MediaWatch: September 1993
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: September 1993
- Networks Promote Government-Directed Systems, Obscure Cost, Quality
- NewsBites: Execution Exaggerations
- Revolving Door: Democrat to Democrat to...
- Newsweek Says Black Families Have Only One Savior
- Post Finds "Extremists" on Right
- Glassman Breaks Myth
- Newsroom Ideology Stays Liberal
- Janet Cooke Award: CBS Sunday Morning's Jerry Bowen Portrays Church, Pope as Out of Touch
Newsroom Ideology Stays Liberal
Diversity or Uniformity?
Diversity is the word of the day in journalism. It's the theme of the Society of Professional Journalists' upcoming 1993 convention. Coalitions of Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and women have formed professional associations to push for more diversity in the newsroom.
These movements do not, however, include efforts to diversify the political ideology in newsrooms. As Art Carey, a magazine writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, told The Washington Post in an August 14 article about diversity seminars at his paper: "There's an emphasis on cosmetic, Benetton-ad diversity, but there's very little diversity of political opinion. You'd be hard pressed to find a half-dozen Republicans on our editorial staff."
The reality is that if you're a conservative, gaining access to the news media can prove difficult. The August 14 edition of Editor & Publisher reported that at this year's National Association of Black Journalists' convention, an overwhelming majority of members voted to bar the National Rifle Association from having a booth at the job fair. "This is how the NRA, in its wormy way...works its influence on us," said Los Angeles Times reporter Andrea Ford. The NRA joined a list of "wormy" groups barred from previous NABJ conventions that includes the FBI, the CIA, and the Voice of America.
Don't look for things to change in the near future. A 1992 Freedom Forum survey of 1,400 American reporters found minority journalists "are much more likely to call themselves Democrats" (Blacks 70 percent, Asians 63 percent, Hispanics 59 percent, women 58 percent) than the average journalist (44 percent), making this push for "diversity" a catalyst for more ideological uniformity in the media.
