As part of the annual Year-in-Review issue of the Indianapolis Recorder, newsroom staffers Shannon Williams, Jessica Williams-Gibson and Brandon Perry provide their favorite things in the world of entertainment. Read below to see if any of your favorites made the Best of 2008 list.
Best Female Artist
SW: Chrisette Michelle
Jess: Jennifer Hudson
BP: Keyshia Cole
Best Male Artist
SW: Ne-Yo
Jess: T.I.
BP: Chris Brown, Usher
Best Dressed Male
SW: Will Smith
Jess: Common
BP: Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant (mega church minister)
Best Dressed Female
SW: Michelle Obama
Jess: Rihanna
BP: Rihanna
Best Celebrity Couple
SW: Barack and Michelle Obama
Jess: Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey
BP: Barack and Michelle Obama
Best TV Show
SW: MSNBC’s “Lockdown” series
Jess: NCIS
BP: Law & Order SVU
Best Concert
SW: “The Lion King” (I know it wasn’t a concert per se, but the music was FANTASTIC!)
Jess: Hip-Hop Live Tour feat. Talib Kweli, David Banner and Little Brother
BP: Cameo, Whispers and Confunkshun (July), and Marvin Sapp (October)
Best Movie
SW: “A Family that Preys”
Jess: “Dark Knight” and “Iron Man”
BP: “Hancock”
Best Hang-out Spot
SW: My couch
Jess: Front Page Bar and Grill
BP: Obama’s Indy campaign headquarters
Best Fashion Trend
SW: Babydoll shirts/dresses
Jess: Cardigan sweaters and gladiator stilettos
BP: Obama apparel, especially shirts and winter hats.
Best Sports Moment
SW: When Troy Murphy’s buzz-beater gave the Indiana Pacers a fantastic 118-117 win over the hottest team in the NBA at the time: the LA Lakers. The tip-in hit the rim just as the buzzer sounded.
Jess: When Cullen Jones made history as the first African-American swimmer to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
BP: When Reggie Wayne scored a 65-yard touchdown during the Colts’ 24-20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in November.
Most Irritating Celebrity
SW: Kanye West (I’m tired of his arrogance and whining)
Jess: Beyonce (she’s overrated and fake…she and ‘Sasha’)
BP: Joseph Wurzelbacher, or Joe The Plumber. Nothing against the guy, but we heard about him as much as we did Obama and McCain!
Favorite Recorder Story
SW: Though there were many stories that can easily be classified as my favorite, I was especially pleased with the Healthy Living series that Recorder staffers did. Health care is a major issue of concern for African-Americans and others minorities, so it is important for the Recorder to continuously educate our readers about the subject matter.
The two tabloid size installments focused on issues in Black and minority healthy; from pre-natal to midlife and midlife and beyond. Our readers had the opportunity to not only learn about the ever-increasing disparities in health care, but also specific illnesses and diseases that primarily affect Blacks. As part of the education efforts, we also informed readers about possible signs, symptoms as well as resources available such as Medicare benefits.
Jess: My favorite story of the year is hands down the Recorder’s coverage on the election. Whether you voted for Barack Obama or were a fan of John McCain, you can’t deny the electricity, interest and awareness the election caused. I believe it’s because people are tired of politicians lying and making empty promises, they’re tired of being passed over and people are tired of seeing communities around them crumble. This year’s presidential election (and many local elections) gave people something to believe in again.
In addition to the political drama, I truly enjoyed writing environmentally based articles. Recycling, brownfields, energy conservation; going green is not just a fad. I love being a writer and I love writing for my community. I’m glad you have given me the platform to share my interest in bringing awareness to this issue. As someone who is making efforts to live a green lifestyle, I invite you to grow and change with me in the upcoming year as we do our part to save the planet.
BP: My favorite articles this year were part of the “Too Sexy Too Soon” series (July and August.) That series dealt with issues related to children and teenagers becoming sexually active too early, mostly due to influences from peers, television and music embracing a reckless sexual lifestyle outside of marriage.
The series was probably our most controversial of the year, but we received praise from parents and teens affected by sexually transmitted diseases, depression and pregnancies they were not prepared to handle. Teens we spoke with throughout the community enjoyed talking about the issue and seemed to appreciate the fact that a media outlet was finally looking into an area of challenges that affect many teens on a daily basis.
As cliche as it sounds, our children represent the future leaders of our world, and we must do everything possible to warn them about the distractions that can prevent them from being successful and reaching their full potential.
