Newspaper owner tells critic: No reviews on films w/strong women

[The Straight Story]

NEWSPAPER OWNER TELLS CRITIC: NO REVIEWS OF FILMS FEATURING STRONG WOMEN

Michael Calleri wrote film reviews for the Niagara Falls Reporter for seven years — “a wonderful experience,” he says, until the weekly paper was sold earlier this year and then “veered so far off the cliff that it collided with itself.”

Under Reporter founding editor Mike Hudson, “I could say and write what I wanted,” writes Calleri. It was a different story after Frank Parlato bought the 12-year-old paper from Hudson.

The new editor-publisher wanted to approve the movies I reviewed, which had never happened before. Worse, there would be a litmus test. If the movie featured strong or empowered women, I would not be allowed to write about that film. I checked my calendar. No, I hadn’t traveled back in time. It wasn’t the tenth century, it was still 2012. Relieved about the date, I asked him if he was serious. He was.

Parlato told Calleri in an email that “I don’t want to publish reviews of films where women are alpha and men are beta. where women are heroes and villains and men are just lesser versions or shadows of females. i believe in manliness. …If you care to write reviews where men act like good strong men and have a heroic inspiring influence on young people to build up their character (if there are such movies being made) i will be glad to publish these.”

The film critic writes on Roger Ebert’s blog: “So, after seven good and enjoyable years of writing for the Niagara Falls Reporter, a chapter ended. And yes, founding editor Hudson paid his writers, including me. Guess who didn’t.”

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/11/20/newspaper-owner-tells-critic-no-reviews-of-films-featuring-strong-women/

[TeamPooka]

1. k+r!

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. holy moly

[ReRe]

30. LiberalinLA....

Exactly what came out of my mouth when I read this.

[Sheepshank]

3. WOW......he has some balls (for now) n/t

[ZombieHorde]

4. Fucked up, yet not surprising. nt

[sakabatou]

5. +1

[LeftinOH]

6. "I believe in manliness..." I'm fairly certain there's an entire genre

of "specialty" films which cater to this very taste. I'm resisting temptation to expound on that.
At least the writer had the good taste and dignity not to review those films for boss man.. because I would have done so.. then been fired.

[get the red out]

7. Those would be more like 12 year old boy-ness

Shoot 'em up and blow 'em up.

[malachi]

14. Gladiator movies?

[BB1]

22. Wrestling in involved, I'm sure.

[TahitiNut]

25. More like "glad he ate her" movies, I think.

[Major Nikon]

29. Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?

[dmr]

8. I would think a true test of 'manliness' is not being affraid of

anyone having any kind of strength.

If you have to have qualifications to your worth, then you're just trying to convince yourself of it. Others can usually see right through you and your mental weaknesses.

[Scuba]

31. +1

[Unknown Beatle]

9. Compassionate Republican

[AlbertCat]

19. He's thinking!

So he's not a republican.

[MadrasT]

10. Oh for fuck's sake. It is 20 fucking 12.

This guy has some serious issues.

[Blue_Tires]

11. This is what happens when non-news people own papers

This "Frank Parlato" character has some shall we say, interesting hits from a google search

http://www.battleofcali.com/2012/7/24/3185566/frank-parlato-hates-babies
http://www.frankparlato.org/
http://www.frankparlato.net/
http://www.rickross.com/reference/esp/esp76.html

[ProfessionalLeftist]

12. The American Taliban strikes again. n/t

[DakotaLady]

28. American Taliban

So very true ... thank you for your words.

[dogknob]

13. Those Tomb Raider spinoffs ARE getting old, however...

Sounds like this schmo doesn't want attention paid to movies like Silkwood. He probably made a "new house rule" after Thelma and Louise came out; I grew up in that kind of place. Ugh.

[AlbertCat]

16. after Thelma and Louise came out

YIKES!

Never have women looked stupider and made more asinine decisions than in "Thelma and Louise". Women acting like stupid men! Thank god they drove over that cliff (the least of their stupid actions).

[AlbertCat]

15. men act like good strong men and have a heroic inspiring influence on young people

Yeah... y'know....
like

"Hangover 2"

[evilhime]

17. Can you say Douchetard?

[toby jo]

18. laughing too hard - gfb

uh oh, it's strength over gonads, we're gonna fall apart, I just know it. Little minds. Hell, imagine living inside this guy's head. Life is passing you by, buddy boy.

[adieu]

20. I wonder why these Frank Parlatos make these business decisions

as in buying a paper and not allowing journalism to occur. The better journalists will leave, and the paper will sink as a piece of crappy product. What's it for? Vanity?

[JHB]

21. I suppose by "manliness" he means things like John Wayne dodging the draft...

...so he could play soldiers on a set when all of his competition put on real uniforms?

Clint Eastwood? Chuck Norris? Other guys with a super-macho rep because they controlled the script to show themselves that way? That kind of "manliness"?

You know what's not "manly", Mr. Parlato? Feeling that strong women somehow threaten your "manliness", and especially needing to pretend they don't exist.

[PoliticalBiker]

23. This is the kind of Crap...

... we are in for as a nation if we let the republicrats maintain or get any further control over what they already do now.
Centrists, liberals and progressives need to bust ass to stop this kind of political gerrymandering.
That paper needs to be painted as an reight-wing opinion outlet and not a news outlet. If enough readers can be made to see the turn their paper is taking, perhaps a reduction in circulation will urge the new owner to re-think his obviously flawed viewpoint.

The reight has been chipping away at things like this for decades. Owners like Rupert Murdock have been allowed to contol entire markets without opposition. When owners of franchises like Chick-Fil-A and Papa Johns are able to reduce worker hours or lay off workers citing Obama's election or due to ACA provisions that aren't even implemented yet and are allowed to get away with it, we are allowing the furthering of the republicrat agenda. We cannot allow this.

As the President says, the key to the future is education. How do we educate the American populace to the reall *affect* of republicrat policies? How do we convince the red voters that the policies of their candidates are NOT in their best interests? If the republicrats are allowed to *come back* in 2014, do you think they will hesitates one little bit on building on the atrocities they have managed to get through already? Don't you believe it! We need to repeal as much of that crap as we can so they don't have as much to build on.

[siligut]

24. What do the other journalists have to say?

You have to know that manly-man Parlato will have his nose in everything written and/or published from here on out.

[TahitiNut]

26. Parlato should be strapped to a chair and forced to watch "Kill Bill" 1 & 2 repeatedly for weeks.

[JHB]

32. And watch his DVDs of "Aliens" and "Terminator 2" get shredded...

...because his own criteria disqualify them, no matter how much ammo Arnold or the Colonial Marines burn through.

[Warpy]

27. Carefully built newspaper, meet ground

Anybody with that big an axe to grind against half the human race is not going to succeed in anything but running titty bars.

[sarcasmo]

33. Stone age mind set.