The Race is On

Amanda Wilcosky
aw283105@ohio.edu

How can media outlets best cover race, diversity and ethnic minorities?

Barry Yeoman's "Rethinking the Race Beat", included in the July/August 1999 Columbia Journalism Review addresses this very question.

Yeoman comments that while there are still problems at many newspapers and broadcasting organizations, efforts are being made toward improved coverage of racial issues and ethnic minorities. He identifies two journalistic routes that many outlets are either following or considering.

First, some feel that the best way to cover ethnic minorities and the issues they face is to hire specialized beat reporters who are extremely knowledgeable in areas of diversity and race relations. In contrast, other outlets have done away with specialized diversity beats, instead urging all reporters to consider racial implications in the stories that they write.

In my opinion, there are pros and cons of each decision, and what works for one media outlet in one location might not be as successful for a different outlet covering a different area. On one hand, hiring a special reporter to cover race and diversity would likely result in more in-depth coverage and stories that could otherwise be overlooked.

Having spent several quarters as the religion beat reporter for The Post, I had the chance to write stories that might not have been covered by other staffs or other beats, such as the struggles and triumphs of being a Mormon student on campus or local Muslim women’s different views on wearing the headscarf. After attempting to include a variety of religions and beliefs in my pieces, I was able to build a rapport with many individuals who later contacted me about upcoming events and current issues, helping me to develop new story ideas. In the same way, I feel that this relationship and establishment of source-reporter trust would be a major benefit of having a specialized race and diversity beat reporter.

A (Possible) Solution?
On the other hand, while I support the idea of having a diversity beat, I do agree with Yeoman when he writes that “the real solution is to devote more energy to the issue—by hiring additional race reporters and creating a sense of collective responsibility in the newsroom.” One reporter will not change a media outlet; instead, all reporters need to adopt a sensitivity toward race and carefully assess how any issue can affect different ethnic minorities and cultures.

I believe that one way to improve how journalists handle race and diversity is to start early—in the J-schools. For example, here at Ohio University, students in The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism can take Jour 413, Gender, Race and Class in Journalism and Mass Media. Even if other programs do not offer such courses, all journalism professors in all areas should push their students to consider facets of race and diversity in every story they write or every broadcast they produce. If we can begin “diversity-training” for young student journalists, who knows what improvements and strives can be made when they emerge as working professionals.