Marc Fisher reports today that WAMU has severed their relationship with Jonetta Rose Barras, pictured right, the fiery co-host to Kojo Nnamdi on the Politics Hour on his show every Friday. That’s too bad – she’s a big part of what makes that weekly episode fun, and her slightly-too-far pushing and boisterousness lets us hear the guests and other folks on the show get pushed a little harder without Kojo having to do it.
Equally unfortunate is that she’s chosen to blame WAMU’s refusal to agree to her salary request on the fact that she’s black and a woman. Her requirement may or may not be reasonable, but it’s hard to take this complaint too seriously when she’s appearing on a show hosted by a black man in a timeslot following a woman. Not to mention the fact that everyone who has heard JRB for more than five minutes knows she’s a little… hyperbolic. That’s part of her appeal, but it doesn’t help me to take her seriously when she makes those kind of assertions.
It’s a shame she didn’t choose to take the high road and simply state that WAMU chose not to pay her what she felt was reasonable for the job she performed for them and let everyone else draw their own conclusions. On the other hand, WAMU isn’t on the highest road either, with their statement that “analyst Jonetta Rose Barras is leaving WAMU 88.5,” which may be factually correct even though it omits “feet first.”
Photo from Jonetta Rose Barras’ own website.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.
Hmm, guess I just did.
My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.
