Photo Courtesy: Jackson DeMos, USC Annenberg School

The train has left the station – and the good ol’ boy network is recreating itself. That was the call to action voiced by a disgruntled audience member at Digital & Diversity, a town hall at UNITY ‘12 on what diversity means in the digital age. Despite new tools, technologies, and business models, newsrooms are nearly as monochrome and male-dominated as a quarter century ago, participants said.

White male entrepreneurs seem to enjoy implicit favor in venture funding and grants, they observed. Worse yet, the high-speed, high-volume news environment is prone to offensive slips like ESPN’s infamous headline, “Chink in the Armor” — a reference to NBA star Jeremy Lin and an uneven stretch of games for his New York Knicks. Merely through inattention to inclusion, old hierarchies and habits have come right back.

The troubled digital space, though, still holds great opportunity for creating more honest, inclusive coverage, some speakers pointed out. Groups who feel shut out from the news can tell their own stories. Identity-specific news outlets and blogs such as Latina Lista, Native News Network and Pam’s House Blend can quickly hold other journalists accountable, improving the quality of the context we all offer. Partnerships across race, gender and sexual orientation bring stronger, more interesting ideas into everyone’s content.

There’s still time to reshape the news, some speakers proposed, by weaving inclusion right into the structure of news gathering and delivery. Audience members identified six key areas for attention:

• Build inclusive coverage into journalism programs from introductory courses on up.
• Ensure that journalism education and internships are available across the demographic spectrum, through grants and fair application processes.
• Press funders and venture capitalists to reinvent applications and decision-making processes so that entrepreneurs from all backgrounds get an equal chance.
• Encourage other types of support for journalists of color, LGBT entrepreneurs and women to own their own news outlets.
• Obtain a commitment by existing news outlets – whether online only or legacy – to an inclusive management and staff, and track their progress.
• Insist on ethical coverage that pays attention to inclusivity and fairness, and ask hard questions about representation and accuracy.

Focus on a broken system, the audience insisted, not piecemeal problem-solving. About 100 attendees raised concerns and proposed solutions at the session, which was opened by Bill Celis, associate director and associate professor at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism. I helped guide the conversation with Dori Maynard, president of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in Oakland, Calif., and Evelyn Hsu, the Maynard Institute’s senior director of programs and operations.

Resources:
UNITY/McCormick Foundation Electronic Clearinghouse for News Diversity
ASNE Newsroom Census (See online category)
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Digital Journalism Ethics Resources
The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
Santa Clara University Journalism Program
USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Code

Sally Lehrman is a member of the SPJ Diversity Committee. She holds Santa Clara University’s Knight Ridder — San Jose Mercury News Endowed Chair in Journalism and the Public Interest. Sally is also an author and independent journalist who specializes in covering identity, race relations and gender within the context of medicine and science.

Photo Courtesy: Paul Weiskel

Once again we find ourselves caught short. Why did it take news media across the country a couple of weeks to notice that a black teenager had been shot by a vigilante in a gated community? In our sometimes clumsy efforts to catch up (see NBC’s hideous editing error), some accuse the media of hyping the racial element.

That’s absurd, and here’s why. When three-quarters of black people surveyed consider racial bias a factor in the killing and in the non-arrest of the shooter, you’d better believe race is important to this story. It’s no secret that black parents fear for their children, knowing that suspicion routinely follows young males with black skin, wherever they are.  In a study of unconscious racial reactions, experimental psychologists found people of all backgrounds more likely to “see” a weapon in a black person’s hand when it’s actually a harmless object like a can of soda.

Distressingly, our own work is part of the reason why.  Decades ago, communication theorist George Gerbner first described the “Mean World Syndrome.” In his studies, he discovered that people exposed to heavy doses of violence on television developed an overblown sense of danger and fear about the world around them. Despite our best intentions, we’re part of that picture.

In the crime stories so favored by the local news, multiple studies have found that race plays a predictable but inaccurate role. White people disproportionately play the victim. People with darker skin disproportionately flash on the screen as suspects. News audiences have become so conditioned that even when no suspect is shown at all, viewers assume one — and he is black.

In one influential study, Frank Gilliam of UCLA and Shanto Iyengar of Stanford University altered the suspect’s race in crime news clips that they showed to about 2,300 participants. In the test group whose clip included no suspect at all, 44 percent recalled seeing a black perpetrator. Regular news watching also increased audiences’ support for punitive remedies to crime.

Separately, researcher Travis Dixon, now also at UCLA, found that African Americans are consistently overrepresented as perpetrators in local crime news. Not surprisingly, he also found that regular crime news watchers tended to perceive black people as violent.

Photo Courtesy: Paul Weiskel

In this moment, it’s important for the news media to step up to our responsibility to cover and spur conversation about America’s racial climate. Let’s also use this moment to consider hard questions about how we help to create it.

Digging Deeper into a Story

Some things you can do, based on experimental psychology research and other sources:

• Avoid snap judgments in your reporting; that’s when reactive biases are most likely to emerge.
• Form anti-bias strategies, like consciously pursuing stories about young African American men who are heroes or protectors of safety.
• Evaluate crime stories by the level of community impact, and place them in social context of root causes and potential solutions.
• Cross-check victim/perpetrator ratios by race within your own news reports. Do they reflect actual police statistics?
• Check your sources. Are you including perspectives across the fault lines of race, gender and age? Who is the affected community? Is there more than one?

Sally Lehrman is a member of the SPJ Diversity Committee. She holds Santa Clara University’s Knight Ridder — San Jose Mercury News Endowed Chair in Journalism and the Public Interest. Sally is also an author and independent journalist who specializes in covering identity, race relations and gender within the context of medicine and science.

The New York Times recently produced several excellent, well-reported articles exploring residents’ concerns about crime and alcohol on Indian reservations. But for those who don’t get their Native news elsewhere, these are fine but dangerously finite offerings.

The strong dose of negativity drew a sobering response from 19-year-old Willow Pingree, who wrote in a comment on one article:

“I have lived on the reservation since I was born. I will be only twenty in July, but as far as I’m concerned, I’ve seen my share of good and bad things on this reservation. Not EVERTHING about this reservation is bad. Sure there is a huge problem with domestic violence and alcoholism, but we try to work together as a community to fight it. We have not given up. … It is a sad thing that people are quick to judge about a place where they have not lived.”

Indeed, it’s far too easy for most of us to be quick to judge. Unless we’re American Indian ourselves, it’s quite likely that all we know or read about Indian nations points to hard times and hard lives.

News Only Focuses on the Negative

The “Indians, American” section in Times topics, plus a quick search on Lexis-Nexis for good measure, reveals a dearth of stories about anything other than troubling topics. Besides the crime and alcohol stories, so far this year readers have learned about a violent tribal power struggle, a cigarette tax fight, and a New York legislator who got into a fight in a casino. To be fair, a Mar. 14 Style piece discussed cultural appropriation and a January piece highlighted the Makah Indian Nation’s efforts to draw tourists to a their home, where the wind is “brutal” and the rain, ”relentless.”

Perhaps it’s unjust to pick on the New York Times. Native Americans rarely make it into the news anywhere other than the Native press, and when they do, the story is usually the same: crime, violence, alcohol.

Improve Your Coverage of Native Americans:  List of Sources

We can all do a better job filling out a more balanced picture. For some leads and ideas, check out these news sites and blogs:

Indian Country Today

News From Indian Country

Reznet

Native Legal Update

Turtle Talk

Tsalagi Think Tank

NARF News

Julia Good Fox

Sally Lehrman is a member of the SPJ Diversity Committee. She holds Santa Clara University’s Knight Ridder — San Jose Mercury News Endowed Chair in Journalism and the Public Interest.  Sally is also an author and independent journalist who specializes in covering identity, race relations and gender within the context of medicine and science.

On the 44th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., CNN, aired the latest installment in its ongoing look at “Kids and Race.”

The report that aired tonight on Anderson Cooper 360 was just a part of a much larger presentation on the topic of race that can be found on the AC360 web site.

There, you can download a full 17-page report of the study with details and citations to the other research on this topic.

Academics like myself will want to look deeper at the methods used in this latest project.

But for the general public, which has seen a national conversation about race re-ignited in the recent Trayvon Martin case, tonight’s CNN report re-focuses our attention on where we are when it comes to teaching our youngest residents about interacting with those from other racial backgrounds.

Courtesy: CNN

In this latest study lead by Psychologist Melanie Killen, six-year-olds were shown an ambiguous picture of children of different races ‘(see above) and then asked to describe what was happening.

The black first-graders had far more positive interpretations of the images than white first-graders.

Killen drew some conclusions about the role of parents.

“African American parents … are very early on preparing their children for the world of diversity and also for the world of potential discrimination,” said Killen. “They’re certainly talking about issues of race and what it means to be a different race and when it matters and when it doesn’t matter.”

Also in the study, 13-year-olds were shown a different ambiguous picture, prompting some of the students to recount their own experiences of being bullied because of their racial background.

Courtesy: CNN

The study found that whether or not the school was majority white, majority black or racially diverse makes a difference.  This was especially true with white children.

Tonight’s extended report included soundbites from the students’ reaction at several grade levels.

A Two-Year Follow-up

In 2010, Cooper was the lead anchor presenting the results of  another CNN-commissioned  study that showed black and white children are biased toward lighter skin.

The test then was aimed at re-creating the landmark Doll Test from 1940s.

Those tests, conducted by psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark, were designed to measure how segregation affected African-American children.

Is It Still Just Black and White?

I couldn’t help but wonder where are the Hispanic kids in this discussion?  Most of the clips in tonight’s study were depicting the same black vs. white discussion.

That black vs. white discussion was what was on the minds of Americans who were alive on April 4, 1968 when shots rang out at  Memphis’ Lorraine Motel and the nation’s most famous civil rights leader lay in a pool of blood.

But, I wonder what would Dr. King say today if he heard the results of this CNN study almost a half-century after his famous “I Have a Dream Speech” in August 1963.

Yes, black vs. white is still a relevant discussion in 2012.

But, so is the discussion about what Hispanics, now our nation’s largest racial minority group, encounter, especially given the recent debates over immigration reform.

We should applaud CNN for starting a discussion, but also ask that the producers in future installments in the “Kids and Race” series to  broaden the dialogue beyond just black-and-white.

George L. Daniels, Ph.D.  is an associate professor of journalism at the The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and member of the SPJ National Board of Directors.  He is a past chair of the SPJ Diversity Committee. Read more of his thoughts at bamaproducer.wordpress.com

UPDATE: ESPN issued a statement Sunday announcing that the ESPN employee responsible for the offensive headline involving Jeremy Lin has  been dismissed and the ESPNEWS anchor who used the “Chink in the Armor” reference last week is now on a 30-day suspension.

The New York Knicks’ winning streak ended Friday night with its 89-85 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but just beginning is an investigation into a headline that ended up on ESPN.com’s  mobile Website about 2:30 a.m.  Saturday.

Depending on how you read four words— “Chink in the Armor,” you might have thought it was a reference to Jeremy Lin, the 23-year-old Asian American Knicks point guard, who has become one of the biggest sports stories of the year so far.

At least one Yahoo blogger, Kelly Dwyer has already outlined some of the issues at play.

This screen capture COURTESY OF Gothamist.com, a New York City web log, shows the headline that was posted and then quickly removed by ESPN early Saturday morning.

“Chink in the Armor” is an old saying referring to a weakness in a structure, but the word “chink” has been used as slang in referring in a derogatory to those of Asian descent.

Not the First Time for ESPN

Sadly, this isn’t the first time the “Chink the Armor” reference has been made on an outlet that’s part of the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.”

Someone posted on YouTube an eight-second clip from an ESPN analyst last month who used the same reference in a question during a broadcast earlier this week.

Are the eight seconds on the air more forgivable than the 30 minutes that the headline was up on ESPN.com’s Web site?

ESPN Apologizes, Investigates

ESPN officials have posted an apology for BOTH incidents, noting that with regards to the latest incident on the mobile site they were determining “appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again.”

You would expect that.

We don’t know what will come from their internal investigation. But, regardless of what happens to the ESPN.com staffer who posted the headline, there are lessons to be learned here.

A Teachable Moment

The circumstances remind us of the importance of ensuring all of our employees are thinking clearly and are cognizant of the meaning and impact of our words.

Yes, it was 2:30 in the morning when the headline went up.  But, as one who for many years worked the overnight shift, I know how important it is even in the wee hours of the morning for employees to be on their game in reflecting the high standards of journalism no when it it is practiced in this age of the 24-hour news cycle.

With diversity as one of our core missions and sensitivity as a component of our ethics code,  the Society of Professional Journalists is always on the lookout for teachable moments from which all journalists can learn.

Beyond the lessons that we have to be careful about headlines that can have a double meaning or racial slurs like “chink,” which violate the part of our SPJ Code of Ethics that says “Minimize Harm,” there should be a newsroom/web site operational structure whereby the internal alarms go off before a headline like this ends up on any news organization’s web site.

The Larger Issue Linsanity Brings

The ESPN headline snafu raises the issue of whether most journalists are prepared to cover a story where the racial or ethnic background of the central figure in the story IS the story.

For journalists, when one’s racial or ethnic background becomes a central component of the story, we have to take the extra mile to check for words we use to describe these figures.

Sometimes our own biases and stereotypical thinking can creep into our copy.

Let ESPN.com’s blunder serve as a wake-up call to the rest of us to seed our writing with sensitivity for those from historically under-represented racial and ethnic groups.

George L. Daniels, a member of the SPJ National Board of Directors, is a former chair of the SPJ Diversity Committee and associate professor of journalism at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.   Read more of his thoughts on BAMAPRODUCER.wordpress.com

I was going through my Facebook messages the other day when a comment posted by Yvonne Latty, a journalism professor at New York University caught my attention.  She wrote:

“A fun post by my student on Jeremy Lin has led to a bunch of racist comments on our website that I won’t publish…one person signed as Adolph Hitler…people are sick.”

Latty’s student, Louie Lazar had produced a video and written a story about New York Knicks basketball player, Jeremy Lin for their online news site “Pavement Pieces.”   Lin is one of the hottest players in the NBA right now.  The point guard is the first Asian-American in the NBA.

Lazar story “Jeremy Lin craze fuels Asian-American pride” focused on how young Asian-American’s are proud to finally have a role model like Lin representing their community.  In my opinion it was a “feel good” piece;but according to Latty, a handful of readers got angry over the story.

In the world of the web, anyone can write racist comments and not sign their name.  Three of those types of comments were posted after Lazar’s story was published.   Professor Latty says “I was disgusted and disappointed.  Why do people have to do that?”  Latty decided it was best not to approve the comments, because they did not add to the conversation.

Asian-Americans find a new hero from Pavement Pieces on Vimeo.

DON’T LET THE HATERS STOP YOU

Lazar was doing his job, reporting the news.  We’re always going to get readers, viewers, or listeners who don’t like our work or the topic.  It’s part of the job.

It gets more intense when you report on a minority community.  The reality is there are many haters out there even in 2012.  As journalists we have to remember that covering all communities is important, because each has its own contributions to society. What we have understand as journalists is that we are here to inform and that means at times dealing with those who try to get in our way with ugly, hateful comments.

I know this is a learning experience for Louie Lazar.   It’s also a good reminder that there are more good people out there willing to learn from the information that we provide than hate on it.  Keep up the good work Louie!

Rebecca Aguilar is an Emmy Award winning reporter with 30 years in the business. She’s a member of the SPJ Diversity Committee and a board member with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the SPJ Fort Worth Chapter.

The issue about diversity is burning up the web right now, because journalists of color are upset with the latest Forbes Under-30 Media List.  Not one person is Latino, African American or Native American.  There are a few Asian Americans.

Forbes unveiled its list stating:

“These are the people who aren’t waiting to reinvent the world. FORBES, leaning on the wisdom of its readers and the greatest minds in business, presents the 30 disrupters under 30, in each of 12 fields, making a difference right now.”

Robert Hernandez made me aware of the issue when he posted on Facebook  “Apparently Forbes does not know any Black or Latino journos under 30….let’s introduce them to some.  Please tweet them some names.”

Hernandez is assistant professor at USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.  He’s also a current board member with the Online News Association and past board member with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Soon after Hernandez put out that call on Twitter; journalists started tweeting suggestions to Forbes.   Alexandra Talty, a spokeswoman with Forbes talked to Richard Prince who blogs about journalists of color for The Maynard Institute.  Talty told  Journal-isms:

“While there are over fifty people of color on our other 30 Under 30 lists, diversity in media remains a national issue, which this list reflects.”

WHO DID THE CHOOSING?

Forbes asked its readers to nominate candidates for the list.  The staff also submitted names. I just can’t believe that when they laid out the photos and bios of the top 30—no one said “wait a minute, what’s missing here?”

I’m wondering who were the judges. Was it a diverse group that included Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans?

DON’T IGNORE THE ISSUE

An effort has to be made to make everyone feel “included.”  That’s the bottomline.  Today no magazine, newspaper, online news site or television station can afford to lose readers and viewers.  Not when we have so much news at our fingertips.

If  journalists of color are upset that Forbes did  not include one African American, Latino or Native American on its media  list; don’t you think they will let others know?

On a broader look, if people of color do not feel included in a story; they will stop buying your newspaper or magazine or they’ll change the television channel. Forbes thought this golden list of people under 30 was going to be a wonderful way to end 2011, but for journalists of color—it was a slap in the face.

DO IT RIGHT

My suggestion to Forbes; DIVERSIFY in all areas.   Your spokeswoman said “diversity in media remains a national issue.”  There you have it!  Do a story on the lack of diversity in the media and start with your magazine.  Take an inside look.

Learn what Forbes is learning today from bad press: Diversity matters!

Rebecca Aguilar is an Emmy Award winning reporter with 30 years in the business. She’s a member of the SPJ Diversity Committee and a board member with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the SPJ Fort Worth Chapter.

Our diversity committee is made up of people committed in making a difference in the landscape of journalism.Today we’re introducing you to two more members.  They come from different backgrounds and opposite sides of the country.

George Daniels is a faculty member of University of Alabama. He’s also the former chair of the SPJ Journalism Education Committee.

“I joined the SPJ Diversity Committee because diversifying our newsrooms has been a perennial goal of mine as a full-time working journalist and now as a full-time journalism professor. 

In my current position on the journalism faculty at The University, I not only teach two courses that focus on issues of difference or diversity in the media, but I also have made topics/issues of diversity a part of the academic research that I do. 

SPJ cannot be the nation’s largest, most broad-based group of journalists if it does not reflect the breadth of experiences and backgrounds of those who populate our profession.”

Sandy Frost is is online investigative journalist for Newsvine.com in Tacoma, Washington.

“I was asked to serve on the diversity committee because of my work for the Western Washington Pro Chapter. It is my hope to help other journalists understand how words matter, no matter who or what they are covering.

 The concept of diversity extends beyond who we are to include those we love and how we identify. As the proud mother of a transgender son, I hope to bring a certain awareness for equal rights and justice, whether it’s health care, marriage, employment or housing. I also want to contribute to a greater understanding of American Indian issues.

 Recently,  a celebrity mother used the derogatory term ‘Indian giver’ to describe her daughter keeping her expensive wedding ring. Instead of getting angry or demanding an apology, let’s use situations like this as ’teachable moments,’ educate with compassion and move on. “  

GETTING TO KNOW THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Every year there are changes on committees. We’re just making sure that as members you know who we are and what we stand for. Please feel free to contact us if you have an ideas for our blog.  Stay tuned for the next committee member profiles.

Stop by again!

Rebecca Aguilar an Emmy award winning reporter based in Dallas, TX.  She has 30 years of experience, with 28 in television news.  She’s also a board member with the SPJ-Fort Worth Chapter and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

SPJ 2011 Conference

I was asked to sit on the SPJ Diversity Committee at the SPJ convention in New Orleans.  I met many of the members and was inspired by their determination to improve diversity in newsrooms and news coverage.  

Each one of the committee members has the goal of diversity in common, but they all bring different experiences and journalism passions to the table.  Though they are all very busy individuals; I wondered why volunteering to be on this committee was important.  There is much to learn from what they have to say.

WHY SERVE ON THE SPJ DIVERSITY COMMITTEE?

Curtis Lawrence is the chairman of the SPJ Diversity Committee and a professor of journalism at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois:

“Back in the 1980s shortly after I graduated from college, I remember reading how the American Society of Newspaper Editors vowed to make newsrooms reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of their communities by 2000.  A lot has changed since then. For example, ASNE is now the American Society of News Editors, reflecting the national decline of newspapers. And a lot has stayed the same.

Curtis Lawrence

Many of the faces in our newsrooms still do not reflect the communities they serve. That’s why I feel keeping the diversity issue at the forefront of discussions about our changing  media landscape is crucial.Aside from my work with SPJ, I also am involved with encouraging and training young journalist of color in the Chicago area.

I co-founded an organization at Columbia called Columbia Links. We reach out to students in the Chicago Public Schools and train them in the basics of journalism. That’s where it will have to begin if we’re going to continue to change the face of journalism.”

 

Justin Chenette is an assistant morning producer and weekend web producer at WPFO-Fox 23 in Portland, Maine. 

“It is important that stories are told about people from all walks of life, not just the ones that are the easiest to source or the ones most prominent in our society. This ideology is the basis for my continued interest and participation in the SPJ Diversity Committee.

Only through the incorporation of diversity training or diversifying newsrooms, with highly qualified individuals with a dynamic range of backgrounds, can news operations truly report a cross section of the entire community in which they serve.  

Justin Chenette

 Our country is facing some tough issues many of which are very controversial social dilemmas. We have the issue of illegal immigration, gay rights/marriage equality, equal pay amongst the sexes; the list goes on and on. With each issue comes their own set of unique challenges for the journalists that cover them.

 Do you use the phrase illegal immigrant or undocumented worker? Do you use the term gay or homosexual? Opening the dialogue about these topics can spur an awareness of how the media portrays, correctly or incorrectly, millions of people.”

MEET MORE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

We currently have 17 members on our committee.  Find out who they are in upcoming blogs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Rebecca Aguilar is an Emmy award winning reporter based in Dallas, TX.  She has 30 years of experience, with 28 in television news.  She’s also a board member with the SPJ-Fort Worth Chapter and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala–   Less than a month after a late civil rights photojournalist’s double life as an FBI informant was revealed, the University of Alabama SPJ chapter is re-directing the attention to the positive images that changed the course of history.

Flip Schulke in a photo taken by Larry Spruill

This Thursday, the work of civil rights photojournalism Flip Schulke will take centerstage at a screening of the award-winning documentary, Stills of the Movement. Schulke, who died in 2008, did more than photograph Martin Luther King, Jr. and Medgar Evers.

He is credited with pioneering underwater photography, often accompany Jacques Costeau on expeditions.

Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. screening  at the University’s Ferguson Student Center will feature Morehouse College history professor and Accomplished Photographer Larry Spruill, who knew Schulke and Rider University Communications Professor Shawn Kildea, who was one of the producers of the documentary “Stills of the Movement.”

This week’s event falls less than two weeks after a (Memphis) Commercial Appeal investigation revealed Photographer Ernest Withers doubled as FBI informant to spy on the civil rights movement.