November 2nd 2023.
A new study conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that Black Americans are looking for fairer news coverage, according to The Seattle Medium. The survey had nearly 5,000 participating adults, sharing their experiences and habits with news coverage.
The findings were quite interesting. It was found that there was a large disparity in the way Black people took in the news within their community. One participant said, “There’s not a lot of African American coverage unless it’s February or it’s criminal”. Another shared that news coverage mainly highlighted bad news instead of good. “They overemphasize the bad and not some of the good things that are happening in the community, or if they do talk about the good things, it’s just a blurb, and they want to focus on the one thing that was just terrible”.
From the survey, it was found that half of the respondents were dissatisfied with the current coverage, feeling that more important information should be provided. Sixty-three percent believed that the Black community was often portrayed in a negative light compared to other ethnic groups. Furthermore, 57% said that the news only focused on specific segments of the Black community. Only 9% were comfortable with the coverage, saying that it provided a comprehensive and diverse picture.
When the survey responders were questioned further, they pointed out numerous factors that contributed to their problems with news coverage. Fifty-one percent blamed media outlets’ selective push for stories, 45% said journalists had a lack of informed perspectives, and 42% pointed to racist viewpoints within news organizations.
Charles Whitaker, Northwestern University’s dean of the Medill Journalism School, said that the numbers didn’t surprise him. “We’ve known both anecdotally and through my personal experience with the Black press, that Blacks have long been dissatisfied with their coverage,” Whitaker said.
Richard Prince, diversity columnist for the Journal-isms newsletter, said that advertisements do a better job at depicting positive outlooks for Black people and believes media outlets need to improve. “They should put a lot more effort into providing context,” Prince said. “They should realize that Blacks and other people of color want to be portrayed as having the same concerns as everybody else, in addition to hearing news about African American concerns.”
Interestingly, when it came to politics, Pew didn’t see a major difference in responses. Katerina Eva Matsa, the center’s director of news and information, said that 46% of Republicans and 44% of Democrats said that news coverage largely stereotyped Black people.
It’s clear that Black Americans are looking for more accurate and fair news coverage. Hopefully, media outlets will take steps to meet their needs and provide a more comprehensive and diverse picture.
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