The Michael Baisden fiasco has legs.  I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.  I have said my piece on the matter and was determined to let it go at that.  But this thoughtful essay deserves your attention.  Glen Ford of the Black Agenda Report argues that Baisden’s sins are a direct result of the Black media’s shift from information to entertainment.

Michael Baisden is entertaining.  He has a lovely baritone; he’s glib; he’s slick; and I’m sure he is provocative.  But is he informative?  Does he care about the facts?  And if he doesn’t, might it be because he works in a medium rooted in sensation, not information. 

Alternet just picked up this penetrating essay that has been circulating for over a week now.  Ford doesn’t pull his punches:

We urge Color of Change not to let that squealing pig go. His written and internet-posted “apology” is insincere and incoherent, while his slanderous and libelous radio message, repeated and recorded over the course of weeks — that Color of Change, the ACLU, Friends of Justice and others were engaged in fraud — cast doubt on the victims’ reputations in the minds of hundreds of thousands of listeners. Any recantation must have the same force as the original allegation. That means Baisden, the low-life with no shame or scruples, should be required to give as much radio time to his apology as he invested in his brazen assault.

I wish I could argue with those sentiments (because I desperately want to forget this ugly incident and move on), but Ford is right.  Baisden needs to issue a formal apology, first to Marcus Jones (Mychal Bell’s father) for exploiting his confusion, then to all the organizations slandered on Love, Lust and Lies.