African Americans are not a consistent asset in mainstream media. Nor are they portrayed in a positive light. There was 67,000 mainstream news stories that were reported from February 2009 through February 2010. Out of those stories only 643 (1.9% ) were related towards African Americans in a significant manner. Hispanics and Asians received even less coverage than this. Hispanics received (1.3%) and Asian (.2%).
According to the research done by The Pew Research Center news worthy news towards African Americans are ranked highest in cable and radio talk shows with 2.5 percent. The approached angle mainly consist of political issues.
When African Americans are mentioned in the mainstream it is not because of media coverage but specific events like Obama presidency, the arresting of Gates (elderly Harvard professor), Michael Jackson, etc. The mainstream media have not been the strong point when it comes to worthy news that are not based around specific events.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
'Jesse Jackson vs. NPR' in the case of Juan Williams
*This link shows Jesse Jackson stating his disagreement with NPR decisions on firing Juan Williams *
Jesse Jackson has made two key points while stressing his disapproval of NPR decision. Jackson feels that Juan Williams freedom of speech was compromised and Jackson feels this situation is highly relatable to Shirley Sherrod.
NPR granted Williams with freedom of speech but there were pre-set boundaries given when he originally took the job as an analyst. What he said was not fully the problem but how he said it.
Sherrod worked as an official in the Agricultural Department and was fired this past summer for appearing to be racist on a video that was edited and misleading. She was told to resign in July after Andrew Breitbart’s site, Big Government posted an edited version of her comments at a NAACP event in where she stated that she had considered not giving a white farmer her full capability to help him avoid foreclosure. It became clear from the full video that she ultimately steered the farmer to a lawyer who helped save the man’s land. The resemblance in these two cases state that these two candidates resignation was taken in an immediate force. In both cases the full situations were not fully examined before the taken action. Jackson said the comments Williams made have been taken out of context. The fear of Muslims is unjustified but real, just like incorrect stereotypes of African-Americans and Latinos.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Juan Williams
Just in case you've been living under a rock, Juan Williams is an African American journalist and political commentator for Fox News Channel and an analyst for the NPR. Williams made a controversial statement referring to him feeling nervous when he see Muslims on a plane due to the past comments made by Shahzad. All though the statement has been widely used and debated since 9/11, Williams lost his job as the analyst for NPR after the comment was aired on Fox.
NPR claimed that Williams have previously been warned about his boarder line controversial comments. NPR accused Williams as being a bigot, and labeled the comment as racist and mislead. "We have made our policies clear to Juan in prior conversations and warnings, and he has continued to violate our principles," said Dana Davis Rehm, an NPR spokeswoman. "When an analyst states personal opinions on an issue, our feeling is they have undermined their credibility as an analyst."
NPR claimed that Williams have previously been warned about his boarder line controversial comments. NPR accused Williams as being a bigot, and labeled the comment as racist and mislead. "We have made our policies clear to Juan in prior conversations and warnings, and he has continued to violate our principles," said Dana Davis Rehm, an NPR spokeswoman. "When an analyst states personal opinions on an issue, our feeling is they have undermined their credibility as an analyst."
***View the video below for the controversial comment***
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Founders' Day Convocation
The event consist of Jackson State Universities 133 year of service. It was on Thursday, October 21, 2010, on the Jackson State campus at the Gibbs-Green Pedestrian Walkway at 10:00 am.
Jackson State has celebrated its creation for 133year. The program was for all who wanted to know the rich history of Jackson State University. The benefits of knowing the struggles of the college was to know how it maintain and the accomplishments that have come to be. The need of this message is vital because it brings forth successors, leaders, and visionaries.
All came to celebrate this special event from students, faculty, alumni, founders, and general viewers. The program was opened by the JSU Percussion Ensemble with "Moonlight." The peak of the program came from Dr. Quinton L. Williams speech.
William spoke on large variety of topics. He touched on when JSU was almost closed in 1894 due to the lacks of funds from the state and the school had been voted to close. It was a six year struggle. The four year curriculum had to go down to a two year curriculum. He spoke about Einstein and how he felt that racism was Americas' greatest disease. He also said that Einstein said that being black was not a disease upon African Americans but the whites. William said that JSU represented love, hope and generations. He explained how his great ,great parents were once slaves, and how he came to be born. He proudly stated that his generation of siblings were the first to go to college. "It is possible," he stated.
JSU has been able to withstand racism, reconstruction, natural disasters, merge and the economy. JSU has faught to maintain, and maintain it will.
Diversity in Media
After listening to an online interview about the diversity and women in media and in the news room, I began to realize the truth of their facts. Many key points were mentioned ranging from the quality of working diversities and women, Asians, and the growing population of minorities.
It is hard to find qualified minorities and women. For example; when a newsroom is trying to find a producer and add diversity in their station, they just may grab the first candidate that comes along. A lot of times this candidate is not ready or fully qualified for this position. Some minorities and women show up expecting to get a job because of their color or gender and are greatly disappointed when they are turned away. Women and minorities tend to play the race or gender card but that is not always the case.
Qualified minorities and women tend to have to work twice as hard in order to be found, recognized, and considered. Now that education is accessible to them there should be no excuse. What is not accessible to them is the convenience of connections and links. In the interview it was stressed that this is a highly social industry. If the individual is not social and are not marketing themselves before college then they are awaiting a major set back. You have to market yourself. Not only is your education vital but so is 'who you know.'
In the census it was stated that although minorities in this industry statistically has not drastically changed, Asian women are out doing Asian men in the industry. In the interview it was suggested that traditionally Asian men were prong and breaded to become doctors, lawyers, or positions of that status. It was also suggested in the interview that the Asian men were lazier than the women. I believe the increase was by 2%. This increase was not enough to really increase the overall minorities numbers statistically.
Another question asked was how the minorities population was increasing but the job market was either staying the same or diminishing on their behalf. If there was a shortage in jobs; for example the economy loosing jobs, minorities were some of the first to go. Hispanics are the largest minority group in America and they have accumulated their own media string, but they have not been able to place themselves significantly in the main stream of media.
The last side note I want to mention is how the majority of minorities and women who enter the newsroom want to be an anchor. There is nothing wrong with that but there are other positions that need to be filled. What about a writer, producer, coordinator, reporter, and etc. These jobs are needed but aren't sought after. The need of diversity behind the screen is just as vital as on the screen. In the interview it was stress that the newsroom should be just as diverse as the audience is.
It is hard to find qualified minorities and women. For example; when a newsroom is trying to find a producer and add diversity in their station, they just may grab the first candidate that comes along. A lot of times this candidate is not ready or fully qualified for this position. Some minorities and women show up expecting to get a job because of their color or gender and are greatly disappointed when they are turned away. Women and minorities tend to play the race or gender card but that is not always the case.
Qualified minorities and women tend to have to work twice as hard in order to be found, recognized, and considered. Now that education is accessible to them there should be no excuse. What is not accessible to them is the convenience of connections and links. In the interview it was stressed that this is a highly social industry. If the individual is not social and are not marketing themselves before college then they are awaiting a major set back. You have to market yourself. Not only is your education vital but so is 'who you know.'
In the census it was stated that although minorities in this industry statistically has not drastically changed, Asian women are out doing Asian men in the industry. In the interview it was suggested that traditionally Asian men were prong and breaded to become doctors, lawyers, or positions of that status. It was also suggested in the interview that the Asian men were lazier than the women. I believe the increase was by 2%. This increase was not enough to really increase the overall minorities numbers statistically.
Another question asked was how the minorities population was increasing but the job market was either staying the same or diminishing on their behalf. If there was a shortage in jobs; for example the economy loosing jobs, minorities were some of the first to go. Hispanics are the largest minority group in America and they have accumulated their own media string, but they have not been able to place themselves significantly in the main stream of media.
The last side note I want to mention is how the majority of minorities and women who enter the newsroom want to be an anchor. There is nothing wrong with that but there are other positions that need to be filled. What about a writer, producer, coordinator, reporter, and etc. These jobs are needed but aren't sought after. The need of diversity behind the screen is just as vital as on the screen. In the interview it was stress that the newsroom should be just as diverse as the audience is.
If you would like to hear the interview for yourself please click on the link below
Monday, October 18, 2010
Jobs.....Jobs......Jobs.........
Finding a communication job is a lot more challenging than I expected. Having the education is always a good thing but if you do not have any experience, drive, or connections then you might as well stay at home. Every job I researched would have been more promising if I had experience under my belt. My suggestion is to get involved your freshman year. It could simply be involvement with the schools newspaper, television station, or PR firm. On hands experience also allows the individual to discover their strong and weak points which contributes to the job selection they will choose. Be strong in your education, hands on experience is a must, and determination will be your key. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know......
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