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Several reports have stated that the public viewing service for Michael Jackson will take place this Friday at the Neverland Ranch. Michael Jackson’s body will be driven 130 miles from Los Angeles to the Neverland Reach via motorcade on Thursday morning. Then the public viewing will start.  The private family service will be held on Sunday. Jackson’s birthplace of Gary, Indiana, also is planning a memorial service for the deceased singer on July 10 US Steel Works sports stadium.

Print is quickly dying due to the massive success of online media. With the loss of King magazine and now Vibe magazine it seems that no one is safe. So here are my suggestions for how the remaining urban magazines can save themselves:

1. Resource Guide:

Many of the urban magazine are filled with fluff pieces and to many fashion editorials. How about changing it up a bit and becoming a resource for urban culture. Many of us would like to know tips on creating music, resource for finding music, and how-to’s around creating fashion looks and hip-hop styles. I’d love to see something like a Readers Digest of Hip-Hop/urban culture. Something that is cheap, small, useful, and fun. I still have many issues of RD that I refer to for a recipe or hand how-to tip.

2. Sync with Mobile:

I’m a big supporter of mobile technology and I think all magazines need to have a mobile strategy. Each story in the magazine should have a keyword where users can text in comments or feedback to that story thus creating a mobile style message board. Anyone could comment on that story in just a short text message. It would create community, additional content, and would appeal to the youth can pull themselves away from their cell phones. Then you’ve captured their mobile number and can now push offers and short text ads back to them. Sounds like a revenue stream to me.

3. Urban Magazine Should Collaborate:

Maybe it seems like a war between Vibe, XXL, and The Source. So what if all the magazine pulled together to do cross promotions and special edition issues. Most of the same hand full of writers write for each of the publications so it wouldn’t be that hard of a stretch. Wouldn’t it have been cool to see a special Vibe, XXL, Complex, and The Source issue focusing on the life and times of Michael Jackson? Sometimes the best way to survive is to partner-up.

4. Crowd Sourcing

People want more control over their media and what they see and read. So why not give it to them? Urban magazines should now allow their readers more opportunities to see their names, photos, and text in the magazines they are reading. Why not post some of the best website comments in a wall style page in the magazine. Sometimes the comments are way better then the story itself. Now granted this might take some extra work but in the end the magazines would benefit by creating a totally unique experience and on that could create a new crop of loyal readers and a lot of new and fresh voices of the magazine instead of the same 5 writers.

5. Free and Go Corporate

Why not make the magazines 100% free. Reduce the pages and sell ads on the sheer volume of people picking up the free magazine to read it. Then distribute the magazine via places like Wal-Mart, Target, or Foot Locker and people can get the magazine free with purchace or just for visiting the store.

These are just a few suggestions…so hit the comments and let me know what you think magazines could do to save themselves.

The line for the Michael Jackson tribute is MASSIVE! The line extends all the way around the block that the Apollo theater is located on. Some people have been outside in line as early as 6am.

From Daily Finance via Gawker:

Vibe magazine, the urban-music magazine founded in 1993 by Quincy Jones, is the latest victim of the media recession. A source with knowledge of the situation tells DailyFinance that the staff has learned the magazine is ceasing publication, and assistants in the offices of editor in chief Danyel Smith and publisher Edgar Hernandez confirmed the news. No further information was immediately available. Messages left for Smith, Hernandez and Vibe Media CEO Steve Aaron were not immediately returned.

Vibe enjoyed significant success in the late ’90s and early part of this decade as hip hop and R&B became the nation’s predominant forms of pop music. But in recent years the title has fallen on hard times under its new owner, the Wicks Group, which bought it in 2006. In February, it reduced its circulation and publishing frequency, cut salaries and moved employees to a four-day workweek to save money.

By April R. Silver

Last night, live at the BET Awards in Los Angeles, a room full of head-bobbing, consenting adults bounced to Drake and Lil Wayne’s back-to-back performances of the hit songs “Best I Ever Had” and “Every Girl.” I watched, underwhelmed. I wanted more “Michael” in what was supposed to be this award-show-turned-Michael-Jackson-tribute. I watched, ever puzzled by the Lil Wayne phenomena that has captivated the music industry. I watched, wondering when the set was going to end.

Then the little girls came onstage…literally the little girls. “Are those children?” I asked out loud, in disbelief. Then the camera panned the audience. Everyone was still head-bobbing as the little Black girls huddled around these superstars.

“Are those little girls on stage…for this song?!?!” I, still in disbelief, lost breath and forced myself to exhale. “Why are these little girls featured on this performance? Is somebody going to stop this?” Again, the show was live, though for a nano-second, I was hoping that a hunched-over stage manager would bust through from back stage to scoop up the children, rescuing them from harm’s way…from being associated from this song. But instead, what those girls witnessed from the stage was hundreds and hundreds of adults (mostly Black people) staring back at them, co-signing the performance. These girls, who all appeared to be pre-teens, were having their 15 minutes of glam on one of the biggest nights in televised Black entertainment history, with two of pop culture’s biggest stars at the moment, with millions of people watching. They must have been bubbling with girlish excitement, shimmering like princesses all night. Pure irony: one of them wore a red ballerina tutu for the special occasion. And we applauded them.

But did no one care that Lil Wayne’s song Every Girl is about grown men and their sexual escapades with women? Did the meaning and intent of the song matter to anyone, this song whose hook and other lyrics required a re-write in order to get air play? “I wish I could love every girl in the world.” That’s the radio-friendly version of “I wish I could f–k every girl in the world.” But Lil Wayne’s BET performance was the clean edit of the song. Perhaps he (and the show producers) thought that there was nothing wrong in featuring the children in the clean version. Perhaps we were supposed to see the whole bit as cute and innocent. Absolutely not. There’s no other way to cut it: in presenting little girls in a performance of a song that is about sex, group sex, and more sex, BET and Lil Wayne set the stage for child pornography. It doesn’t matter what version of the song was played, much like a man who batters women is still an abusive man, even if uses flowery phrases while battering.

In the song, Lil Wayne mentions superstar Miley Cyrus, but Cyrus gets a pass on this lyrical sex escapade because, as he acknowledges, she is a minor. Huh? Why, then, is he comfortable with featuring four minors, these four little Black girls, in the show? How deep exactly is this inability of some men to respect women, and how deep is Lil Wayne’s disregard for the safety of little girls?

I’m told that one of the girls is Lil Wayne’s daughter. That doesn’t matter. In fact that makes it worse. Last night we were reminded that there are few safe spaces for our little girls to be children; that some of us are willing to trade their innocence for a good head nod. BET and Lil Wayne are beneath low because, in effect, they have given premium assurance to these and other little girls that their best value, their shining moment, their gifts to display to the world, all lie within a context that says they are f**kable.

I’m also told by industry insiders that Lil Wayne was continuously sexually molested as a child, remains in a psychologically abusive relationship with the molester, and for that reason his understanding of what’s appropriate and what’s not appropriate for children is terribly skewed. I don’t know if that is true. If it is, help is needed. If it is true, it might explain something regarding Lil Wayne’s compliance in this offense. But what about BET’s nickel in this dime?

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The programming at BET has been heavily criticized by artists, concerned citizens, college students, parent groups, social justice organizations, media reform activists, and many others for over a decade now. Their programming seems hell bent on broadcasting the worst pathologies in the Black community. Some have joined the anti-BET movement by simply tuning out. Others have been more pro-active. National letter-writing campaigns and other activities designed to shame and/or pressure the network into improving its programming have been in play for some time now. Boycotts have been called as well. Two years ago, for example, the network found itself in the line of fire as it planned to air the very controversial series “Hot Ghetto Mess.” Advertisers, such as State Farm Insurance and Home Depot, responded to pressure and requested that their ads be disassociated with the series (though, their ads could be placed in other programming slots). None of this has made a difference. In fact, it seems to have emboldened the network, for it is now expanding. In the fall, BET is due to launch another channel.

As a social entrepreneur and activist, my entire life/work has been dedicated to standing up for what’s right, especially within the culture of hip hop. When identifying what cancerous elements exist within the Black community, many fellow activists agree with Chuck D (of Public Enemy), and even Aaron McGruder (of The Boondocks,/i>), when they targeted BET as one of those elements. That said, I didn’t think that we would ever have to take the network to task for what amounts to child pornography.

But millions of Black people are not offended by the network and welcome anything BET has to offer, no matter how much it continues to unravel the fabric of our community. Imagine, if you will, BET as a human being and the viewers as the community. You would have to imagine BET as a drug dealer, with his swag on…perhaps outside standing atop a truck, the community crowded beneath him. Imagine him throwing nicely wrapped gifts into the crowed, or giving away turkeys at Thanksgiving. Or maybe it’s Mother’s Day and he buys dinner and teddy bears to all the single moms and grandmothers around the way. Despite his best efforts and despite the approval of his fans, he is still a drug dealer, pimping death to the masses.

Proverbs is full of sacred text that teaches us that there will always be fools amongst us. Some of them will be highly paid, protected, and given world-wide platforms to show off what they do best. And these fools (be they performers, corporate executives, or others), will have fans and loyal supporters, and a place to call home, like a BET.

But as long as there will be fools amongst us, there will also be wise ones - a small group of people concerned about the long term health and well being of the community. This small group will often go unheard and they will be outmatched. They will struggle over which problem to address first: the child pornographer, the batterer, the pimp, the prostitute, the thief, the slumlord, or the system that enables it all. They will get tired and their defense will pale in comparison to the almost crushing offense. And they will be betrayed from within. Historically and universally, this is what happens in the struggle for what is right. But eventually, with continued pressure, something will shift. A radical new thinking will emerge, and the fools will lose their stronghold.

The sure expectation of victory, however, can not be understated. It is a concrete ingredient in the struggle against the death that is being paraded in our community…as necessary as letter writing campaigns, economic boycotts, symbolic and actual protests, and other pressure-oriented activities. It is indeed possible to bring more life into our community.

******
© 2009 by April R. Silver or Copyright 2009, by April R. Silver
“April R. Silver is a social entrepreneur, activist, and writer/editor. She is also founder of the communications agency AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc. Her first book is the critically acclaimed anthology “BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD: REAL TALK FROM BLACK MEN ON FAMILY, LOVE, AND FATHERHOOD.” Contact Info: silver@aprilsilver.com or www.aprilsilver.com“

All eyes where on the 2009 BET Awards and the honoring of Michael Jackson. The worlds largest channel for African-American had the opportunity to make a big statement and show that they could put on a quality tribute with only 4 days to change the show. But outside of Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx and maybe Ciara the show was a complete and utter hot mess of the worst of African-American culture. Debra Lee’s inbox should be flooded with letters of disgust and Steven Hill should be waiting for a pink slip.

While I know BET is so suck on “we have to be young and show Lil’ Wayne every 2 seconds” someone should have stepped in and let Lil’ Wayne and his mad of misfits perform at another time. The show should have been a tribute to Michael Jackson from front to back. But the inclusion of Lil’ Wayne, Drake, and Soulja Boy plus the terrible reenactment of “Baby Boy” took the show to a whole new level of Coon.

People wanted to see their favorite stars come out and pay tribute to the man and the music who helped share the industry that they are in today. But once again BET shows they are are years behind the curve. Even though the show scored it’s highest rating ever at a 5.8, what went on really left a bad taste in the mouth of many who watched the show. The Lil’ Wayne song was inappropriate and the 10 year old girls dancing around Drake while Lil’ Wayne was performing was so low class it made me turn my TV.

BET should issue an apology and so should Lil Wayne. BET then needs to do a full 2 hour tribute show to Michael Jackson with performances front to back and do it the right way with the respect and honor that Michael Jackson deserves.

GOSPEL UPTOWN
MICHAEL JACKSON
TRIBUTE
COME CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF
MICHAEL JACKSON AT
GOSPEL UPTOWN (aka GU)
2110 SEVENTH AVENUE
(Between 125th and 126th Streets)
Come experience delicious Soul Fusion Cuisine and the best in
Entertainment, Dining and Inspiration!
THREE EVENINGS OF REFLECTIONS
Share Your Most Memorable Michael Jackson Moment
Wednesday, July 1, 8:00 pm
MICHAEL JACKSON REMEMBERED PART I
Live Music, Poetry, Remembrances
Friday, July 3, 8:00 pm
MICHAEL JACKSON REMEMBERED PART II
The Jackson 5 and the Early Years
Music, Videos and Open Mic Tributes on the GU Sound Stage
Saturday, July 4, 8:00 pm
MICHAEL JACKSON REMEMBERED PART III
Thriller and the Later Years
Music, Videos and Open Mic Tributes on the GU Sound Stage

FOR INFORMATION CALL 212-280-2110 or visit www.GospelUptown.com

Bernard Madoff, the mastermind behind the largest and most sweeping Ponzi scheme ever, sentenced to 150 years in prison.