Apparently RiShawn Biddle, blogger and editorial writer for the Indy Star has been fired. I didn’t read the offending entry, but apparently he threw in a racial slur when talking about Marion/Indy City County Council President Monroe Gray. For what it’s worth, both men are black. Seems like a bit of a loss to me. I didn’t frequently agree with RiShawn’s columns, but he seemed like a nice enough guy.
Update Until such time as the Star deletes it, here is RiShawn’s offending column. (H/t stAllio!)
Does it matter that RiShawn Biddle is black? Does he get a free pass to make racist slurs in newspaper columns because he is black? Are slurs made by one person about another person of the same race/sexual orientation/social class okay? I’m astounded at that suggestion. Mr. Biddle’s blog entries clearly weren’t edited for content or grammar.
What is most troubling to me, however, isn’t this one incident. It is that someone who apparently does not have any college degree, let alone a journalism degree, was hired for a high-profile position at a Gannett newspaper. How on earth did the man get hired, not only by the Star but by other major publications? Some will say, “Well, this is what happens with affirmative action and diversity initiatives.” NO. affirmative action does not mean hiring anyone who is a minority no matter what that person’s qualifications or lack thereof. This is what happens when employers are too lazy to really find good, qualified job candidates. Who knows how many minority and non-minority journalism majors have applied at the Star and been passed over for the likes of Mr. Biddle?
Let this episode be a lesson to the Star. Maybe they will be more careful about hiring people with qualifications.
Four years later, Mr. Biddle, despite being an uneducated buffoon (in the eyes of a few who disagree with him, is doing just fine. He is obviously doing better now than when he worked for the wonderful Gannett organization. Maybe getting fired by Gannett was the best that could have happened for him.
Check out his web site at http://www.rishawnbiddle.org/
Stu,
Right now, there’s a lot more money to be made in peddling lies and being a lackey to right wing political agendas than doing journalism. It is no small wonder that he’s doing better. It exemplifies the sad state of our times…….