Victoria Knueven
vk036311@ohio.edu
One phrase used to describe the United States, or New York
City in particular, is the melting pot. For hundreds of years the United States
has played host to the backgrounds and ethnicities that have moved to this
country from around the world. Since our country is so famous for being open to
people from all over the world, there is a surprise in store when people turn
on the news. People are most likely to see white men hosting the nightly news.
They do not see a reflection of society. In fact, in the newsroom itself,
Latinos, African Americans and women are underrepresented. So why do companies
not work harder to get reporters or stories that give the people what they
want -- stories that minorities can understand because they hit close to home?
From mediamatters.org |
Money: The #1 Issue
One of the first things that falls in hard times are the
people with specializations, who focus on just one topic because they are
experts in that area. Most newspapers and TV stations are downsizing, not hiring
new people who can focus on just one type of story or ethnicity. While it is
understandable that companies do not want to lose money, they cannot make money
unless they have enough journalists that can have a diversity of voices in
their stories.
Also unpaid internships do not give students the chance to get
their foot in the door if they are broke. College students are famous for being
broke because of the high cost of tuition, and yet they are expected to work for
no money in order to have a career. This article focuses on the trouble that most students face. Most students cannot afford to
work for an entire semester or summer without any payment even if having an
internship is a requirement for graduation. Also, if they do not get an
internship during college, they cannot find a job once they graduate without
experience. This causes most students in minorities to fail once they get out
in the real world and also contributes to the lack of diversity in newsrooms.
The Changing Medium
There is more diversity in the United States. Even though
minorities are being laid off in the newsroom, there are also more magazines
and newspapers that cater directly to these specific languages or cultures. In
Cincinnati there is a radio station that also publishes a magazine, called La Jornada Latina, and a newspaper that
all directly cater to the Latino community. The company, TSJ Media, has
experienced growth in the past year and is expanding to more cities because the
Hispanic community is growing in the Midwest.
This is a prime example of
managers influencing the content that is put out into the world. If a manager
stresses that diversity is important, then writers are more likely to have more
voices in their articles. Just like college students who focus on diversity
because their professor makes it a requirement, professional journalists will
listen to the pressure from their managers and focus on minorities in the
community. The change for diversity has to come from the top of command. The
more a boss demands for diversity, the more likely it is for a variety of
people to get hired.
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