DBJ: What [a] Dumb Broadcasting Joke by Nikki Giovanni

By NIKKI GIOVANNI - 08/28/05 - For the Journal-Constitution

October 17, 2004 Letter to the editor of The Roanoke Times

Dear Sir:

Can you please tell me what WDBJ thinks it is doing? Television stations are here to serve the public. S-E-R-V-E.

Saturday morning, my 85-year-old mother arose early, had a hearty breakfast, read her Roanoke Times and settled down in her den for the Virginia Tech game.

My phone blared at 8:04 a.m. On a Saturday, no less. She was in a low-grade panic. "I can't find the game," she cried. My mother is almost deaf. I have been trying to get her qualified for that telephone that prints out a message, but no luck so far. I know she cannot hear anything I might say, so I have to get up, get dressed and get into that flow of molasses they call "game day traffic" so that I can explain to her: "It's not on TV. They aren't broadcasting it."

"But why?" she cried. "It's sold out."

I try to explain: "They don't think it's much of a game."

"What do they mean much?" she asks.

"Well, they think Tech will run over Florida A&M."

"Yes," she gleefully claps her hands.

"They think the score will be in the high double digits, maybe 50 or more, to zero."

"Absolutely! Yes! That's what I think, too!"

"Well, that's not much of a game."

"These people are nuts! That's a great game! Tech up by 30 or 40 points at halftime? That's great! Then you can relax and enjoy it. What is it with those folks who want those one- and two-point competitions? That just wears me out. I go to bed so tired I can't sleep well."

I try to explain that some folks don't look at it the way she does. But she is extremely unhappy. She spent Saturday afternoon looking longingly at her darkened, giant surround-sound screen muttering more to herself than to me, "I just don't understand." Then she realized what she had to do. "Will you take me to WDBJ?"

"Why?" I cautiously asked.

"I want to picket them."

I was able to dissuade her from a drastic act this time, but I'm not sure how long I can hold her off. I know she has sorority friends who feel the same way she does. She agreed to hold off if I would write a letter.

Let this be a warning. Virginia Tech games should be shown. Or you just might have to answer to the Senior Brigade.

Nikki Giovanni is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator. A Knoxville native who teaches writing and literature at Virginia Tech, Giovanni is a three-time winner of the NAACP Image Award.