by Amani Channel

There’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as producing media, and that’s talking about how to produce it.

I got my first taste of teaching way back in 1991, when I had the opportunity to teach as an adjunct instructor at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, FL.

That was one of the reasons why I pursued a Master’s degree. Little did I know that my online video presence would opened doors in ways that I never could have imagined.

I’ve been able speak and teach across the country. I even landed my current job in part because of a Web video.

My goal for the last two years was to organize a video workshop, and in 2011 one of my resolutions was to finally make it happen.

If you can afford to spend thousands and thousands on professional video production, this may not be for you, but if you have a modest budget to spend on a camera and some accessories, this could be just what you’re looking for.

If you live anywhere in the Southeast, don’t miss this opportunity to be taught by some of the best in the business.

The tickets are super affordable right now, plus, a portion of the proceeds are going to support the non-profit Grow Kids Inc.

by Amani Channel

Did you know that February is No-Buy month? That’s according to the journo-blogger Natalie McNeal who went from working at the Miami Herald to being a social media practitioner/blogger.

I had the chance to speak on a panel with her virtually during last year’s NABJ conference. I admire her for several reasons: she’s a journalist who walked away from the biz to pursue her passions; she’s not afraid of technology or social media, and she has a new title to add to her resume, author.

McNeal’s book, “The Frugalista Files: How One Woman got Out of Debt Without Giving up the Fabulous Life,” hit online and retail stores recently, and she sent me a copy to check out.

Despite the bright pink cover which to me implies that the book is being marketed primarily to women, I found it to be an enjoyable read.

I’m working to eliminate my family’s debt, and though I found the book inspiring on that level, what I especially enjoyed was McNeal’s story of how she managed to escape the newsroom, and find success through her blog.

I had the chance to speak with her via Skype and she gives some sound advice for journalists.

Please visit www.thefrugalista.com to learn more about how you can be a frugalisa, or frugalisto (if you’re a dude).

by Amani Channel

SoCon11 is a wrap. I had a good time at the conference. As always, I met some new folks, and caught up with a few others.

My presentation in producing video with your cell phone went well. Everything was great except the wireless connection.

Imagine that: a social media conference with no Internet.

People seemed to manage, and turned to their smartphones, and still managed to keep Twitter buzzing. That’s what I did at least.

I’d like to share a few more thoughts, but here’s my Power Point Presentation from my session.

Stay tuned because I’m working on a few video education opportunities that will help me share my video and production knowledge with you all.

The Republican Reagan Fetish

- Robert Hillard Patillo II, Esq.

With Former President Ronald Reagan’s 100^th bi

rthday fast approaching there has been much fervor on the American political Right to rewrite history and place the “Gipper” into the Pantheon of great American statesmen. Scant a day passes where a member of the Republican Party or Tea Party does not wax poetically of the utopia which existed in the 1980’s under Reagan’s watch. In this articulation of history taxes were low, the military was strong and the American Dream was in reach for all as freedom and equality rained down in a mighty torrent washing away the excesses of the liberal oppression of the past.

At the forefront of this effort to revise history, for obvious reasons, is Ronald Reagan’s son Michael Reagan who recently penned an article “Ronald Reagan — More of a Friend to Blacks Than Obama?” He is not alone. Many on the political Right now run all decisions through a pseudo “Reagan Rubric” to determine if the policy fits into the Dream of Gipper. To the Right, Reagan is a figure on par with the most towering figures of American history and deserves nothing less than enshrinement upon Mount Rushmore and a National Monument. This Reagan Fetish has resulted in the twisting and bastardization of Reagan’s true legacy.

There is a reason that Reagan is held as such a shining beacon of conservative values. That is because he is the only decent conservative President in U.S. History. Think about it, both Presidents Bush were national embarrassments, Ford was shunned by his own party, Nixon was forced to resign and Eisenhower was so liberal that Martin Luther King, Jr. and cheap viagra pills many other Civil Rights activist supported him because of his social policies. Hoover, Coolidge and Harding sank the World into the Great Depression. Taft was incompetent. Teddy Roosevelt was a social and economic Liberal. McKinley died from being stubborn. And the rest, stretching back to Lincoln were incompetent, ineffective, corrupt or simply lost to history. Even Lincoln himself would not be a member of the modern political Right (do you really think the Confederate flag waving, anti-government factions of the

Tea Party would embrace the “Great Emancipator?”).

So Reagan is all that the Right has in the entirety of American history. Thus you cannot really blame them for attempting to turn lemons into lemonade, or in this case lemon jelly beans, with Reagan. In truth, Reagan was the first in a now long line of intellectually dank politicians on the Right. Similar to the “Know Nothing” Party of the Mid-19^th century, the modern Right prides itself on nativism, conservative core-values, a lack of compromise and pedantic political machinations with no foresight as to any long term impact. The Right lauds Reagan’s record of cutting taxes and “winning” the Cold War and criticizes the current President for the massive deficits that the country currently faces. However, they do not seem able to make the casual connection that decreasing revenue while massively increasing spending will leave you in debt. And further that if you continue this policy for several decades you will be in a lot of debt. And that the guy that shows up at the end to clean up after your 30 year spending rager cannot really be blamed for excesses of the past.

These conservative Know Nothings have fundamentally distorted Reagan’s record. In truth, Reagan ran massive Federal deficits, almost bankrupted American with the “Star Wars” program, propped up brutal dictators, ran one of the most corrupt administrations since Ulysses S. Grant, failed to address AIDS, failed to address Crack and the American drug problem, locked up and entire generation to appear tough on crime, his laissez faire economic policy caused massive future debt and he was more than likely fully senile during the latter stages of his term in office.

That is all to say that this current Reagan fetish is not unlike other fetishes. It is based upon living out a fantasy. In this case, the fantasy that things were somehow better way back when.

Robert Patillo is an Attorney and commentator at The Patillo Law Group, LLC in Atlanta, Ga. He can be reached at 706-464-9839 or via email: rpatillo@robertpatillo.com. www.robertpatillo.com

by Amani Channel
@CSJournalism @LeonardWitt

What were you doing in 2007 when Kennesaw State officially introduced the Southeast to social media? I was working on developing a citizen journalism show for the Black Family Channel, a now defunct cable network that was trying to do big things with limited resources.

I was a newbie to Atlanta, having moved from Tampa Fl where I spent 8 years of my life reporting the news for a local Fox station. My mission with BFC was to find and procure citizen journalism video segments for the show, and in my research, I ran across a paper about public journalism written by some guy named Leonard Witt.

Low and behold, Witt was nearby at Kennesaw State, so I reached out to him and arranged an interview. From my days at Fox, I had been trained in the basics of shooting and editing, so I brought my personal video gear with me during the meeting. He talked about blogging, and video on the Web, and we exchanged ideas about citizen journalism, and new media. I posted the interview to YouTube, and used a soundbite in the pilot of my show.

Witt also invited me to attend this conference he had organized with a few other folks in the Atlanta area. It was called SoCon… a social media unconference.

I can’t say that it changed my life, but my life did change through my experiences in social media. I was meeting people across the country, connecting with people, and companies started sending me press releases all because I was blogging, and posting videos to YouTube.

Some people started calling me a citizen journalist, despite my professional media background. It wasn’t a surprise, because people in Atlanta never saw me on air reporting on the news of the day.

My one-man-band style of online video production was less polished than the professional pieces that I produced for the TV and for clients. For a news man like me, it was empowering to be able to share content and information outside of the structure of a newsroom.

I’ve attended every SoCon conference since that first conference back in 2007, and have met plenty of inspiring and brilliant people.

Some have hired me to help them with video projects. I’ve been asked to speak at numerous conferences around the country, and I’ve had the chance to teach a digital media production class, and video workshops.

Would this have been possible without social media? Maybe. Maybe not. What I do know is that social media, has leveled the playing field in many ways. Without the traditional gatekeepers, anyone can share their area of expertise, thoughts, or experiences, and people who are interested in what you have to say will find you.

Technology has changed rapidly since my news days. The cameras are getting smaller, the quality is getting better. Even cell phones are being used to watch and create videos now.

This weekend, I’ll experience my fifth SoCon conference. I don’t consider myself and expert, just a guy who lives and breathes media.

I like to share what I know, and I’m looking forward to making new friends, and reconnecting with the old.

If you’re interested in learning about mobile phone video production, please come out to my session. I’m looking forward to connecting.

It’s time for Black History, Not Black Trivia

- Robert Hillard Patillo II, Esq.

“Early one morning a long, long time ago Martin Luther King wo

ke up and told Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves. Later that day Dr. Kind decided Brown v. Board of Education with his brother Thurgood Marshall and integrated all of the school. Then, for lunch he ate peanuts from George Washington Carver and had the Montgomery Bus Boycott with his friend Rosa Parks ending segregation. People were mad at them, so Dr. King and his friends marched from Selma to Montgomery and then to Washington, D.C. where he gave the ‘I have a Dream’ speech around 3 pm and everyone realized that they should act like brothers. Later that night, Dr. King and Jackie Robinson passed the Civil Rights act so that everyone could finally be equal. However, one man was mad and shot Dr. King around 6 pm. But because of this everyone was so united that around 9 pm they elected President Obama and Dr. King’s dream was fulfilled!”

This is what is passed off to Americans as “Black History” during Black History Month each year. A centuries-long struggle for social, political, and human rights is taught as if it occurred in one day. Generally it goes something like this: “Did you know that a black man, Nathaniel Alexander, was the first to patent the folding chair?” Or that ”C.B. Brooks invented the street sweeper in 1896?” How about that “John Love invented the pencil sharpener in 1897?” This is not history. This is Trivia.

I do not contend that these are not interesting tidbits; however, they do not go towards telling the true story of Black People in this country and on this globe. The entire reason for Black History Month is to recognize the achievements of black people and to inspire the next generation to follow in those footsteps. Certainly we can do better than this. So, to quote Curtis Mayfield, “Pardon me, brother, while you stand in your glory, I know you won’t mind, if I tell the whole story.”

For guidance on telling our story, let us turn to the curriculum used to teach any other history course. Usually a course will examine thematically the major issues confronting the subject group during the period of time studied. It will also analyze the main events and major figures of the group by exploring social, cultural, political, and economic developments as to gain a greater understanding of the events and modern day impact of such. By way of comparison, that Georgia Washington chopped down a cherry tree and had wooden teeth is trivia. The fact that he was our first President and led a nation in forging a new destiny is history. There is a difference.

We have sanitized our history to the point that it betrays our struggle. There is no mention of “Radical Reconstruction” when the first black Congressmen and Senators walked the halls of Congress. Or the Hayes-Tildan compromise, when the Republicans betrayed black people for political advantage beginning a century of Jim Crow and Klan rule in the South. We make no mention of “Black Wall Street” or the “Tulsa Race Riots.” No mention of the bloody quasi-race war that swept the country in the late 19^th and early 20^th century that had W.E.B. Dubois sitting on his porch with a shotgun fearing for his life.

We are afraid of our own history and therefore are doomed to repeat it. I say this not as a warning but as a diagnosis of our present state. If you look at the current condition of Black communities around the country, why not apply the solutions that have worked before? Why not apply the principle of the Harlem Renaissance to Detroit today? Or of Auburn Avenue in the 1960s to Auburn Avenue now? As long as we refuse to educate the next generation, black and white, about the true nature of black history, then America can never achieve true equality.

Simply put, to quote Curtis again, ”Pardon me brother; I know we’ve come a long, long way. But let us not be so satisfied, for tomorrow can be an even brighter day.”

Robert Patillo is an Attorney and commentator at The Patillo Law Group, LLC in Atlanta, Ga. He can be reached at 706-464-9839 or via email: rpatillo@robertpatillo.com. www.robertpatillo.com

Format

It’s time for Black History, Not Black Trivia
- Robert Hillard Patillo II, Esq.
“Early one morning a long, long time ago Martin Luther King woke up and told Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves. Later that day Dr. Kind decided Brown v. Board of Education with his brother Thurgood Marshall and integrated all of the school. Then, for lunch he ate peanuts from George Washington Carver and had the Montgomery Bus Boycott with his friend Rosa Parks ending segregation. People were mad at them, so Dr. King and his friends marched from Selma to Montgomery and then to Washington, D.C. where he gave the ‘I have a Dream’ speech around 3 pm and everyone realized that they should act like brothers. Later that night, Dr. King and Jackie Robinson passed the Civil Rights act so that everyone could finally be equal. However, one man was mad and shot Dr. King around 6 pm. But because of this everyone was so united that around 9 pm they elected President Obama and Dr. King’s dream was fulfilled!”
This is what is passed off to Americans as “Black History” during Black History Month each year. A centuries-long struggle for social, political, and human rights is taught as if it occurred in one day. Generally it goes something like this: “Did you know that a black man, Nathaniel Alexander, was the first to patent the folding chair?” Or that ”C.B. Brooks invented the street sweeper in 1896?” cheap viagra online How about that “John Love invented the pencil sharpener in 1897?” This is not history. This is Trivia.
I do not contend that these are not interesting tidbits; however, they do not go towards telling the true story of Black People in this country and on this globe. The entire reason for Black History Month is to recognize the achievements of black people and to inspire the next generation to follow in those footsteps. Certainly we can do better than this. So, to quote Curtis Mayfield, “Pardon me, brother, while you stand in your glory, I know you won’t mind, if I tell the whole story.”
For guidance on telling our story, let us turn to the curriculum used to teach any other history course. Usually a course will examine thematically the major issues confronting the subject group during the period of time studied. It will also analyze the main events and major figures of the group by exploring social, cultural, political, and economic developments as to gain a greater understanding of the events and modern day impact of such. By way of comparison, that Georgia Washington chopped down a cherry tree and had wooden teeth is trivia. The fact that he was our first President and led a nation in forging a new destiny is history. There is a difference.
We have sanitized our history to the point that it betrays our struggle. There is no mention of “Radical Reconstruction” when the first black Congressmen and Senators walked the halls of Congress. Or the Hayes-Tildan compromise, when the Republicans betrayed black people for political advantage beginning a century of Jim Crow and Klan rule in the South. We make no mention of “Black Wall Street” or the “Tulsa Race Riots.” No mention of the bloody quasi-race war that swept the country in the late 19th and early 20th century that had W.E.B. Dubois sitting on his porch with a shotgun fearing for his life.
We are afraid of our own history and therefore are doomed to repeat it. I say this not as a warning but as a diagnosis of our present state. If you look at the current condition of Black communities around the country, why not apply the solutions that have worked before? Why not apply the principle of the Harlem Renaissance to Detroit today? Or of Auburn Avenue in the 1960s to Auburn Avenue now? As long as we refuse to educate the next

generation, black and white, about the true nature of black history, then America can never achieve true equality.
Simply put, to quote Curtis again, ”Pardon me brother; I know we’ve come a long, long way. But let us not be so satisfied, for tomorrow can be an even brighter day.”
Robert Patillo is an Attorney and commentator at The Patillo Law Group, LLC in Atlanta, Ga. He can be reached at 706-464-9839 or via email: rpatillo@robertpatillo.com. www.robertpatillo.com
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