News:

Jobs

1998

Journalists Afr.American 5.3%

Hispanic 3.5

Asian Amer. 3.3

Native Amer. <1.0

40% daily papers have no minority employees.

Race is not a minority issue. It's the most important domestic issue this country faces. Gerald Boyd, deputy managing editor, The New York Times

Hutchins Commission charge: "the projection of a representative picture of the constituent groups in society."

Minority percent of total population: 25%

1998 Percent of print journalists in 1978: 11%

1998 Percent of print journalists in 1998: 11%

Percent broadcast journalists in 1978: 16%

1998 Percent of print journalists in 1998: 19%

Robert Entman- "modern racism" has replaced traditional racism in news.

Content-portrayals.

Despite the efforts of well meaning journalists, white and minority, the content of news continues to distort our understanding of race issues because the content is:

1) decided largely by white news managers

2) uses a white male frame of the world

3) is written for an audience presumed to be white.

(Source: Guide to Research on Race and News, p.20).

Criticisms:

* Stories do not show minorities in context.

* Too much focus on atypical behavior, both good and bad, on crisis, or, on the otherhand, of "colorful" festivals, holidays and other "exotic" aspects of non-majority life.

* Too much focus on entertainment figures and on minorities who are "firsts" in their disciplines.

* Not enough coverage showing minority people participating in the day-to-day life of their communities.

On the bright side:

* Some newsrooms are going out of their way to make sure that stories reflect their communities as a whole.

* There's a much better understanding of the need to do a better job of covering minorities.

* Some news organizations are putting together internal monitoring committees to periodically take a closer look at minority coverage and to create awareness for the need to get diverse coverage.

Improvements seen?

* More coverage, overall, of minorities.

* Much more newsroom discussion about coverage, especially in larger markets with diverse populations.

* Less generalization and more reflection of the differing opinions and different textures in the community.

* More inclusion of minorities in some of the regular everyday stories--although it's not consistent.

* Initiatives to improve minority coverage.