Minority Journalists: Poor, Disaffected of Media

The closing quote in the Calendar article headlined “News Directors: We Made the Right Call” (May 6) stating that few people of color are in decision-making positions in television newsrooms, that there is no minority news director at any of the seven major commercial TV stations in Los Angeles, and most of the primary anchors are Anglo as well--is something I’ve been mulling since the violence broke out in Los Angeles.

Although I don’t expect there to be a riot in any newsroom anytime soon, I must tell you that the feelings of hopelessness and disaffection in the minority communities of Los Angeles that are the root of this unrest are no less prevalent among many journalists I know. Some are of ethnic or racial minorities; others are simply disaffected because they can’t stomach the media management of today.

It becomes particularly frustrating when we see those in positions of authority screw up so many decisions on such an important story, not to mention the poor job of preparation.

It is no less galling that the scars of struggle by minority journalists to simply get into the media, not to mention our efforts at landing management positions, make our members more qualified to understand and empathize with the poor and disaffected.

We are the poor and disaffected of our industry. And we, too, get banished to the barrios of journalism--weekend shifts in broadcasting, the suburban bureaus in print.

While I would never claim that the situations of day-to-day living in South-Central are on a level with the struggles we face as minority journalists, the resulting feelings of heartache and gut-wrenching disappointment are the same--I know that from experience.

The defense by news directors quoted in that article of how television covered the looting, burning and rioting also raises another area that needs to be explored, particularly the statement by one director who said that television is too busy covering the “what” and “when” to be concerned, at least initially, with “how” and “why.”

Hogwash. All good journalism must include the questions of “how” and “why” at all times. Television may, I concede, do less of that at first and dwell on it later. But it cannot ever be ignored. Most of the coverage I have seen, even in recent days, continues to show that most of the news organizations in this town still know neither the specifics of “why” this all happened nor the roots of where it began.

I suggest, however, that there is an underlying economic reason to that news director’s defense of the moment. Television has been systematically eliminating the seasoned and thoughtful voices because they are too expensive. In their place are neophytes who don’t know the turf much less how the turf became so bloodied.

All these children can do is look for a fire, war or riot to report . . . find some dangerous situation with which they can create drama and tension. How many times did we see some young reporter explaining his or her own scoop--tension at this shopping center, bullets flying at that street corner. That will get them on the air and impress their bosses. Air time is what it was all about. Never mind worrying about trying to tell the viewer something useful or important about content or context.

Worse yet was the ignorance these reporters and anchors showed of this city when they reported incidents at the corner of streets that run parallel--it happened too often because these are green, cheaper reporters and anchors on the job. And their supporting producers and assignment editors are obviously no more knowledgeable. Most of them don’t care enough about their profession to get out to know the city. I am sure many of these “personalities” were seeing some of these neighborhoods for the first time.

The loss of seasoned, experienced personnel is particularly critical in a crisis when you don’t have time to look it up in the Thomas Guide or send an intern to the library to develop a file for you. If you have individuals who are more representative of the community, you will also have individuals familiar with the area because they eat, play and pray there or may even live or be from there. That’s what diversity and affirmative action are about, not numbers and quotas. It’s just good, smart business.

I guess I am frustrated that in newsrooms across this city I can see the memos flying from these managers, lauding the efforts of their troops in the past weeks. That’s putting a happy face on something that remains unsettled and uncovered. One of the reasons these managers will never understand that is because when they look around, they are looking at mirrors.