This week on WKNO-TV's Behind the Headlines Eric Barnes hosts a roundtable discussion with reporters Bill Dries, Laura Faith Kebede, Karanja Ajanaku, and Toby Sells.
Kebede, with Chalkbeat Tennessee, first shares thoughts about recent TN Ready results. She says that while much has improved, performance is still low. Kebede says that one solution might be a renewed focus on higher grades.
Ajanaku, from the New Tri-State Defender, and Sells, with the Memphis Flyer, discuss the ALCU-Tennessee lawsuit against Memphis over police surveillance. Ajanaku and Sells explain that the lawsuit centers around MPD making fake social media profiles to monitor activist groups. The police’s actions were said to be used for public safety by gathering information on the size and location of activist gatherings. However, the ALCU argues that the police went against a 1978 consent decree banning surveillance of non-criminals for political reasons.
Dries, a reporter for The Memphis Daily News, mentions Edge, the city’s economic development board. Ajanaku says that there needs to be changes and a consideration to how Memphis relates to the Edge board.
