Kevin Marshall's America
I was talking to someone and during the course of the conversation they mentioned a name that was unfamiliar to me. When I asked who it was, they said “you should know, they’re famous and were in the Bobblehead contest.”
WNYT news anchor Elaine Houston is one of only three black on-air talents in local news. (Photo: WNYT.com)
Firstly, I take issue with the word ‘famous’ being used and applied so loosely. I guess to a degree there is some ‘fame’ inherent in a contest such as this, but let’s not kid ourselves: the vast majority of these people aren’t famous. There are maybe a handful of them that the average person on the street would recognize, and all of them are television news anchors.
As such, I had to look on the page listing all participants in the Bobblehead contest in order to find out who this person was. As I was identifying this person, something struck me as odd. I examined the page for a moment. I scrolled up, scrolled down, and looked them over carefully one more time just to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. I wasn’t; or at the very least, not right at that moment.
There were, indeed, 18 participants representing 12 different media outlets from the major realms of local media (print, radio, and television).
And all of them were white.
I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before today. After all, I’d seen the list in some form a few times already, and Lord knows we couldn’t help but be made aware of it the last couple weeks. But for some reason today especially it struck me as odd and a bit sad.
Now, before anybody starts writing an angry response or hate mail, I want to make this clear: this isn’t the fault of the organizers of the Bobblehead contest. The problem, at the risk of sounding trite, is on a much larger scale.
Trying to come up with possible black participants for the bobblehead contest, my mind immediately went to local news. I racked my brain and could only come up with two names (Elaine Houston and Dan Bazile). Again, I hit another realization: there is a shocking lack of diversity on our television news broadcasts.
Admittedly, part of it is a perception issue on my part. The neighborhood I grew up in was a bit more diverse than is normally seen in this area, let alone the country.
It wasn’t until I got older and more “worldly” (at least in exposure if not actual physical travel) that I realized that wasn’t the case everywhere. Sort of like how growing up in Troy (land of a 1,000 Churches) I never realized that Catholics were a minority nation-wide.
One could make the argument that the area is largely homogenized and that what we’re seeing on our television screens is simply reflecting our area’s demographics. But if we were to take the “Schenectady/Albany/Troy” moniker that’s always been touted as being their main coverage area, blacks account for over 18% of the population. In Albany County alone, literally one-third of the population is black.
But according to the respective websites of our local news affiliates, that’s not the case.
WNYT
19 on-air talent listed on their website.
Black On-Air Talent: 2.WRGB
16 on-air talent listed on their website.
Black On-Air Talent: 1.WTEN
15 on-air talent listed on their website.
Black On-Air Talent: 0.Fox 23
15 on-air talent listed on their website.
Black On-Air Talent: 0.
If we’re to take the local affiliates’ websites at face value, they have 65 total on-air talent and only 3 of them black. That’s less than 5%. That’s not including the numbers for YNN (formerly Capital News 9), which is tough because it’s a revolving door of aspiring young journalists. But considering how young and far-reaching their staff is, it’s surprising that I can only think of one black on-air talent, whom I think may have made a permanent move to NY1. If we were to include those numbers, the percentage drops even further.
I offer this not as a condemnation of local affiliates. I honestly don’t think any of the stations I mentioned make a conscious effort to pass on black talent in order to keep the airwaves more white friendly. It may be more indicative of a lack of black presence in broadcast journalism, both in terms of education and career. Then again, while the demographics of Higher Education are alarming compared to the general population, there may be something to be said as well for a lack of representation being a root cause for a lack of interest. But that’s getting into a chicken or the egg argument, and this issue is already complicated enough.
There are no simple answers, but I think we should at least take the time to examine hte issue. It’s sort of astounding that in a country with a black President and a State with a black Governor, there are only three black faces on local newscasts – Elaine Houston, Dan Bazile, and Ken Screven.
Regardless of the reasons why, that’s alarming.
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36 Responses to “Bobblevote” Reveals Stunning Lack of Diversity in Local Media
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STALK ME
My bobblehead collection is better.
(One of them is from the ValleyCats, so, thanks!)
Amen Marshall. Now if we could just further diversify…
It’d also be interesting to see how the numbers for local radio personalities pan out.
In a way I agree. However, the demographic (as you mention) of African American journalists seems smaller in this area compared to other regions. I only lived downstate for a short time, and can’t remember some of the news personalities on NY 7, or NY 1. I look at national news, and see less ethnic diversity. I can only think of Al Roker on the Today Show. Bryant Gumble(sp) used to be a larger personality, but it seems that he has taken a back seat. I do see more diverse personalities in the sports media (ESPN & commentators). Again, I think it’s a demographic, as former players become commentators many times after retirement. I never thought this was an issue as I came from an area that had a small African American population. However, while living in Texas, there were several Latino/a personalities, again, demographics. Maybe someone has numbers with regard to the percentage of the African American population studying journalism. The tough part about journalism as a career, it is really hard to break into the field of broadcast journalism. Sometimes it’s hard to get onto newspaper staff. Good journalism programs were difficult to find in Texas, which is why I have an English degree, as the journalism program at Tech was quite disappointing.
We NEED a Ken Screven bobblehead.
Could you imagine? It would take up a whole shelf!
Kidding aside, it is very alarming.
Disturbing almost.
There is absolutely no reason for the lack of diversity in this contest, simply inexcusable.
Things are not really any different in terms of reporters for the Times Union, Troy Record, and the other local daily newpapers and, with a couple of urban exceptions, the local weeklies (Spotlight Newspapers, Altamont Enterprise, etc.)are even more white in terms of reporting staff. And, overall, the print news reporting staff and the on air TV talent are more diverse than the editorial staff and the publishers or the TV station management and its owners. Both TV news and print media news are at risk as their audiences age and shrink. Those in the business expect fewer opportunities for jobs in these fields in general.
Maybe it’s just a case of there not being many black reporters?Not sure.One odd thing, if you actually WATCH Fox news(national, not local)It seems to have many more black and Hispanic reporters and commentators. The way other news outlets make Fox out to be evil, conservatives, you’d think it would be the opposite…
“I honestly don’t think any of the stations I mentioned make a conscious effort to pass on black talent in order to keep the airwaves more white friendly.”
Really? You really don’t think the Ollie Williams mentality has something to do with this?
The problem is just as much a sign of cookie-cutter journalism as it is subtle bias. The local stations (I may exempt WNYT from this) hire stunningly superficial reporters — or news readers, I should say — who have zero commitment to the Capital Region and simply view working here as a stepping stone to a bigger market. I refuse to watch Channel 10 anymore after seeing their reporters and weekend anchors mispronounce local town names. And the media conglomerates wonder why ratings are declining for traditional mainstream news…
Bob – I’d say that’s just as much attributable to a poor work ethic and not putting in the time. I’ve seen plenty of transplants who have pronounced the names of towns correctly from the get-go; it’s a matter of caring enough about what you do as where you want to go. It’s a concept lost on a lot of people, and not just in journalism. ;)
#5 (Jerry) – Good point. I stayed away from print specifically because I don’t have solid numbers; I can only speak on personal observation from knowing a handful of journalists and being in a couple newsrooms for literally a cup of coffee.
#6 (tonyb) – Depending on the region, Hispanic communities are a bit more conservative, so ethnic and liberal are not necessarily mutually inclusive. Fox does make a point to do so; while I don’t think it excuses them from their cartoonish representation of what they purport to be “news” (and they’re far from the only outlet guilty of it), they at least try to present a face that’s more representative as a whole. The flip side of that argument, of course, is that they do it simply so they have carte blanche to claim neutrality when they have a conservative slant coming from someone with an ethnic background that’s viewed as being more aligned with liberals.
Diversity in journalism is a really interesting topic, and timely, as I was just reading the other day about diversity at the Washington Post. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/26/AR2010032603078.html)
I am a Hispanic female, and I have run a college newspaper covering a predominately white school and worked in all-white newsrooms. I’m not sure how I feel about the notion that people of a certain demographic will do a better job providing coverage of said demographic. The quote in the Washington Post article saying “If you have a community of basketball players, it’s difficult for a newsroom of opera lovers to cover them,” is patently against the role of the reporter. On Saturday, for example, I covered a vegan cupcake eating contest/pit bull fundraiser, a flower and garden show and a proposed property value reassessment. I’m not vegan, don’t own a pit bull, am lousy at gardening and don’t own property. But I researched, observed and asked questions to learn about these things in order to do my job. And white reporters covering race issues can do the same thing.
I like to think that the reason I would do a fair, thorough job covering members the Hispanic community is not because we both tan instead of burn in the sun, but because I’m a good reporter.
Just because I am Hispanic, doesn’t mean I can relate to all segments of the Hispanic community. I am not an immigrant, and my ancestors have been in America longer than many white immigrant families. Spanish is not my first language. I grew up in suburban Michigan and am college-educated. Okay, so I do know who Selena is, but doesn’t everybody?
While diversity is important, it should occur the same way it does in real life — organically. I don’t like the idea of percentages and quotas or diversity by numbers. Not only does it feel fake, but it can create resentment. I would hate if people thought my race helped me in some way to obtain a job/position/story I didn’t deserve.
I think the best way to achieve true diversity in journalism is to support programs that reduce inequity in education and encourage students from all demographics to have an interest in journalism. Sure, it doesn’t give you the immediate pat-yourself-on-the-back satisfaction of saying, “hire 30 percent blacks to match our demographics,” but the quality of diversity coverage will benefit substantially. Also, trust reporters to be good at their jobs and cover any demographic, despite their race.
Kevin, why are you devoting so much attention to the bobblehead promotion? It’s sort of like Rob Medeo’s obsession with the whole Luna story. First you knock it because of a perceived lack of true or meaningful support for the associated charities, and now it’s because of a disregard by the Valley Cats and the local media in keeping an arbitrary number of minorities on the air.
The way I see it is, all of the charities have been given free publicity and some will even reap some financial gains as well. I also think that the local on air personalities are who they are and would find it ludicrous reasoning to beleive that we should be alarmed at the few number of minority on air persons.
Any charitable efforts no matter how small are still worthwhile and to be quite honest, I don’t care what the race, sex or religion of our local newscasters is as long as they report the news accurately and without bias.
Dave, at first I was thinking you didn’t even read this post, but went purely by the subject line; since it’s not about the Bobblehead contest at all. Then, at the end, you make it clear that you completely missed the point and instead decided to bring it back to the Bobblehead story. Which, in the context of what I wrote, was simply the impetus for this conversation.
So who’s obsessed with the Bobblevote exactly? ;)
Or could it be that not many minorities want to be a news anchor? LoL.
Seriously. I don’t think there are racial undertones responsible for the low percentages, at least I hope not. I think the cause lies within not many people having a desire to enter this type of career field.
National Fox News has a diverse sampling of anchors/on-air reporters and personalities? That’s a real stretch. I just looked at their Web site, and it would be tough to agree with # 6.
Piggybacking on what Get Real said, I’m nowhere near convinced that the whitewashing has anything to do with overt racism and/or an organized effort by media outlets to exclude minorities. At the risk of getting skewered for pointing out something I really don’t understand, it seems like there is a personality type that tends to gravitate towards careers in journalism: upper middle class, clean-cut, well-spoken, at least borderline attractive. I guarantee you’ll never hear the news read through a toothless mouth, or one sporting a grill. So I think the lack of diversity has less to do with race and more to do with socioeconomic and educational background.
Gee Kevin, I’m not the one who wrote a post on a blog, that talks about a perceived racial inequality for our local media personalities, famous or not, and then penned an earlier post regarding the miniscule donations for several charities when so much more could be accomplished. Seriously, to admonish the employers of these participants and then the final four contestants seems a little over the top. I mean, who appointed you the charity police?
I guess the bottom line for me is that you should stop taking some things so seriously and not make mountains out of molehills. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some voting to do. ;)
Get Real makes a great point. It may not be racism. I think a lot of people in that category may be looking to be entrepreneurs, and not necessarily news anchors.
Dave – So now you’ve changed your point, and it’s gone from “I’m obsessed with Bobbleheads” to…I shouldn’t blog about anything substantial?
I get the feeling this isn’t about the actual content of these posts.
GetReal/Mike (#s 16 & 18) – You may be right. So my question is, why is that the case? Is it due to socio-economic influences? Are black students encouraged by their upbringing or society to pursue specific fields (i.e. business) in lieu of others?
“Are black students encouraged by their upbringing or society to pursue specific fields (i.e. business) in lieu of others?”
I believe so. Quite similar to what we saw with women and their career choices. For some time, there were certain career fields where the female population was nearly absent.
In my opinion, I do believe that people are greatly influenced by the environment in which they undergo socialization. One could most reasonably conclude that in urban, inner-city populations, children aren’t encouraged to strive towards a career with the local news outlet. In my opinion, the more popular career choice is often that which produces absurd amounts of money with little effort. Which is unfortunate, because significant amounts of people in today’s society want “instant gratification”. I call it the “I want it now!” movement. And I’m no economics major, but the “I want it now!” movement is what’s responsible for the financial trouble our country is in now.
Kevin,
Thank you for pointing out the obvious. This is not a new issue. Several years ago I engaged in a discussion with WNYT on the same issue and pointed out that at the time they had exactly one person of a non-white origin, Elaine Huston, on their news staff. Kumi Tucker, is only part-asian.
The station and news management at WNYT at the time rsponded by saying essentially, “So what?” They were convinced that they hired the absolutely most qualified news staff. Right, with over a dozen colleges in our tri-city area, and WNYT’s footprint, they most qualified black news person was someone who had already been working for the station for over a decade (at the time, Elaine of course has bene there longer by now)
The problem is the news consultants that news management lives and dies by. So, most of yoru audience is white, then you need a WHITE PERSON delivering the news. Before Lydia Kulbida was brought to 13 WNYT could have moved Elaine Huston up to the big chair, but they brought in someone from another market who couldn’t even pronounce “Albany” right her first newscast! That was better than ELaine Huston. Lydia at least could pronounce the names correctly, but did she really know the area BETTER than Elaine when she was hired?
How about Alan Chartock’s Media Project? Where he has all the local news honchos on it. How many times has Elaine or any other local newscaster of color been invited to share Alan’s limelight? Few to none I would be willing to bet. Something like that contributes to the systemic racism in local media. What’s a matter Alan? Dan Bazille too “downtown” for you? How about Ken Skrevin?
Local news does suffer of systemic racism. It has gotten only slightly better than it was ten years ago, but as you pointed out, it still has a long way to go.
GetReal…I don’t think I’m being entirely off-base in assuming that actual black culture is a few degrees removed from the perception of black culture in the media. Funny thing about the media, certain elements in it make a bundle off of getting people getting either angry or scared about something. That right there is the easy money for a minimum of work that you’re talking about. And…maybe I’m just spitballing here, but perhaps this is the very reason why black people need a stronger voice and presence in news outlets. Because I have a sneaking suspicion that an actual black man might know more about his own cultural heritage, hopes, and dreams than, just as an example, Glen Beck.
DaveToo: I’m not sure I get what this has to do with me.
Writing about Luna once hardly makes me obsessed — but one might argue that bringing it up months later, completely out of context, is sort of obsessive.
Rob Madeo Hates Commenters
Another thought: Maybe the absence of black people in the media wouldn’t be so noticeable if white people didn’t talk about them so gosh darn much.
So let me see if I’ve got this straight GetReal – there are few persons of color, any color, in the news media because they’re all being raised in environments that only encourage them to be music and or sports celebrities?
This sounds like the modern-day equivalent of ‘all black people are inherently dumb and lazy’ to me. I call shenanigans.
The tough part about journalism as a career, it is really hard to break into the field of broadcast journalism. Sometimes it’s hard to get onto newspaper staff. Good journalism programs were difficult to find in Texas, which is why I have an English degree, as the journalism program at Tech was quite disappointing.
UB1280 Batteries
Not the first & probably not the last time this subject has been addressed.
#3 & #28 one and the same persons? & whats with the batteries link ?
Enjoy your work Keven-keep on keeping…
lesatmoon
No matter how you analyze it, race, gender hair color, weight, skin tone, age and looks are all extremely important in any form of visual medium. I’m guessing it’s the same reason why Ms. Tucker or Ms. Houston didn’t get the big job at NBC13. It makes no difference wether it’s local, national or international. It’s the same way in Europe, Asia and everywhere else in the world. I’m not surprised to see this inequality on local television. Intelligence is not the number one factor either. Look at CBS6 where Ms. Bishop who seems to be extremely knowledgeable is being replaced by the young and dumb. Good luck finding out what the real problem is. No one wants to talk about it openly.
So let me see if I’ve got this straight GetReal – there are few persons of color, any color, in the news media because they’re all being raised in environments that only encourage them to be music and or sports celebrities?
This sounds like the modern-day equivalent of ‘all black people are inherently dumb and lazy’ to me. I call shenanigans.
Comment by LV — March 31st, 2010 @ 12:53 am
“Shenanigans”? I think not. Do some research, and you will find several studies that have supported my claims. Formal and informal social institutions can have a significant impact on the process of one’s socialization. To say otherwise would essentially support the theory that people are born with their personalities.
This is a problem media wide. I wonder how white the newsrooms of the papers are as well.
You can’t hire black people if they don’t apply…
#25: And don’t you forget it.
a reflection of the capitol region as a whole.
Maybe a better analysis is to research the diversity of those graduating from communications programs at places like Syracuse. If there isn’t diversity in these programs then there will be difficulty moving them forward into careers.