The Washington Informer’s Blatant Betrayal of its Own Self-Professed Community

WashTimes Newspaper Box with some choice graff.

By: Napoleon Bushrod Uniontown Suggs III

Before world-renowned literary figure Oscar Wilde departed the world of the living in 1900, he observed, “There is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.”

The Washington Informer (WI) keeps its “More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout the Metropolitan Area” informed of the “ignorance of the community” in its predictable agitprop reporting and elementary editorializing.

Granted the WI edition that hit the streets today has the usual fare —- a understandably uncompromising story on Michelle Rhee, a critical piece speculating that the general public’s interest in the Haiti rescue effort will wane as the UN has suspended their search for survivors to focus on delivering humanitarian aid, a regurgitated press release from At-Large Councilmember Michael Brown’s office stating for the public record he will “challenge” Mayor Fenty if Council Chair Vincent Gray ultimately declines to run, and a guest editorial from Majority Whip of the US House of Representative James Clyburn predicting that despite the problems of President Obama’s first year in office, “We will make positive history once again.”

The WI rarely, if ever, deviates from the most basic commonplace, rudimentary, worn-out aged conventional wisdom from the city’s old line old guard.

Although The Washington Post and The Washington Times, on life-support as it has abandoned its local coverage, have yet to cover the opening of  Big Chair Coffee(BCC) at 2122 MLK Avenue SE, The Washington City Paper ran an article and photo in last week’s hard copy and was the first major news source to blog about BCC. DCist was quick to the story with most all River East bloggers have vigorously covered BCC, some daily; now the Washington Business Journal has jumped into the mix of local media who have deservedly covered the street news of Big Chair Coffee.

The reason Big Chair Coffee is news is because it provides further hard evidence that in River East, as Bob Dylan once sang, “Times They Are A-Changin’.”

For those who do not live in River East or even city proper or, even, for those who’ve not ever stepped foot on MLK Avenue, it is understandable to miss the social, political, historical, and economic implications of Big Chair Coffee’s opening. We understand if you don’t get it.

However, The Washington Informer’s address is 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE.

In not covering Big Chair Coffee The Washington Informer lets the community know, unequivocally, where they stand; right alongside the most ignorant and regressive members of River East’s old guard.

Update: February 4, 2010 And, Now Anacostia has a nice update of all the media, including the blog roll, that have devoted time and space to BCC. Still missing from the list is the Washington Informer. Is anyone surprised? Someone should please tell their advertising contacts at Pepco, DC Gov, DC Dept of Health, Macy’s, NBC4, etc. that the WI is NOT in contact with the community and they should immediately stop upholding such a faux newspaper that doubles as toilet paper in these tough economic times.