Offthebus.net Common Blog

Gates has popularized geneaology research and DNA testing for African-Americans through his program “African American Lives” which is in its second installment on PBS.DNA testing as a reliable indicator of African ancestry may not be all it’s cracked up to be according to the Darryl Fears of the Sunday Age He writes that “since the tests began in 2003, questions have been raised about their accuracy.”Some questions have been raised about the propriety of bundling The Root with a pitch for Editor Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s DNA testing company. The New York Times, for example, noted that the relationship “would be prohibited at some publications.”Bloggers were, on the whole, less restrained about decrying Gates’ apparent profiteering. Media gossip site Jossip.com seemed incredulous that “Gates – and apparently WaPo – sees no conflict of interest…” Vibe.com blogger Mark Anthony Neal went further, calling the site a “vanity project” and a “hustle.”Some say “vanity project,” some say smart marketing. MediaBistro’s fishbowlny, wasn’t fazed by the genealogy link. Fishbowl thought it “looks like it will do just fine,” adding “Plus, it has Gates’ trademarked genealogy jones as a focal point of the site.”Americans could be forgiven for never having heard of The Root, whose launch was overshadowed by relentless primary coverage. The story was far from ignored, and even making an overseas splash—French readers of Le Figaro or Italian readers of La Stampa were informed of its launch, along with readers of Pravda (the English Pravda, at least. I couldn’t find how to search “The Root” using Cyrillic characters).Since The Root is published only in English, the rationale behind foreign media’s choosing to run stories on it is somewhat murky. If I were to speculate, I’d guess that Obama’s growing profile has something to do with it. Corine Lesnes, an America watcher with France’s Le Monde raised the idea of this being a “black time.” Stateside, Advertising Age writer Carol Watson linked Obama and The Root in her lead, saying “In the eye of the Obama storm of excitement and debate this past week, The Washington Post Co…announced a new online magazine to ‘expand it’s online audience.’ Called The Root, it targets the African-American audience…”A Salon article provides a look into Encarta Africana, one of Gates’ major publishing forays before heading The Root. In a piece Salon editors chose as one of the best of 1999, Craig Offman reported on the management style under Gates. His verdict: “a case of bad management by admittedly neophyte corporate executives,” plagued by tight deadlines and poor pay. At one point, disgruntled staff chastised Gates for the not hiring enough blacks.Letters Salon ran in response to the piece provide some perspective. One writer, a former manager for Encyclopaedia Britannica, says similar problems are normal in encyclopedia publishing. “Encyclopedias have always been deeply commercial ventures disguised in academic garb, and print encyclopedias were often as rushed and badly managed as Encarta Africana.”