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NIAF Picks & Pans
home >> Image & Identity >> Picks & Pans >> Winter 2003
THUMBS UP TO:
Steve Antonuccio, for calling National Public Radio’s (NPR) attention to the excessive coverage they have given to The Sopranos. NPR produces 32 stories on the show in three years, leading NPR Ombudsman Jeffrey A. Dvorkin to publicly acknowledge that NPR had “overstepped the bounds of what could be considered modest and appropriate” and NPR had in effect “rendered a disservice to all listeners by not exploring the series’ impact beyond increasing cable subscriptions for HBO.” Contact Steve Antonuccio at snton1492@adelphia.net and Jeffrey Dvorkin at 202-513-3246 or at ombudsman@npr.org.
The Columbus Citizens’ Foundation, among other Italian American organizations including NIAF, for their dedicated work in confronting Mayor Bloomberg and his poor choice of invitees to the annual New York City Columbus Day Parade. Their efforts ensured that the Italian American community was represented in a manner appropriate to the holiday. Contact at ccfoundtn@aol.com or 212-249-9923.
Lee Corso, ESPN football analyst and personality, for discussing his Italian heritage with pride and sincerity while broadcasting a college football game on the ESPN channel. Among his colorful comments, Corso proudly and confidently declared that star quarterback Dave Ragone, of the University of Louisville, was son of Italian immigrants like himself! Contact him via “Lee Mail” at http://espn.go.com/ncf/s/corso/mail.html.
Francesco Castellano, President of the Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts, for confronting Building 19, a retail company, that used an advertisement trivializing Sacco and Vanzetti. Building 19’s CEO offered a public apology to Mr. Castellano for the advertisement that appeared in the Boston Globe. Additionally, this apology caught the eye of another newspaper, the Worcester Business Journal, which interviewed and did a story on Mr. Castellano detailing the success of his campaign with Building 19. Contact Francesco Castellano at 617-876-5160 or Cambridge@dantealighieri.net.
Anna Salamone for getting the “Soprano Tour,” which featured a tour of sites used on the HBO program, cancelled from the offerings of the Parks and Recreation Department of Rocky Hill, Connecticut. Contact her at ATambellini01@aol.com.
Anthony DeVito, for writing to Time Out NY (TONY) magazine and sarcastically expressing his disapproval of their glowing article about a new cookbook by real life gangster Henry Hill. Contact TONY at letters@timeoutny.com.
Bill Marks, columnist of the College Football News website, for apologizing to NIAF for a column done in poor taste about Head Football Coach Chuck Amato of North Carolina State. While it is commendable that Mr. Marks took responsibility for his disparaging column relating to Coach Amato, the NIAF would have preferred to see his apology appear publicly in his column. Contact billmarkscfn@aol.com.
Jersey City, New Jersey, for naming Ronald Buonocore as the city’s first Italian American Police Chief. The decorated Buonocore is a native of Jersey City and joined the force in 1973. Contact the JCPD at jcpd@law.com.
THUMBS DOWN:
Radio station KC101 in Connecticut for creating and airing an offensive song, “Christmas in Staven.” This song perpetuates negative stereotypes of Italian Americans, including those which associate Italian Americans with organized crime and depict Italian Americans as uneducated and crude buffoons. Contact Danny Ocean, program director at KC101, 495 Benham Street, Hamden, CT 06514 or (203) 230-1013.
Ocean County Library, Toms River, New Jersey, for holding a book signing with The Sopranos cast member Steven R. Shirripa promoting his new book “A Goomba’s Guide to Life.” Despite grievances from the Italian American community that this signing was taking place in a government building, the library went ahead with the event. Contact library program coordinator Scott Rodas at rodas_s@oceancounty.lib.nj.us.
Ragu and Rubbermaid companies for their recent advertisements that depicted Italian Americans in a stereotypical unflattering manner. Contact Ragu at 1-800-328-7248 or http://www.eat.com/cust_serv/customer_service.asp and Rubbermaid at 1-888-895-2110 or http://rubbermaid.com/hpd/consumer/contact/contactus.jhtml.
Special Thanks to: Manny Alfano, Ben Lawton, Vivian Marciante Kircher, Constance Notarino-Pullman, Carmela Ottaviano, and Michael Polelle.
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