A recent New York Post story brought up a point about the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. that few in the Old Media have paid much attention to. Apparently, Gates has since the arrest announced he is in the early stages of involvement in a PBS TV series on civil rights in America. It is odd that this single fact has not been a focus of much discussion.

After all, if Gates is about to start a TV show about civil rights, what better way to punch up that participation than to "suddenly" get mixed up in a national civil rights "abuse" case? What better way to highlight America's civil rights problem than to become a nationally known victim of so-called racism?

Why is no one asking how long Gates has been in the planning stages of this TV show? Was he planning it since before the arrest? It all leads one to wonder if Gates saw an opportunity to gin up interest in his TV appearance by becoming a victim? Instead of experiencing any actual racial tension, did Gates invent his own ready-made, sensational incident to turn his scholarly civil rights discussion into the quintessential TV reality show extravaganza? Was all this just a TV stunt in Gates' mind? Was it mere opportunism?

The New York Post quotes Gates as having said, "My unfortunate experience will only have a larger meaning if we can all use this to diminish racial profiling . . . I look forward to studying the history of racial profiling in a new documentary for PBS."

BOSTON — Cambridge's police commissioner says the 911 caller who reported a possible break-in at the home of black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. did not mention race during the call.

Attorney Wendy Murphy said Whalen — who has not spoken publicly — only saw the backs of two men on Gates' porch and did not know their race. Murphy said Whalen was aware of recent break-ins in the area.