Black journalists have been cut out of the newsroom.

[Hortical]

Media Industry In A Free Fall

[4 min 40 sec]

News & Notes , December 19, 2008 ·

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=98521172 - See link to listen

Traditional media outlets were struggling before the financial crisis hit, as the Internet transformed the way we get information, and cut deeply into print, television, and even radio revenue. Now, we're in free fall.
This year alone, an estimated 15,000 people lost their jobs at newspapers. Many black journalists have been cut out of the newsroom.
How is diversity being hit in the lean times? To find out, Farai Chideya speaks with Barbara Ciara, President of the National Association of Black Journalists.

[Historian]

Re: Black Journalists

This year alone, an estimated 15,000 people lost their jobs at newspapers. Many black journalists have been cut out of the newsroom.

Let me ask you a question, Hortical: Does having a multitude of black journalists in America’s mainstream news media mean that Caribbean people will be more widely and more accurately covered?

Also, when you get an opportunity, please take the time to read my post (“My Perspective on the Media: Part I”).

In the meantime, let me ask you a seemingly unrelated question (but in fact is not unrelated): Which racial group in the USA accepted Bob Marley’s music first, whites or African Americans?

[Hortical]

Histy the quoted comments are from the NPR website.

Let me ask you a question, Hortical: Does having a multitude of black journalists in America’s mainstream news media mean that Caribbean people will be more widely and more accurately covered?

If there are significant numbers of black journalists in America’s establishment news media, stories will be more consistent with black people's values. If someone does not wear my skin, and as much as they may claim to be liberal and "understand" black people. They truly do not understand the black experience.

BTW, we all know some whites who loved rock also loved Bob's music.

[Don1]

Histy the quoted comments are from the NPR website.



[/font] If there are significant numbers of black journalists in America’s establishment news media, stories will be more consistent with black people's values. If someone does not wear my skin, and as much as they may claim to be liberal and "understand" black people. They truly do not understand the black experience.

BTW, we all know some whites who loved rock also loved Bob's music.

Don't see what white people embracing Bob has to do with this discussion... it's entirely irrelevant.

Also real power, I believe, comes with ownership of media... although employing black journalists is a big positive.

[Hortical]

Maybe Historian can explain himself.

[Historian]

Not Irrelevant

Don't see what white people embracing Bob has to do with this discussion... it's entirely irrelevant.

Also real power, I believe, comes with ownership of media... although employing black journalists is a big positive.

Don1, boss, I honestly respect your comments and your viewpoint, but I can assure you that my Bob Marley analogy is not irrelevant. We very often make the assumption (not supported in any way empirically) that if blacks were in charge of some media houses in America, then Caribbean issues would be given more central prominence in the US media! This thought is a complete fallacy!

In fact, if we want to use the first major black television enterprise as an example, we will start to see that things do not often go as expected! I’m referring here to Black Entertainment Television (BET) which, even during the days before being sold to Viacom, had already embarked on portraying to a great extent the lowest common denominator of black values and black contribution! Why do you think people like Bill Cosby are so disappointed with issues such as this?

Of course media ownership is an issue, and I certainly know this, as I was forced to spend years of my life as a tertiary level student studying the various critique of the communications media!

But think once again about my previous comment on Bob Marley and maybe you’ll see the connection.

[Don1]

Don1, boss, I honestly respect your comments and your viewpoint, but I can assure you that my Bob Marley analogy is not irrelevant. We very often make the assumption (not supported in any way empirically) that if blacks were in charge of some media houses in America, then Caribbean issues would be given more central prominence in the US media! This thought is a complete fallacy!

In fact, if we want to use the first major black television enterprise as an example, we will start to see that things do not often go as expected! I’m referring here to Black Entertainment Television (BET) which, even during the days before being sold to Viacom, had already embarked on portraying to a great extent the lowest common denominator of black values and black contribution! Why do you think people like Bill Cosby are so disappointed with issues such as this?

Of course media ownership is an issue, and I certainly know this, as I was forced to spend years of my life as a tertiary level student studying the various critique of the communications media!

But think once again about my previous comment on Bob Marley and maybe you’ll see the connection.

I agree that black ownership of media is not a panacea.... your point re BET is valid.... but that's just one outlet by one operator.

Take a look at Percy Sutton's Inner City Broadcasting and you'll see a more progressive model of black ownership of electronic media.

Black people should strive for media ownership as a necessary condition for increased political and economic power.

Still don't see the relevance of white attraction to Bob's music to our discussion of the airline disaster and the mainstream media response.