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As the world continues to become more and more diverse, it is important that the newsrooms and reporters that are a part of our media follow suit. Having a diverse newsroom and writers is beneficial to the sharing of stories and the understanding of different walks of life.
Doubts in Media Accuracy
Some news watchers and consumers, some African-American and some Hispanic, doubt the accuracy of today's media. According to TVNewsCheck, three-fourths of African-American news consumers and two-thirds of Hispanics have doubts about what the mainstream media report about their communities. Whether it's a belief of systematic racism or just a lack of access to the news in their area, this is an issue that can be handled.
The Columbia Journalism Review released an article discussing ways that newsrooms can address lacks in diversity. The first suggestion is to acknowledge that there is an issue, followed by working to make sure people from different backgrounds get these jobs, and then writing stories that these communities and towns want to read about. A big issue is that minorities feel as if they cannot relate to the mainstream news media as often as they'd like to, so that needs to change.
Covering Difficult Topics
In the world of Trump and covering his politics, it has been a whole new era for journalists all over the world. Many have accused these journalists of tip-toeing around calling Trump what he actually is, a racist. That being said, it is the job of a writer to remain unbiased, give the information to the consumers, and allow the readers and viewers to make an informed decision on their own time.
When covering terrorism in the news, journalists have been bashed for not calling out certain people for their terrorist actions. According to the Oxford Dictionary, terrorism is "the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims."
When a Muslim man or woman commits an act of terror, they are immediately, without question, called a "terrorist." But when a white man commits an act of terror, it is a totally different situation. In this situation, the media will wait to receive all the possible information before making claims of terrorism.
DiversityInc discussed a number of situations where different groups of people were not reported on in the same light. They discussed the coverage of Michael Brown, a black man who was shot by police, versus the coverage of James Holmes, the perpetrator of the Aurora movie theater shooting. Brown was portrayed in a very different light than James immediately.
We Have The Power
As journalists, we have the power of words. Journalists should use this power for good, including all minorities and different walks of life in our reporting, along with fair coverage of all.
Making sure to cover topics of diversity fairly, including issues of African-American and Hispanic communities, should be a main goal in newsrooms and reporting. Also, when discussing terrorism within the context of different races, it should be a all-or-none definition.
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