Tavis Smiley: White House Pressured Sponsors to Pull Support

The Root ^ | Saturday, May 25, 2013 | Hillary Crosley

[kristinn]

On Friday, television and radio host Tavis Smiley celebrated the 10th anniversary of his Tavis Smiley show on PBS and defended his right to critique President Obama, reports the Huffington Post (sic The AP). But Smiley says freedom of speech hasn't come without its price.

Smiley contends that members of the Obama administration, whom he didn't identify, have pressured sponsors to drop their support of his projects, including his anti-poverty initiatives. The White House had no comment, said a spokesman, Kevin Lewis.

Smiley declined to identify the companies, saying he wasn't authorized to disclose their names.

SNIP

(More from the AP article):

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the PBS show's underwriter since the start, has "consistently stood by our side," said a Smiley spokeswoman. But others have dropped out or donated money to his projects on the condition of privacy because they've heard from a displeased White House, according to Smiley.

"I don't have an anti-Barack agenda," he said, "but this is what I do: My job is to raise questions of accountability."

He interviewed Obama more than a half-dozen times before he was elected but not once since, Smiley said, although Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and others in the administration have appeared on the PBS show.

[kristinn]

And Tavis takes it from Obama. He doesn't pitch a fit and call Obama out for acting liking a two-bit tyrant.

The AP, of course, buried the lede. Thanks to The Root for putting this out front.

We're getting closer and closer to high crimes and misdemeanors time.

[stanne]

BSA issue, too?

[Gay State Conservative]

Osama Obama’s an equal opportunity viper...kinda like Comrade Mugabe himself.

[RetiredArmy]

This regime has the same type tactics as the Nazi’s had. Kill off all opposition so that you can rule with an iron fist over all the sheeple. People who are educated in the government schools did not get this history lesson, thus are going to repeat this part of history again. Slaves do as the masters tell them too. So, an enslaved society will be like Soviet Russia and current Red China.

[GlockThe Vote]

Wow. F Obama. Words can’t even describe my utter hatred for him at this point.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Howz it feel ,Tavis, to be used like a 2 bit whore? Sucker.

[crosslink]

I read Lanny Davis got hammered last week for going on Fox and saying the White House has no clue how to handle a scandal. They wanted him to throw Rummler under the bus per orders but were mad when he said the chief of staff should go also.

Must stay of scrip per Valerie or get hammered by the Obama bots.

[shalom aleichem]

Reflecting back, there is little evidence that Obama cares for full-blooded African-Americans. Look at their unemployment numbers. He seems to feign Blackness by associating with biracial types like Beyonce, Valerie Jarrett, Halle Berry, etc.

He seems to look down his nose at Blacks (and Whites) much like his golfing buddy Tiger Woods (who was “hurt” and “offended” when he heard Latino golfer Sergio utter the so-called code words “fried chicken”. Gasp!)

[supremedoctrine]

I think the not-so-hidden message was supposed to be:
“Hey, Tavis, we know you’re black, but WE have a total monopoly on both the concept and the use of the word “poverty”. We don’t do anything about it, but if you get any good press by doing something about poverty, it WILL make us look bad, and none of us want that, do we???? I mean, come on, Tavis, it almost looks like you’re trying to subvert our efforts”.
-—Still, kudos to WalMart for not pulling out: it’s a win-win for them.

[Red in Blue PA]

Most. Corrupt. Administration. Ever.

[okie01]

Reflecting back, there is little evidence that Obama cares for full-blooded African-Americans. Look at their unemployment numbers. He seems to feign Blackness by associating with biracial types like Beyonce, Valerie Jarrett, Halle Berry, etc.

In Barack Obama's world, if you were "down for the struggle", you're a n____r.

The "civil rights movement" is something to be used, but beneath his contempt.

What a despicable person!

[Walkingfeather]

So Tavis how does it feel? A bit unsettling when people are working behind the scenes to undermine your life..... Welcome to the conservative camp. At some point there will be a tidal shift, where their side is going to say... OH SHIT he is out of control.

[Bernard Marx]

This is completely off-topic (forgive me), but when did it become fashionable to call a news story's lead paragraph a "lede?" I was a reporter in the Linotype era, started stories with leads and ended them with -30-. I never once saw it spelled "lede."

Thinking I must have been living in a time eddy or something I did some Googling and found this: LEDE VS. LEAD Lede is a modern affectation; Ben Hecht would never have spelled it that way.

[freeangel]

“Howz it feel ,Tavis, to be used like a 2 bit whore? Sucker.”

Karma can be such a B.

[Piranha]

At Columbia Journalism School (1979) we were taught “lede” because people would pronounce the other spelling as “led”.

[Bernard Marx]

LOL -- that sounds like something Columbia would do. I imagine the progressives at Missouri were doing the same thing. Thanks, that helps me put things into perspective.

Take my word for it: no self-respecting "old school" reporter would possibly mistake a story's "lead" for the "lead" (actually typemetal) that Linotypes devoured and gave back-shops of the time such a distinctive and wonderful "newspapery" smell.