John A. Oswald is editor-at-large at Metro writes in his breaking news piece - "Two teens shot at steel drum music festival near Brooklyn Museum. The steel drum band was playing when the shots rang out in Prospect Park."
What steel drum music festival? Since when does just because a steel band is performing at an event - does that event become a steel drum music festival?
If Bruce Springsteen performs at a Birthday party is it a Springsteen concert or is just a birthday party that Springsteen performed at? Did John A. Oswald take the time to ask one person what the event was about?
check other reports of the incident
http://gothamist.com/2015/07/13/brooklyn_museum_shooting.php
Replies
What is the issue here. Are you afraid steelpan music is going to be banned?
Or is it just the words festival, steelband and west indian?
Explain a bit more please.
"Are you afraid steelpan music is going to be banned?"
"Fear" is not the issue. However inaccurate or false labeling such as this headline generally feeds into the stigma usually attached to the steelpan art form by those who either do not know better, or others with an agenda, making the ongoing difficulty in surviving during the years for steel orchestras - in a sometimes hostile landscape, even more so.
With the social and cultural fabric, and physical environment of Brooklyn changing with regentrification, steel orchestras have found themselves without practice places for the most part. Pan Yards have already been lost to 'development opportunities'.
The very mention of 'steelband' for many is anathema to some in the populace, without any regard that their sentiments are very often misplaced.
The happy-go-lucky headline of "Two teens shot at steel drum music festival near Brooklyn Museum" is false. A 'steel drum music festival' would be an event where multiple steelbands performed, and generally only steelbands at that.
Not one small band performing at what is possibly closing time at a 'West Indian' event. Even if there were two performances, it still was not a 'steel drum music festival.'
Furthermore the "editor" deliberately re-enforced this inaccuracy with the ensuing sub-heading or by-line "The steel drum band was playing when the shots rang out in Prospect Park."
Hmm - so if this was a wedding reception held in the park, where the steelband was in the line-up of other contracted musicians playing "conventional instruments", and this shooting occurred, by this particular editor's summation, this would turn that 'wedding reception' into a steelband gig.
Many 'people' turn up their noses at, or outright make life difficult for, steel band musicians or any affiliation with the art form. And that can be done without any background. Fodder such as this type of 'story' will be called out and corrected.
A shooting occurred. Yes. At a "steel drum music festival"? No.
Aha, now I understand.
That is so different here in Europe. People love listening to Steelbands.
But even if it was a festival, it still has nothing to do with the shooting.
Do you think this is done deliberately by the reporter? If so, any possibility of rectifying that or maybe even better, try to get yourself in one of the bigger talkshows, together with that reporter, and explain something about the music?
Still two young people died. So sorry about that.
Thanks for explaining me.
Deanne Pil we have no doubt that the reporter did this deliberately. Like we said earlier, if Bruce Springsteen was performing at a Bar Mitzvah and two people got shot this reporter would not have written - "two people shot at a rock concert". This reporter has an agenda and evil intentions.
We are however, happy to report that the two teenagers who were shot are alive.
Deanne this was not a steelband music event. The attendees did not come to event because a steelband would be one of the performing artists.