presidential candidates' platform on health care and other issues. And why we do get a lot of soundbites playing up things that don't amount to a hill of beans in the long run. I know that the WAMU/NPR audience is an exception. But confrontational media shows wouldn't get the ratings if mainstream America didn't encourage such coverage by watching and listening. I thought Jonetta and Kojo were phenomenol together. I'd hire Jonetta any day as a reporter or commentator. In fact, Jonetta, if you're listening or reading, I've got a story lead for you...

Permalink Reply by Mark Stoneman on September 1, 2008 at 5:04pm: You write, "It's all a game, you know -- edutainment." I'd like to think that WAMU and NPR are better than that. I also disagree with the notion that good reporting alone would be boring.

Permalink Reply by John Antonelli on September 1, 2008 at 6:24pm: Oh Mark, my favorite topic. Chit chat shows....

OK let me blaspheme for a moment. If Diane Rehm and Kojo were to be sucked off the face of the earth by UFOs I would not be unhappy. Actually I would miss Kojo more than Diane because we do need a local chit chat show as part of our public service. That said, I don't care what Joe in Schenetedy thinks or Suzette in Montgomery, AL. I do care what Dick Cheney thinks (If he does), what Barack Obama thinks (to be even handed, if he does). So maybe we should go to straight news shows like ATC, ME or the World or interview shows like Bob Edwards Weekend.

Permalink Reply by Mark Stoneman on September 2, 2008 at 7:44am: I cringe at some callers' questions. Nonetheless, the talk shows with listener feedback are important for "keeping it real", so to speak. By that, I mean we get to hear what some people outside of our own walks of life are thinking about. I think such shows also promote civil dialog. What if the only interactive models in the media entailed shouting matches?