Reporting at Color Line

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Reporting at the Color Line: The Future of Journalism (Room C201) This panel will tap into some of the hot issues in the media industry today and look at how they affect communities of color and race coverage.   How do newspaper layoffs and consolidation, both in mainstream and ethnic media, as well as diversity politics impact journalists of color and the prevailing attitudes and ideas about reporting on race?
Moderator - Sally Lehrman
George Curry, NNPA
Linda Jue, George Washington Williams Fellowship, Independent Press Association
Victor Merina, USC Insitute for Justice and Journalism

Notes:
-The consolidation of news media has led to a struggle by journalists for relevancy
-Independent media is often too analytical, insular, lacking a story that can reach out; should be assessable but not watered down
-Journalists have to be educated to look at race issues , to identify structural issues, to be analytical, to provide context and to ask the rights questions
-Journalists have to use multi-media to get story out; so that they don't stay in the civil rights mode of reporting

Main points:
-We need a new framework to talk about social issues
-race cuts across all subjects and journalist must use all their experience to deal with these issues
-how do you frame a story to sell it? How show issues don't just affect one, but all communities so that it's no longer about "those people"
-the white audience should not be prioritized; this results in watering the story down and translation of ethnic communities to the white audience
-it's important to widen the scope of reporting by working from the issue to the individual, this results in more than a stereotypical story
-racializing the story--importantly only to apply to stories where relevant
-important to examine the bias you and your sources come from

Resources:
Those who are interested in a journalist's take on the unconscious and structural processes that limit current reporting on race, as well as encourage stereotyping, may want to take a look at my book, "News in a New America." You can order the book for free from the Knight Foundation at publications@knightfdn.org or print out the pdf (not as readable, by any means) at: newsinanewamerica/KF_News-in-a-New-America_web.pdf.
Sally Lehrman