#mediaracism

[buddymoney1]

What is goin on down there? And why is no real coverage happening? #MediaRacism#Repost @africanunification...

[reachism-blog]

OPINION: Stop ignoring the police killings of Latinos

Black-white racial binary renders Hispanics invisible in the police brutality debate

[burncroydon]

BBC Racism. Darcus Howe on the Riots - Live from Croydon.

[comm1100kpu-blog]

ARE YOU IN THE HEADLINES??

By A. Spyker

                              Are you in the headlines?

         Well, depending on your race or ethnicity you might be! But there’s a catch. In order to be in the headlines, you need to be a minority. Although this is a bold claim, there is evidence to support this notion.

        So, is there racism within Canadian journalism and news? For Canadian news in particular, we would like to think that this is not an issue. Fortunately, the reality of racialized discourse and language in news media for Canadians is limited due to stricter journalistic guidelines as compared to The United States. Since the Canada and the US are close neighbours, much of the media is shared across the boarders and therefore Canadians are more likely to be exposed to some of the American media discourse. This language and discourse has to power to influence cultural attitudes and beliefs of others. This is not to say that all media to enter and be shared in Canada is directly racist but rather that there needs to be greater awareness and concern of the discourse used within journalism which might unintentionally suggest otherwise.

          Despite North American, specifically Canadian culture, being built on and celebrating diversity and inclusivity, there is the process of“otherizing”, the separation and distinct disguising of others, within journalism and media.

For Canadian Journalistic Ethics, it is said that unless it pertains to the story, you do no report on it.

         So why does it matter in certain stories or headlines of an individual’s race or ethnicity? Looking at American media news, one can ask themselves this question multiple times.

         This is especially a concern when the story or situation has a negative connotation to it. By including a specific race or ethnicity in a story, it can influence the reader’s perceptions and attitudes towards others in a society.

        Therefore, for journalists, it is important to remember that unless it has something to do with the story, do no report on it.

        For example, if there is a specific story of the Indo-Canadian community celebration, then of course one would discuss that community or culture group but if someone was street racing or drinking and driving, the issue of that individual’s race does not account for issue of that story.

The is an example of a street racing incident in Vancouver, BC that only comments of the number of individuals and simply that they were male. 

http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=6983779

       s it important to clarify on the specificity of the classifying and the categorizing of minorities in the media. The limited comment of the “Dominant White culture” is not referring to the fact that the term “Caucasian” is mentioned in the media. The issue is that it is highly common for this sort of descriptive purpose to only be seen when we are looking for or identifying someone unknown whereas it is more common to see minority descriptions when there is something bad or negative to associate with it.

  BALANCED AND ETHICAL JOURNALISM

        With regards to this issue, what would more balanced and ethical journalism look like?

       Most Canadian journalistic work I have noted makes a significant effort for accuracy and balanced news which causes little or no harm.

       From a personal perspective, there is an obvious unbalanced reporting for descriptions and classification of individuals and groups particularly within American media. I do not think that I have ever heard nor have ever seen anything along the lines of

 … “A group a white Christian people…” or “Several Caucasian individuals…” being identified as compared to “Indian teens” “A group of Muslims ”  “A black Male” or “ a Hispanic woman” which can be seen in the news.

Examples. (AMERICAN)

        What I am trying to emphasize is that the importance to only specify that there people, just human beings, involved in whatever it is that is being reported. If the race or culture does not matter, then why say it?? By constantly reporting and using racial discourse, it is distinguishing and creating a separation amongst people in society. This separation and distinction can influence the perception and attitudes towards different types of individuals and groups. For a society full of culture built on the celebration of diversity, inclusivity, and equality this is the opposite of what should be done.

       The fact that it sounds out of place and strange for headlines to read “…white people…” exposes the problem that there is an inequality of media descriptions. This is interesting since it would not seem out of place to read about minorities in this manner.

Balanced and inclusive reporting would use the same terminology for all ethnicities descriptions; including “white”. The awkwardness of the former not appearing often in headlines or reporting supports the notion for eliminating the discourse of other minorities.

                “Unless it pertains to the story, do not report on it.”

There is a multitude of unique cultures, races and religions to constantly be labelling them in the news. Canadians are united in the fact that we are all individuals and as a part of Canadian culture we are to be treated equally.

         It is a good reminder when reading or watching the news and for current and future journalist to keep in line with the ethics and values of good journalism. This will help for the positively impact society and the people within it.

 If it is not relevant do not mention it.

Are You in the headlines? If you are, we all should be. 

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/03/01/jeremy-lin-espn-says-has-a-chink-in-the-armor/

http://www.caj.ca/ethics-guidelines/

http://mic.com/articles/80797/watch-how-fox-news-really-talks-about-black-america

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-anchor-to-black-people-surrender-to-institutionalized-racism/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZINbdls7EjQ