August 17, 2026 • 25 mins
Loren LoRosa is entering a new era and taking you behind the scenes as she levels up The Latest with Loren LoRosa—from an exclusive podcast photoshoot to building the business infrastructure behind the brand.
Then, Loren breaks down Tracy Ellis Ross’ surprising revelations about Girlfriends and why one of Black television’s most iconic shows didn’t receive the recognition it deserved during its original run.
Plus, Loren unpacks the conversation surrounding the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) giving Stephen A. Smith a “Thumbs Down” award over comments about Black women in politics and media, sparking a larger discussion about journalism, accountability, and representation.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FM
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
I'm a homegrow that knows a little bit about everything
and everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
You know, if you don't lie about that, right, Lauren
came in.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Hey, y'all, what's up.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
It's Laura l Rosa and this is another episode of
the Latest with Laura l Rosa. This is your daily
dig of all things pop culture, entertainment, news, and all
of the conversations that shake the room.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So checking in behind the scenes of the ground. You
guys know, we did the photo shoot. I've been telling
you guys or keeping you just along the journey with
me behind the scenes as I'm like I was gonna say,
like building the business side of it, but like it's
been there, I think now I'm just.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Not elevating it. I'm I'm leveling it up.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
We're leveling up the business side of the business when
it comes to the podcast. You know me as talent
and just really learning how to like be in a
talent space, so you know, one of the things that
is required or images and photos and all the things.
And we used to do a lot of photo shoots
when I had more time. Now I'm always just trying
(01:06):
to focus on making sure my quality of my work
is good that I kind of don't even take the
time to also pop out, you know, with the new
photos and the photo shoots and the brand deals and
all that stuff. But I'm literally at the point now,
y'all where it's not a thing of a my questioning
am I really supposed to be here? Which is weird
because I didn't start off that way. It just slowly
(01:29):
crept up on me, and I was fighting that for
like three months. It's not that though, not that at all. Now,
it's just a thing of you only get a set
window to make mistakes and what I do, so I'm
always focused on, like, is the work right, Am I
making mistakes or not? And in order to do that,
(01:49):
a lot of times me and the things that I
personally want to do outside of what I'm reporting and
the information I'm trying to get right take such a
back burner. I'm learning how to balance, I'm learning how
to bob and weave. Okay, So this weekend we did
that photo shoot. We actually did some of it at
the Breakfast Club studio, which is cool because my little brother,
he shot a lot of the behind the scenes and
(02:10):
was able to come to the Breakfast Club studio. He's
been here, but he's never been in the studio, so
that was cool and just to you know, be working
with him and have.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Him on the team.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
So we do have some of the audio just from
behind the scenes of the photo shoot, conversations you guys
will hear me kind of like going through and giving
instruction a bit.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I think that this is like a whole new era
of walking into the room like God sent you there.
That's like it doesn't send to me, y'all be in
a business woman. And the thing about this is like
whenever I see these lists of like the top paid
podcasters and you know, Forbes doing list on you know,
podcasters who are dominating the money that they're making, and
(02:52):
you know, like those type of lists. One of the
things that I always ask questions about, and normally it's
to Charlomagne, is what sets these podcasters apart from all
the other people that pack the mic. And what I
notice a lot of is the business, like the infrastructure
that they've built around them, like podcasting and turn it
(03:13):
on these microphones, and the talent of it is literally
one part I think sustaining even if you never you know,
even if the growth is never vertical, right, And I
mean like that means you hit a spot and you're good.
You're able to provide for yourself people know about the
show is doing everything you needed to do, but it
(03:34):
never goes up from there. There is a business model
that is needed in the infrastructure that is needed around
your voice and your talent so that you'll be able
to sustain that. Now, I don't want to hit a
plateau and hit a ceiling and look up and be like, dang,
I can't Like I want to always feel my business
model needing to grow, the pivot needed to happen, and
understand that. But I say that to say, those podcasters
(03:56):
who are able to sustain on very high levels, they
have this understand all of.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
It works together for the greater good.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
And I'm teaching myself that, And I'm also teaching myself
that it is okay for me to be thinking like
that in this era of my life, because when you
are a person who is having conversations about people and
things in a journalistic way, you're not the story, Like
I've never been the story for real. But if you
(04:28):
building a talent, if you're building a personality, if you're
building a podcast, with a community that listens to you
daily and grows with you. I'm here, I'm letting y'all
lan We're doing this thing. So yeah, this is one
of many to come. I'm also really proud of the
team that I've built, Like that was one of my
biggest takeaways after this weekend as well too. It's like
I have a really really strong team. We're all learning
(04:50):
and growing and young and excited, but we're getting We're
doing what we.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Need to do.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Everybody's performing on the level that we need to perform
on for this to elevate and what it's going to do.
So you guys will see some of those images soon.
We have some big announcements coming up that we'll be
using those for, and of course across social So yeah,
make sure you guys are following me everywhere. Laura le
Rosa l O r E N l O R O
s A. Now let's get on into the latest. Now,
(05:18):
speaking of journalism or personalities, Tracy Ellis Rass is having
a conversation. I know that we had this conversation often
about why girlfriends did not get there just do when
the show was at its peak. She actually calls out
Jay Leno during this conversation, let's take a listen.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Never had thought no talk shows, no Tonight Show, no
David Letterman, no, no Emmy's. Had never been to the
Emmy line, had never been.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
To anyone, never on a late night show.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
No.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
As a matter of fact, I have a story. It
was Jay Leno and I had girlfriends and the comment
was we love Tracy call Us when she at something
and oh yeah, And I was like, I remember thinking,
get what, like, what else do you have to get?
I don't know, and it just was not we love her,
(06:12):
but it was not considered. And the other thing was
I remember this. I remember specifically the show Monk. Do
you remember that that show had a quarter of our viewership?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
A quarter of our viewership?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
And I remember seeing him on the show, and I
was so confused, and I was like, I don't understand.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Is it viewership?
Speaker 2 (06:34):
And the only thing you can boil it down to
you're like, is it just racism?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Like I don't, like, I'm not sure how to like,
how do you categorize it?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Like I don't know what it is. I never went
to the Emmys. The first time I went to the
Emmys was on Blackish.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yoh, this is crazy. Yeah, this is like, this is
to me, this is mind blowing.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
So yeah, because they they all existed in the same Yeah,
and ignorantly.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Because we were in South Africa.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
We're just watching this going these are all the same,
they all occupy the same level.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So interesting.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
I've never heard that.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
I would be honest with y'all, like, I'm a huge
fan of the show Girlfriends. I love mar brockyck Kill,
I love all the cast of Girlfriends, and I know
so many of the like behind the scenes stories, like
I've heard Tracy alas Strauss talk about having to like
literally fund a lot of her own wardrobe and them
having to borrow the clothing from each other. I've heard
(07:24):
Mar brocka Kill talk about that as well. I've you know,
heard the conversations about more money being needed to ever
bring Girlfriends back in the right way. Today, Mark brock
Kill was just on a breakfast club talking about that.
But this was the first time that I heard, you know,
some of the specifics around, like even the promotion of
the show and what did not go well. And I
(07:44):
think what was so surprising for me is Girlfriends has
always been a huge show to me, Like I've never
felt like there was any promotion or you know, marketing
not there because by the time, like by the time
I came, I got to age where I could understand
the show and what it meant to us, and it
(08:05):
was already like this iconic, like historic piece of culture,
you know what I mean, Like the Girlfriend's cast literally
the symbolism of them is such an embedded iconic piece
of culture. And for all of the time that I
can remember, it was that I've only ever heard stories
about the other stuff. So hearing her talk about Jay
Lennon and I'm like, you know, Jay Little during his
(08:26):
time was one of the biggest late night talk shows.
How do you not have the biggest with the biggest
And I'm like, okay, putting things into perspective, they weren't
treated that way.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
And a lot of it too.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
I've heard people have conversations about sex and the city
in comparison to girlfriends and how you know, designers and
fashion houses would throw clothing at sex in the city
because these were white women living these lives and it
was so much more believable that they could do it
versus the black women.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
But yeah, pretty interesting to hear one of the things
for me too.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
That I always think about when it comes to the
Girlfriend's cast and remake and the things that didn't happen
for them, is what would have been the ending of
the show if all of that had actually gone right, right,
Like if they had been able to stay on for
more seasons, if they had gotten the budgets that they
needed to you know, build in the wardrobe the way
(09:21):
that they wanted to continue the things that they were doing.
I mean, we've even asked for their not to even
be a full like second part of the series, but
to just bring in like even if they did, like
Sex and.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
The City did two movies.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Before they brought back an actual you know, and just
like that Sex and a Series TV show. We've asked
for even if it just one Girlfriend's movie, so we
could get the closure of the cast and the stories.
I always wonder like what would that be, Like, what
would be the storyline, especially in today's time, like there's
so much to be talked about. These women have lived
(09:57):
so much life. Marl Brock I killed, you know, genius
writer and brains behind the show has done so much.
Would that be and why y'all let me know? I mean,
I have my idea. I think at this point, you know,
some of the things that didn't end the best, like
people's love lives, careers, shoot Lynne, just finding a home
(10:20):
of our own. Some of those things, of course would
be answered. But you know, I feel like what the
Girlfriend's show, the beauty of it was like there was
those small things and simple things on the top, but
at the crevices of it, there were these really deep
conversations that like women, like especially as a black woman,
we felt like yeah, girl, yes, like thank you for
saying it.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
What would be the thank you for saying it?
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Of twenty twenty six for The Girlfriend's Cast, Shifting gears
a bit. Speaking of journalism and conversations, nab j Okay
had a conversation about Steven A. Smith, not even had
a conversation, but they started a conversation about Stephen A.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Smith.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
So NABJ and then Association of Black Journalists, which is
an organization full of journalists journalists of color. It is
actually the largest organization for journalists of color in the
United States. So this organization supports thousands of black media professionals, students,
educators worldwide. They do, you know, they advocate for journalists
(11:20):
in the space, there's training, they do a bunch of
career fairs. When I was in college, NABJ in this
conference that they have every year was such a thing
because not only could you go and literally rub elbows
with some of the biggest black journalists across all spaces,
so whether they were working at black outlets or not
black outlets, but you go and try to get a job,
whether it was an internship, a job job, from local
(11:41):
news to sports to entertainment.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
All of the black journalists.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
This is like our homecoming ceremony, right, like you know,
homecoming to HBC. You everybody come back. Everybody there on
the yard, having a good time. You can run into everybody.
Nabj's conference or nearly annual conference, the big one that
they do, because they do a ton of differ stuff
the year. It's kind of like the homecoming a black journalist.
So during this year's during this year's award show, they
(12:08):
did a rendition of their Thumbs Down Award and they
gave it to Stephen A. Smith, which has sparked some conversation.
Let's take a listen to Steven A. Smith receiving that award.
He was not there, but this is a video of
them presenting him the award.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Stephen A. Smith, sports analysts and political commentator, Smith has
established a recurring public pattern of disparaging commentary directed at
prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media. Such commentary
reinforces harmful narratives, undermines the fair and respectful representation of
Black women in public discourse, and stands in direct conflict
(12:45):
with nabj's long standing commitment to accurate, responsible and inclusive
portrayals of Black communities.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
So the thumbs Down Award, per the nabj's website, is
presented to an individual organization for especially insensitive, racist, or
stereotypical reporting, commentary, photography, or cartooning about the Black community,
or for engaging in practices at odds with the goals
of NABJ. Nabj's goals, as I just mentioned to you guys,
(13:11):
are to advocate, to educate, to uplift, and to further
black journalists the spaces that we work in and what
we're able to do. So this all comes following a
lot of the comments that Stephen A. Smith had about
Jasmine Crockett, black woman. I mean, everybody should know who
jasminc Crockett is, but black woman in the political space
(13:32):
who he I don't know, like he got a little
crazy when it came to some of the things that
he was saying about her. Let's take a listen to
some of his comments on Jasmine Crockett.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
When I point to a Jasmine Crockett is because here's
what I know. All I ever hear her doing is
going off about Trump, ladies and gentlemen. Can I tell
you what my belief is, I have no desire to
be a politician. Let me reiterate that. And I appreciate
House Leader Democratic Leader Hakim Jeffrey speaking to me in
the way that he did by saying that I speak
(14:03):
with the frustration of the American people, because you damn right,
I do. Let me tell you what gets me annoyed.
And I hope Jasmine Crockett is listening to this, by
the way, she's welcomed on the show. When you go
on national television and you call him the President of
the United States out of his name and you being
all disrespectful as a representative in this country, do you
(14:29):
believe the citizens of Texas sent.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
You there to do that.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
They don't like him either. I'm talking about those who
voted for her in all likelihood, But because he is
who he is and he is in that position, they
expect you to go to Capitol Hill and figure out
a way to maneuver yourself through that terrain, to work
in a fashion that's gonna facilitate get things done on
(14:55):
behalf of your constituents.
Speaker 6 (14:56):
That's your job. That's your job, extus my language on
serious except but it ain't your job to say he
ain't shit, he ain't worth a damn.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
That's not your job.
Speaker 6 (15:11):
Ain'ybody to do that.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
He's a deal maker. And if you figure out a
way to make him look good in any way, quick
pro quote is something he lives by here reciprocate if
you know that, why you can't figure it out?
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Gord, Now, that was the one that really takes people off.
And I think the reason why I take people off
is because you know, there's always this conversation when you're
a journalist, you're black. You're black in any space, whether
you're not a journalist, you could be a freaking electrician.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
No matter what you are.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
When you're black, there's always a conversation about like the
politics of the room and how you should navigate the
politics of the room, whether it's how you're speaking, what
you're saying, how honest and real you can get. So,
you know, people didn't like to hear Steven and say
that because especially with Jasmin Crockett, because one of the
things for me, like I'm not a person who like
(16:07):
is die hard politics. I follow things because my life
is impacted by it and just because I like to
know what's going on. But what I always loved about
Jasmin Crockett and still love to say about her is
the fact that she cuts through. Like I think, you know,
like people get tired of hearing politicians talk to politics
to them. And when I say that, I mean, like
not everybody wants to hear about the promises and the
(16:28):
things you're going to do and go out and vote.
Some people need to hear yo. Stuff is really fed
up right now and here's exactly why. And they want
to see people be called out for the wrongs that
are happening. I honestly think that a young, sharp, cut
through voice like a Jasmine Crockett and a building an
army of those and actually having them supported across the
(16:50):
Democratic Party, I think that would kind of change the
way that politics are set up to not be for
us by us. Like if you think about like what
Donald Trump has been able to do in this time,
I think the biggest thing is that he don't care
and I don't does he not care about what he's
saying how he say it? So it cuts through because
(17:11):
people were like, Okay, you're talking straight to me. He
goes anywhere to do it, Like he's on podcasts that
like a normal regular person is listening to just for
shits and giggles or just for their best commentary, not
even for politics, Like he's meeting people where they are,
And the respectability politics thing never works well. Our sins
well with black people because I you know, I mean
it's deep rooted. It goes back to racism, it goes
(17:32):
back to you know, there's colorism that comes into it.
There's you know, proximity to whiteness, and there's a lot
right like we've been through four hundred plus years of
trying to figure out not even trying to figure out.
We've been through four to five hundred years of people
having conversations about what we could have done to make
sure that certain things didn't happen to us, and the
(17:55):
reality of it is it's no matter how much you do,
no matter how much you look, no matter what you say,
You're still black. These things are still real, these things
are still apparent, are still happening. And Steven A. Smith
in his brand and to me, like, again, I don't
watch sports, but I like Steven A. Smith because he's
not afraid to say he's not And I like people
who talk like that because I believe you it's real.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
So for him to.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Go across the room and then tear down Jasmine Crockett
at a time where Trump was also like the right,
like the wrong, people in this conversation were already doing that,
and I think that's a lot of what it was
as well too. I think that there is a way
for him to I don't think that everybody has to agree.
I don't think that he has to love how she
(18:43):
does things, but I do think that there's a way
that you talk about another black person, especially a black
woman who was literally the target of so many attacks
because of what she's doing. You don't get, to my opinion,
you don't get on your platform and demean her in
the way that he did.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
And he came back and apologized. He heard some people out.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
Let's say, listen, I wanted to take a moment because
I saw something disturbing in regards to President Donald Trump
and how he came at Representative Jasmine Crockett, and I
wanted to take this opportunity to attack this issue as
(19:20):
it attained to me in Jasmine Crockett, because I personally
have had an issue with how things have been misconstrued
and misinterpreted. But at the end of the day, I
have to own it. And that's what I'm going to
do today. And so when somebody says to me, Stephen,
rather than point to her and her verbiage and her
(19:41):
language and how she talked about the president, what about
how he talks. I have no problem with that. I
can understand that. And if that is the reason that
everybody is in an uproar, that is fine. And I
have no problem apologizing to that to my sister, because
damn it, I want her to know I don't feel
that way about her, just like I didn't feel that
(20:05):
way abou Kamala Harris, just like I don't feel that
way about the marvelous, the wonderful, the incomparable, the greatest
first Lady ever in Michelle Obama in my estimation or
anybody else. But what we're gonna do on this show
is understand who the hell I am and how it's
gonna be. As long as I'm doing this show, I
have no problem apologizing if I'm wrong. I have no
(20:27):
problem apologizing if I've made somebody feel a certain kind
of way. But I'm gonna challenge the legitimacy of what
people come at with at me with when I think
that challenge is warranted and deserved. If you came to
me and you said to me that it came acrourd
as a bit dismissive, Steven, you should have been more
(20:48):
protective of her than that, because look at how he speaks,
look at how they act on Capitol Hill towards her.
I understand that, But when somebody tries to take that
to accused me of being disrespectful or in any way misogynistic,
I'm going to push back on that because that's emphatically false.
There's no truth to that whatsoever, and I'm not accepting
(21:10):
that and I'm not owning that.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
But I don't think that we stop his conversation. I
think that there is a way to have a difference
of approach in a conversation about it. And even with this,
I saw some people saying that it was messed up
that the NABJ basically targeted him in this list of
people that they gave this thumbs down award too right,
because he wasn't the only one that received the award.
Brandon Carr, the FCC chairman, was called out as well.
(21:34):
Dewa McCoy, the City of Circle City Broadcasting CEO, also
included CBS News because of all of their like structural
things that are happening with that merger and you know,
people losing shows, basically them trying to control or from
what it looks like from the outside looking at them,
from what it appears, trying to control the way that
(21:56):
news is reported to not be as fair across the board,
which is what we're talking about in the Washington Post. So,
you know, I can understand people being like, well, Dan,
y'all gonna throw steven A. Smith on that list like
he's one of ours. But at the same time, again,
I feel like people can disagree. I feel like you
can call out, you can disagree, but I do think
that there's a way that you go about it.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Now. Steven A.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Smith responded to this, and I'm sure he will be
responding more in depth on his platform as well. He says,
the NABJ wants to call out folks. Fine, you had
your turn, now mine is coming. I don't know what
do y'all think fair or not. I think receiving this
award does give him some time to reflect about how
(22:41):
his words are hitting people that look like him. But
I don't know if he really like not that he
doesn't care about his people that is. That's one of
the things that I don't like when I hear people
say about Steven A.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Smith.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
I work with an organization called I'm ambassador for organization
called HBCU Week shout out to Ashley Christopher. It's a
Delaware based organization, but they send students two and through
college like no other. I mean millions and millions of
dollars in scholarship money. I just went to the gala
this year where Steven Asmith was there and he spoke
and we talked about it here on another episode of
The Latest with Lauren Rosa. He has been such a
(23:18):
force for that organization, and reason being is because whenever
you have something like that where you're trying to get
money for black people and black students.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
You need somebody that people are going to listen to.
You need the star power.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
And not only does he not only is he a
force for the organization, he shows up like I mean,
he's at every gala, He's doing media for them, he's
traveling for them. He just created another extension of a
show across some of his platforms that he does, and
he put Ashley on that show that where they discuss
topics and stuff. So people need get to know her
and know more about what she does. And you know,
(23:52):
I know I've seen him do first take from HBCUs
as well too. He was at my HBCU Delaware Set University.
I don't think is that he doesn't care, but as
people when people try to make you know, these isolated
comments that I do think though some of the some
of the stuff that he says, in my opinion, it
is off it's off balance, Like I don't agree with it,
and it's okay, y'all for us not to agree. But
(24:14):
was this award wrong? Was NABJ as an organization that
is supposed to understand like, yeah, they do all this advocacy,
they do all these things NABJ is an historic, amazing
organization that should be mentioned as such. But if you
are an association of journalists, you should also understand people
don't always agree, and we should be able to have
conversations across the room, across the table. Let me know
(24:37):
what y'all think. Were they wrong? Were they right? Because
you know from what they're saying. This award is being
awarded to Stephen A. Smith, sports analysts and political commentator
because he has established a reoccurring public pattern of disparaging
commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media.
Such commentary reinforces harmful narratives, undermines the fair and respectful
(24:59):
re presentation of Black women in public discourse, and stands
in direct conflicts with nabj's long standing commitment to accurate,
responsible and inclusive portrayal of black communities. They said that
in a statement following this award, and you know everybody
having a conversation about it. Let me know what you
guys think. I'm Laura l Rosa. This has been another
episode of the Latest with Laura La Rosa. I tell
(25:20):
you guys, every single episode, y'all could be anywhere with
any old body talking about all of the things, but
y'all choose to be right here with me, my Lowriders,
I see you in my next one.
I'm a homegrow that knows a little bit about everything
and everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
You know, if you don't lie about that, right, Lauren
came in.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Hey, y'all, what's up.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
It's Laura l Rosa and this is another episode of
the Latest with Laura l Rosa. This is your daily
dig of all things pop culture, entertainment, news, and all
of the conversations that shake the room.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So checking in behind the scenes of the ground. You
guys know, we did the photo shoot. I've been telling
you guys or keeping you just along the journey with
me behind the scenes as I'm like I was gonna say,
like building the business side of it, but like it's
been there, I think now I'm just.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Not elevating it. I'm I'm leveling it up.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
We're leveling up the business side of the business when
it comes to the podcast. You know me as talent
and just really learning how to like be in a
talent space, so you know, one of the things that
is required or images and photos and all the things.
And we used to do a lot of photo shoots
when I had more time. Now I'm always just trying
(01:06):
to focus on making sure my quality of my work
is good that I kind of don't even take the
time to also pop out, you know, with the new
photos and the photo shoots and the brand deals and
all that stuff. But I'm literally at the point now,
y'all where it's not a thing of a my questioning
am I really supposed to be here? Which is weird
because I didn't start off that way. It just slowly
(01:29):
crept up on me, and I was fighting that for
like three months. It's not that though, not that at all. Now,
it's just a thing of you only get a set
window to make mistakes and what I do, so I'm
always focused on, like, is the work right, Am I
making mistakes or not? And in order to do that,
(01:49):
a lot of times me and the things that I
personally want to do outside of what I'm reporting and
the information I'm trying to get right take such a
back burner. I'm learning how to balance, I'm learning how
to bob and weave. Okay, So this weekend we did
that photo shoot. We actually did some of it at
the Breakfast Club studio, which is cool because my little brother,
he shot a lot of the behind the scenes and
(02:10):
was able to come to the Breakfast Club studio. He's
been here, but he's never been in the studio, so
that was cool and just to you know, be working
with him and have.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Him on the team.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
So we do have some of the audio just from
behind the scenes of the photo shoot, conversations you guys
will hear me kind of like going through and giving
instruction a bit.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I think that this is like a whole new era
of walking into the room like God sent you there.
That's like it doesn't send to me, y'all be in
a business woman. And the thing about this is like
whenever I see these lists of like the top paid
podcasters and you know, Forbes doing list on you know,
podcasters who are dominating the money that they're making, and
(02:52):
you know, like those type of lists. One of the
things that I always ask questions about, and normally it's
to Charlomagne, is what sets these podcasters apart from all
the other people that pack the mic. And what I
notice a lot of is the business, like the infrastructure
that they've built around them, like podcasting and turn it
(03:13):
on these microphones, and the talent of it is literally
one part I think sustaining even if you never you know,
even if the growth is never vertical, right, And I
mean like that means you hit a spot and you're good.
You're able to provide for yourself people know about the
show is doing everything you needed to do, but it
(03:34):
never goes up from there. There is a business model
that is needed in the infrastructure that is needed around
your voice and your talent so that you'll be able
to sustain that. Now, I don't want to hit a
plateau and hit a ceiling and look up and be like, dang,
I can't Like I want to always feel my business
model needing to grow, the pivot needed to happen, and
understand that. But I say that to say, those podcasters
(03:56):
who are able to sustain on very high levels, they
have this understand all of.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
It works together for the greater good.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
And I'm teaching myself that, And I'm also teaching myself
that it is okay for me to be thinking like
that in this era of my life, because when you
are a person who is having conversations about people and
things in a journalistic way, you're not the story, Like
I've never been the story for real. But if you
(04:28):
building a talent, if you're building a personality, if you're
building a podcast, with a community that listens to you
daily and grows with you. I'm here, I'm letting y'all
lan We're doing this thing. So yeah, this is one
of many to come. I'm also really proud of the
team that I've built, Like that was one of my
biggest takeaways after this weekend as well too. It's like
I have a really really strong team. We're all learning
(04:50):
and growing and young and excited, but we're getting We're
doing what we.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Need to do.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Everybody's performing on the level that we need to perform
on for this to elevate and what it's going to do.
So you guys will see some of those images soon.
We have some big announcements coming up that we'll be
using those for, and of course across social So yeah,
make sure you guys are following me everywhere. Laura le
Rosa l O r E N l O R O
s A. Now let's get on into the latest. Now,
(05:18):
speaking of journalism or personalities, Tracy Ellis Rass is having
a conversation. I know that we had this conversation often
about why girlfriends did not get there just do when
the show was at its peak. She actually calls out
Jay Leno during this conversation, let's take a listen.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Never had thought no talk shows, no Tonight Show, no
David Letterman, no, no Emmy's. Had never been to the
Emmy line, had never been.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
To anyone, never on a late night show.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
No.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
As a matter of fact, I have a story. It
was Jay Leno and I had girlfriends and the comment
was we love Tracy call Us when she at something
and oh yeah, And I was like, I remember thinking,
get what, like, what else do you have to get?
I don't know, and it just was not we love her,
(06:12):
but it was not considered. And the other thing was
I remember this. I remember specifically the show Monk. Do
you remember that that show had a quarter of our viewership?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
A quarter of our viewership?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
And I remember seeing him on the show, and I
was so confused, and I was like, I don't understand.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Is it viewership?
Speaker 2 (06:34):
And the only thing you can boil it down to
you're like, is it just racism?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Like I don't, like, I'm not sure how to like,
how do you categorize it?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Like I don't know what it is. I never went
to the Emmys. The first time I went to the
Emmys was on Blackish.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yoh, this is crazy. Yeah, this is like, this is
to me, this is mind blowing.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
So yeah, because they they all existed in the same Yeah,
and ignorantly.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Because we were in South Africa.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
We're just watching this going these are all the same,
they all occupy the same level.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So interesting.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
I've never heard that.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
I would be honest with y'all, like, I'm a huge
fan of the show Girlfriends. I love mar brockyck Kill,
I love all the cast of Girlfriends, and I know
so many of the like behind the scenes stories, like
I've heard Tracy alas Strauss talk about having to like
literally fund a lot of her own wardrobe and them
having to borrow the clothing from each other. I've heard
(07:24):
Mar brocka Kill talk about that as well. I've you know,
heard the conversations about more money being needed to ever
bring Girlfriends back in the right way. Today, Mark brock
Kill was just on a breakfast club talking about that.
But this was the first time that I heard, you know,
some of the specifics around, like even the promotion of
the show and what did not go well. And I
(07:44):
think what was so surprising for me is Girlfriends has
always been a huge show to me, Like I've never
felt like there was any promotion or you know, marketing
not there because by the time, like by the time
I came, I got to age where I could understand
the show and what it meant to us, and it
(08:05):
was already like this iconic, like historic piece of culture,
you know what I mean, Like the Girlfriend's cast literally
the symbolism of them is such an embedded iconic piece
of culture. And for all of the time that I
can remember, it was that I've only ever heard stories
about the other stuff. So hearing her talk about Jay
Lennon and I'm like, you know, Jay Little during his
(08:26):
time was one of the biggest late night talk shows.
How do you not have the biggest with the biggest
And I'm like, okay, putting things into perspective, they weren't
treated that way.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
And a lot of it too.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
I've heard people have conversations about sex and the city
in comparison to girlfriends and how you know, designers and
fashion houses would throw clothing at sex in the city
because these were white women living these lives and it
was so much more believable that they could do it
versus the black women.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
But yeah, pretty interesting to hear one of the things
for me too.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
That I always think about when it comes to the
Girlfriend's cast and remake and the things that didn't happen
for them, is what would have been the ending of
the show if all of that had actually gone right, right,
Like if they had been able to stay on for
more seasons, if they had gotten the budgets that they
needed to you know, build in the wardrobe the way
(09:21):
that they wanted to continue the things that they were doing.
I mean, we've even asked for their not to even
be a full like second part of the series, but
to just bring in like even if they did, like
Sex and.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
The City did two movies.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Before they brought back an actual you know, and just
like that Sex and a Series TV show. We've asked
for even if it just one Girlfriend's movie, so we
could get the closure of the cast and the stories.
I always wonder like what would that be, Like, what
would be the storyline, especially in today's time, like there's
so much to be talked about. These women have lived
(09:57):
so much life. Marl Brock I killed, you know, genius
writer and brains behind the show has done so much.
Would that be and why y'all let me know? I mean,
I have my idea. I think at this point, you know,
some of the things that didn't end the best, like
people's love lives, careers, shoot Lynne, just finding a home
(10:20):
of our own. Some of those things, of course would
be answered. But you know, I feel like what the
Girlfriend's show, the beauty of it was like there was
those small things and simple things on the top, but
at the crevices of it, there were these really deep
conversations that like women, like especially as a black woman,
we felt like yeah, girl, yes, like thank you for
saying it.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
What would be the thank you for saying it?
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Of twenty twenty six for The Girlfriend's Cast, Shifting gears
a bit. Speaking of journalism and conversations, nab j Okay
had a conversation about Steven A. Smith, not even had
a conversation, but they started a conversation about Stephen A.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Smith.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
So NABJ and then Association of Black Journalists, which is
an organization full of journalists journalists of color. It is
actually the largest organization for journalists of color in the
United States. So this organization supports thousands of black media professionals, students,
educators worldwide. They do, you know, they advocate for journalists
(11:20):
in the space, there's training, they do a bunch of
career fairs. When I was in college, NABJ in this
conference that they have every year was such a thing
because not only could you go and literally rub elbows
with some of the biggest black journalists across all spaces,
so whether they were working at black outlets or not
black outlets, but you go and try to get a job,
whether it was an internship, a job job, from local
(11:41):
news to sports to entertainment.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
All of the black journalists.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
This is like our homecoming ceremony, right, like you know,
homecoming to HBC. You everybody come back. Everybody there on
the yard, having a good time. You can run into everybody.
Nabj's conference or nearly annual conference, the big one that
they do, because they do a ton of differ stuff
the year. It's kind of like the homecoming a black journalist.
So during this year's during this year's award show, they
(12:08):
did a rendition of their Thumbs Down Award and they
gave it to Stephen A. Smith, which has sparked some conversation.
Let's take a listen to Steven A. Smith receiving that award.
He was not there, but this is a video of
them presenting him the award.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Stephen A. Smith, sports analysts and political commentator, Smith has
established a recurring public pattern of disparaging commentary directed at
prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media. Such commentary
reinforces harmful narratives, undermines the fair and respectful representation of
Black women in public discourse, and stands in direct conflict
(12:45):
with nabj's long standing commitment to accurate, responsible and inclusive
portrayals of Black communities.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
So the thumbs Down Award, per the nabj's website, is
presented to an individual organization for especially insensitive, racist, or
stereotypical reporting, commentary, photography, or cartooning about the Black community,
or for engaging in practices at odds with the goals
of NABJ. Nabj's goals, as I just mentioned to you guys,
(13:11):
are to advocate, to educate, to uplift, and to further
black journalists the spaces that we work in and what
we're able to do. So this all comes following a
lot of the comments that Stephen A. Smith had about
Jasmine Crockett, black woman. I mean, everybody should know who
jasminc Crockett is, but black woman in the political space
(13:32):
who he I don't know, like he got a little
crazy when it came to some of the things that
he was saying about her. Let's take a listen to
some of his comments on Jasmine Crockett.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
When I point to a Jasmine Crockett is because here's
what I know. All I ever hear her doing is
going off about Trump, ladies and gentlemen. Can I tell
you what my belief is, I have no desire to
be a politician. Let me reiterate that. And I appreciate
House Leader Democratic Leader Hakim Jeffrey speaking to me in
the way that he did by saying that I speak
(14:03):
with the frustration of the American people, because you damn right,
I do. Let me tell you what gets me annoyed.
And I hope Jasmine Crockett is listening to this, by
the way, she's welcomed on the show. When you go
on national television and you call him the President of
the United States out of his name and you being
all disrespectful as a representative in this country, do you
(14:29):
believe the citizens of Texas sent.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
You there to do that.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
They don't like him either. I'm talking about those who
voted for her in all likelihood, But because he is
who he is and he is in that position, they
expect you to go to Capitol Hill and figure out
a way to maneuver yourself through that terrain, to work
in a fashion that's gonna facilitate get things done on
(14:55):
behalf of your constituents.
Speaker 6 (14:56):
That's your job. That's your job, extus my language on
serious except but it ain't your job to say he
ain't shit, he ain't worth a damn.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
That's not your job.
Speaker 6 (15:11):
Ain'ybody to do that.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
He's a deal maker. And if you figure out a
way to make him look good in any way, quick
pro quote is something he lives by here reciprocate if
you know that, why you can't figure it out?
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Gord, Now, that was the one that really takes people off.
And I think the reason why I take people off
is because you know, there's always this conversation when you're
a journalist, you're black. You're black in any space, whether
you're not a journalist, you could be a freaking electrician.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
No matter what you are.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
When you're black, there's always a conversation about like the
politics of the room and how you should navigate the
politics of the room, whether it's how you're speaking, what
you're saying, how honest and real you can get. So,
you know, people didn't like to hear Steven and say
that because especially with Jasmin Crockett, because one of the
things for me, like I'm not a person who like
(16:07):
is die hard politics. I follow things because my life
is impacted by it and just because I like to
know what's going on. But what I always loved about
Jasmin Crockett and still love to say about her is
the fact that she cuts through. Like I think, you know,
like people get tired of hearing politicians talk to politics
to them. And when I say that, I mean, like
not everybody wants to hear about the promises and the
(16:28):
things you're going to do and go out and vote.
Some people need to hear yo. Stuff is really fed
up right now and here's exactly why. And they want
to see people be called out for the wrongs that
are happening. I honestly think that a young, sharp, cut
through voice like a Jasmine Crockett and a building an
army of those and actually having them supported across the
(16:50):
Democratic Party, I think that would kind of change the
way that politics are set up to not be for
us by us. Like if you think about like what
Donald Trump has been able to do in this time,
I think the biggest thing is that he don't care
and I don't does he not care about what he's
saying how he say it? So it cuts through because
(17:11):
people were like, Okay, you're talking straight to me. He
goes anywhere to do it, Like he's on podcasts that
like a normal regular person is listening to just for
shits and giggles or just for their best commentary, not
even for politics, Like he's meeting people where they are,
And the respectability politics thing never works well. Our sins
well with black people because I you know, I mean
it's deep rooted. It goes back to racism, it goes
(17:32):
back to you know, there's colorism that comes into it.
There's you know, proximity to whiteness, and there's a lot
right like we've been through four hundred plus years of
trying to figure out not even trying to figure out.
We've been through four to five hundred years of people
having conversations about what we could have done to make
sure that certain things didn't happen to us, and the
(17:55):
reality of it is it's no matter how much you do,
no matter how much you look, no matter what you say,
You're still black. These things are still real, these things
are still apparent, are still happening. And Steven A. Smith
in his brand and to me, like, again, I don't
watch sports, but I like Steven A. Smith because he's
not afraid to say he's not And I like people
who talk like that because I believe you it's real.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
So for him to.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Go across the room and then tear down Jasmine Crockett
at a time where Trump was also like the right,
like the wrong, people in this conversation were already doing that,
and I think that's a lot of what it was
as well too. I think that there is a way
for him to I don't think that everybody has to agree.
I don't think that he has to love how she
(18:43):
does things, but I do think that there's a way
that you talk about another black person, especially a black
woman who was literally the target of so many attacks
because of what she's doing. You don't get, to my opinion,
you don't get on your platform and demean her in
the way that he did.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
And he came back and apologized. He heard some people out.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
Let's say, listen, I wanted to take a moment because
I saw something disturbing in regards to President Donald Trump
and how he came at Representative Jasmine Crockett, and I
wanted to take this opportunity to attack this issue as
(19:20):
it attained to me in Jasmine Crockett, because I personally
have had an issue with how things have been misconstrued
and misinterpreted. But at the end of the day, I
have to own it. And that's what I'm going to
do today. And so when somebody says to me, Stephen,
rather than point to her and her verbiage and her
(19:41):
language and how she talked about the president, what about
how he talks. I have no problem with that. I
can understand that. And if that is the reason that
everybody is in an uproar, that is fine. And I
have no problem apologizing to that to my sister, because
damn it, I want her to know I don't feel
that way about her, just like I didn't feel that
(20:05):
way abou Kamala Harris, just like I don't feel that
way about the marvelous, the wonderful, the incomparable, the greatest
first Lady ever in Michelle Obama in my estimation or
anybody else. But what we're gonna do on this show
is understand who the hell I am and how it's
gonna be. As long as I'm doing this show, I
have no problem apologizing if I'm wrong. I have no
(20:27):
problem apologizing if I've made somebody feel a certain kind
of way. But I'm gonna challenge the legitimacy of what
people come at with at me with when I think
that challenge is warranted and deserved. If you came to
me and you said to me that it came acrourd
as a bit dismissive, Steven, you should have been more
(20:48):
protective of her than that, because look at how he speaks,
look at how they act on Capitol Hill towards her.
I understand that, But when somebody tries to take that
to accused me of being disrespectful or in any way misogynistic,
I'm going to push back on that because that's emphatically false.
There's no truth to that whatsoever, and I'm not accepting
(21:10):
that and I'm not owning that.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
But I don't think that we stop his conversation. I
think that there is a way to have a difference
of approach in a conversation about it. And even with this,
I saw some people saying that it was messed up
that the NABJ basically targeted him in this list of
people that they gave this thumbs down award too right,
because he wasn't the only one that received the award.
Brandon Carr, the FCC chairman, was called out as well.
(21:34):
Dewa McCoy, the City of Circle City Broadcasting CEO, also
included CBS News because of all of their like structural
things that are happening with that merger and you know,
people losing shows, basically them trying to control or from
what it looks like from the outside looking at them,
from what it appears, trying to control the way that
(21:56):
news is reported to not be as fair across the board,
which is what we're talking about in the Washington Post. So,
you know, I can understand people being like, well, Dan,
y'all gonna throw steven A. Smith on that list like
he's one of ours. But at the same time, again,
I feel like people can disagree. I feel like you
can call out, you can disagree, but I do think
that there's a way that you go about it.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Now. Steven A.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Smith responded to this, and I'm sure he will be
responding more in depth on his platform as well. He says,
the NABJ wants to call out folks. Fine, you had
your turn, now mine is coming. I don't know what
do y'all think fair or not. I think receiving this
award does give him some time to reflect about how
(22:41):
his words are hitting people that look like him. But
I don't know if he really like not that he
doesn't care about his people that is. That's one of
the things that I don't like when I hear people
say about Steven A.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Smith.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
I work with an organization called I'm ambassador for organization
called HBCU Week shout out to Ashley Christopher. It's a
Delaware based organization, but they send students two and through
college like no other. I mean millions and millions of
dollars in scholarship money. I just went to the gala
this year where Steven Asmith was there and he spoke
and we talked about it here on another episode of
The Latest with Lauren Rosa. He has been such a
(23:18):
force for that organization, and reason being is because whenever
you have something like that where you're trying to get
money for black people and black students.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
You need somebody that people are going to listen to.
You need the star power.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
And not only does he not only is he a
force for the organization, he shows up like I mean,
he's at every gala, He's doing media for them, he's
traveling for them. He just created another extension of a
show across some of his platforms that he does, and
he put Ashley on that show that where they discuss
topics and stuff. So people need get to know her
and know more about what she does. And you know,
(23:52):
I know I've seen him do first take from HBCUs
as well too. He was at my HBCU Delaware Set University.
I don't think is that he doesn't care, but as
people when people try to make you know, these isolated
comments that I do think though some of the some
of the stuff that he says, in my opinion, it
is off it's off balance, Like I don't agree with it,
and it's okay, y'all for us not to agree. But
(24:14):
was this award wrong? Was NABJ as an organization that
is supposed to understand like, yeah, they do all this advocacy,
they do all these things NABJ is an historic, amazing
organization that should be mentioned as such. But if you
are an association of journalists, you should also understand people
don't always agree, and we should be able to have
conversations across the room, across the table. Let me know
(24:37):
what y'all think. Were they wrong? Were they right? Because
you know from what they're saying. This award is being
awarded to Stephen A. Smith, sports analysts and political commentator
because he has established a reoccurring public pattern of disparaging
commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media.
Such commentary reinforces harmful narratives, undermines the fair and respectful
(24:59):
re presentation of Black women in public discourse, and stands
in direct conflicts with nabj's long standing commitment to accurate,
responsible and inclusive portrayal of black communities. They said that
in a statement following this award, and you know everybody
having a conversation about it. Let me know what you
guys think. I'm Laura l Rosa. This has been another
episode of the Latest with Laura La Rosa. I tell
(25:20):
you guys, every single episode, y'all could be anywhere with
any old body talking about all of the things, but
y'all choose to be right here with me, my Lowriders,
I see you in my next one.
The Breakfast Club News
Hosts And Creators
Charlamagne Tha God
DJ Envy
Jess Hilarious
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com