THE CASH ROC BEGINS...

Welcome to The Cash Roc, my personal and professional place to talk to my readers of The Carolinian and The Wilmington Journal newspapers, and listeners to my weekly radio program, "Make it Happen" on Power 750 WAUG-AM, and www.Power750.com. 


I also appear weekly with journalists Bankole Thompson of The Michigan Citizen and Milton Allimadi of Black Star News during Imhotep Gary Byrd's "ObamaWatch" segment every Sunday night at 9 p.m. on 1190 WLIB-AM.

And, of course, I'm the producer/director of the awardwinning film," Obama in NC: The Path to History," a project that I am extremely proud of.


From time to time I'll post stories, columns, pictures, and even video and audio if I can about topics of interest to me. Bottomline is that this is my place to let off steam, and tell it like I really see it when it comes to the issues of the day. I'm "partisan" to the extent that when I see crap on either side of the political aisle, I'll call it as I see it.  I have respect for both parties when they behave, and plenty of disrespect for them when they don't.


I also love our president immensely. But that doesn't mean I won't fairly criticize him if I feel he's going down the wrong road on policy, or not keeping his promises to his base constituents. That's my job as a journalist, and I take that very seriously.


So once again, welcome to my "Roc," and tell a friend. I'm one of the last to the blogosphere, but I hope I bring something of substance to the party. Below is my OFFICIAL BIO:

Cash Michaels bio

Cash Michaels is the award-winning editor, chief reporter/photographer and columnist for The Carolinian Newspaper, the twice-weekly African-American publication covering Raleigh and the state of North Carolina for over 70 years.

Michaels also serves as staff writer and award-winning columnist for the Wilmington Journal newspaper in Wilmington, NC, and a frequent contributing writer to The Amsterdam News in New York. Many of his stories are also carried across the nation via the 200-member National Newspaper Publishers Association.

Michaels is also writer, producer and host of the weekly radio news magazine, “Make It Happen,” heard in the Raleigh-Durham, NC market on Power 750 WAUG-AM/www.myWAUG.com. The program debuted in April 2010.

Since 2008, Michaels has appeared every Sunday evening on “ObamaWatch” hosted by radio veteran Imhotep Gary Byrd on WLIB-AM in New York.

In video production, Michaels produces a wide range of video and documentary projects through his CashWorks HD Productions, based out of Cary, NC. His latest project in production currently is “Pardons of Innocence: The Wilmington Ten,” the true story of how the Black Press led the way in securing pardons of innocence, after 40 years, for the Wilmington Ten.

The documentary is set to be released on Dec. 31^st, 2013, the first anniversary of the pardons.

Among Michaels previous productions is the highly acclaimed feature-length documentary, “Obama in NC: The Path to History,” which debuted in Raleigh on Jan. 16, 2010, and made its first theatrical debut on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary.

On Feb. 21, 2010, the film was voted Second Best Feature Film at the 16^th Annual Hayti Heritage Film Festival in Durham.

On Feb. 27, 2010, a deal was signed with Thunderball Films LLC in Los Angeles, CA to market distribution of the film worldwide.

In 2012, among the mini-documentaries Michaels has produced includes the story of the NCNAACP’s Truth and Hope Poverty Tour Through North Carolina; a tribute to national NAACP Board member Carolyn Q. Coleman; the student honorees of the NC Legislative Black Caucus Scholarship Foundation; the Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence Project; and  a story on former NBA/Olympics basketball legend "Pogo" Joe Caldwell.

Among Michaels’ special community service accomplishments - being appointed coordinator for the Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence Project in January 2012; volunteering as media coordinator for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 50^th Anniversary Conference at Shaw University in April 2010; and the Oct. 2008 partnership with the NC NAACP in coordinating the massive “Millions Voting March,” a nonpartisan effort to mobilize and maximize the African-American vote in North Carolina during the 2008 presidential elections.

That effort was formerly acknowledged and endorsed by national NAACP President/CEO Benjamin Jealous.

In April 2008, Michaels, working on behalf of the NC Black Press Association, coordinated back-to-back “NC Black Press Presidential Roundtables” with Democratic presidential primary candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Sen. Barack Obama, exclusive interview sessions between the candidates and ten of North Carolina’s top African-American newspapers and magazines.

Michaels later produced a video of the historic sessions titled, “Obama: Black Issues and the President.”

On the television side since January 2008, Michaels has served as a regular panelist on WRAL-TV’s “NC Spin,” the weekly public affairs program which airs statewide.

From Sept. 1999 to Sept. 2007, Michaels co-hosted WNCN-TV’s NBC 17 News “At Issue” with Donna Martinez and weekend anchor Verna Collins.

He was also part of NBC-17’s live Election night coverage from 2004 to 2007.

Michaels also wrote, produced and reported two five-part series for NBC-17 News at 6 p.m. - "And Still They Rise" in February 2000, about outstanding black leaders who are making history today; and "Why Johnny's Got a Gun," in May 2000, examining the reasons behind youth gun violence in schools.

During that report, Michaels scored an exclusive interview with a 17 year-old teen serving a life sentence in prison for fatally shooting a Raleigh police detective in 1997.

In the 2006 Duke Lacrosse alleged rape case, Michaels’ coverage from the African-American perspective was carried by the National Newspaper Publishers Association to 200-plus black newspapers across the nation.

That coverage attracted the attention of major news outlets across the country. As a result, Michaels was interviewed by, or provided analysis for CNN’s “Paula Zahn Now,” ABC News Law & Justice Unit; Byron Pitt for  “The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric”; CBS ”48 Hours” segment on  “The Early Show;” Court TV’s “Nancy Grace’s Closing Arguments” and “Bloom & Politan;” Catherine Herridge of Fox News; Juan Williams of NPR; “Keepin’ It Real with the Rev. Al Sharpton; ”’The Tom Pope syndicated radio show; WNYC-AM in New York; Imhotep Gary Byrd on WBLS-FM/WLIB-AM in New York; and Armstrong Williams on WWRL-AM in New York, among others.

Throughout his over thirty-year career, Michaels has covered many of the top stories in Black America, including the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., the Amadou Diallo case in Bronx, N.Y., the Megan Williams torture/rape case in West Virginia; the 2008 presidential election; and the Miss Collegiate African-American Pageant in Hollywood, Calif.

He has also interviewed notables like Ms. Coretta Scott King, Min. Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Muhammad Ali, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, actress Alfre Woodard, actor Louis Gossett Jr., commentary Tavis Smiley, Sen. Joe Biden and many others.

Michaels even directed comedian Bill Cosby in 1987 for a "Jesse Jackson for President" radio commercial, part of which is featured in his film, Obama in NC: The Path to History.”

In 1998, Michaels was one of 22 contributing writers to "Keeping America’s Promise to North Carolina’s Children," published by the N.C. Child Advocacy Institute, and hailed by such luminaries as former Secretary of State Colin Powell, writer Maya Angelou, and former UNC President William Friday.

During his career, Michaels has received numerous awards for his work and community service, most notably the North Carolina Black Publishers Association’s Excellence in Journalism Award in August 1997; the Triangle Association of Black Journalists in March, 2003; in June 2007, the National Newspaper Publishers Association chose Michaels’ “Cash in the Apple,” carried by both The Carolinian and Wilmington Journal, as the Best Column Writing of 2006; and in June 2010, Michaels’ three-part series on the death of singer Michael Jackson, gained him the NNPA Award for Best Features Story of 2009.

In Sept. 2011, Michaels was honored with the President’s Award for Outstanding Media Excellence by the Raleigh - Apex NAACP.

Of particular note, Michaels has had a front-row seat to some of the biggest stories in history.

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, Michaels was writing for The Carolinian from his mother's home in Brooklyn, N.Y. when the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists across the river in Manhattan.

With most phone lines jammed in New York, television stations knocked off the air and bridges, tunnels and highways shutdown by order of NY Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Michaels not only succeeded in developing the North Carolina paper's front page coverage as the true scope of the tragedy was unfolding around him, but he was also able to get pictures and stories back to Raleigh by deadline that night despite daunting telephone line problems, producing one of The Carolinian's most historic editions.

The next day, Michaels reported live via telephone about rescue and recovery operations in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on NBC-17 News at Six with Bill Gaines and Sharon Delaney, and remained in New York for two weeks reporting for The Carolinian.

Michaels is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., where he attended Brooklyn College for two years. In August 1981, after working part-time at several small radio stations in New York and New Jersey, Michaels moved to Durham, N.C. to do the morning drive program on WSRC-AM.

Before leaving there in 1983, Michaels served as WSRC program director, news director and production manager. Michaels holds the distinction of giving Bo Griffin, a popular national radio and television personality, her first job straight out of broadcasting school.

Griffin died on Feb. 16, 2010 of a long-term illness.

In March 1984, Michaels joined WLLE-AM in Raleigh as a morning drive personality, eventually becoming program director, news director, and host/producer of his own evening talk show called "Hotline P.M."

Michaels took a leave of absence from 1988-90 to work with students as program director at WAUG-AM, the commercial radio station of St. Augustine’s College. He returned to WLLE in 1990, and then took over as editor/chief reporter of The Carolinian in January 1993.

Michaels stayed with WLLE-AM until August 1997 when the station was sold and changed formats.

From February 1998 until April 2001, Michaels served as morning news anchor for WAUG-AM in Raleigh.

Michaels is happily married to his wife of ten years, Markita. They are the proud parents of their daughter, KaLa, born Feb. 14, 2003.

KaLa, 10, is an outstanding award-winning fourth - grade student who holds the distinction of having met President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Cash's oldest daughter by a previous marriage, Tiffany, is a 2005 graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park, and earned her MBA from the UM School of Business in 2008. She lives and works in Washington, D.C.

The family currently lives in Cary, NC.

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