MSNBC President Rashida Jones gave the commencement address at the University of the District of Columbia, an HBCU in the nation’s capital, on Saturday.
Jones told the graduating class, “I know a number of you are first-generation graduates. You are setting the example in your own families and communities. That pressure — the pressure of being a first or only — is a privilege. There is a certain responsibility when you are the first to do something. I have personally seen it and felt it. But that pressure means you are doing something extraordinary.”
Jones also talked about journalism, adding, “Pressure comes in all shapes and sizes in a role like mine. As journalists, we are writing the first draft of history and a lot of responsibility comes with that. I lead an organization that values the First Amendment and the power journalism has in putting a mirror up to the world. It is important for all of us, in each of our ways, to hold the powerful accountable and to leave the world in a better place because of it. That responsibility that pressure empowered journalists like Ida B. Wells and Ethel Payne to lay down a foundation for fundamental change and inspire the modern civil rights movement.”
And another speech …
There was another notable commencement address on Saturday as comedian Jerry Seinfeld spoke at Duke University. That speech did include some boos, as well as students leaving, as part of anti-war protests that took place on college campuses across the country. Most reports said the number of walkouts was in the “dozens.” The Associated Press said the number was about 30 out of 7,000.
NBC News Doha Madani wrote, “It’s unclear whether the booing was intended for Seinfeld or the student protest, or potentially both, but chants of ‘Jerry’ were heard shortly after. Seinfeld was later able to deliver his speech uninterrupted.”
Seinfeld also received an honorary degree from Duke — where his daughter previously graduated and his son currently attends. Madani wrote, “Seinfeld, who is Jewish, has been vocally supportive of Israel and visited the country following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.”
In recent interviews promoting his new Netflix movie, “Unfrosted,” Seinfeld stirred up some controversy. In an interview with The New Yorker, Seinfeld claimed “the extreme left and P.C. crap” killed comedy on television.
The Daily Beast’s Corbin Bolies wrote, “Seinfeld’s speech largely steered clear of his recent public scuffles, focusing instead on jokes surrounding the students, AI, and his honorary degree. In a riff on the idea of privilege, though, he made specific mention of his heritage to loud cheers.”
That mention from Seinfeld: “I grew up a Jewish boy from New York. That is a privilege if you want to be a comedian.”
Shooting for ratings
The Caitlin Clark Show returns this week. The college basketball sensation who set scoring records on the court and helped boost TV ratings will return to the court and television screens. She will make her WNBA debut Tuesday night in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
And even though there’s plenty going on in the sports world, including the NBA and NHL playoffs, the WNBA is hopeful Clark can catapult TV ratings to new heights.
The Wall Street Journal’s Rachel Bachman has a good breakdown of the so-called Clark effect in “Caitlin Clark Is Already the GOAT of TV Ratings.” Bachman’s reporting shows that Clark’s impact on TV ratings provides a bigger boost than even many of the great transformative athletes such as Michael Jordan, Serena Williams and Tiger Woods.
Bachman writes, “But Clark didn’t just push up the audience of her own games. She also elevated the expectations for her sport as a televised product. Even viewership of non-Iowa games in the tournament jumped 76% year-over-year.”
Bachman rightly notes that trying to compare viewership numbers across history and sports is very much an inexact science, but there’s no question that Clark has had a profound impact on women’s college basketball. In addition, this could be the most pivotal moment in WNBA history.
Good work
