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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1981)
Portland Observer, August 27, I t t i Paga • r Black perspective on the news Grassroots News, N. W. — A» times get harder, the demand for the who, what, when, where, why and how is predicted to increase. A higher level o f consciousness is desperately needed in the various mediums whose fun ctio n is to disseminate news. Despite the progress in the hiring and promotion o f Blacks and other minorities, there remains sig n ifica n t problem s addressing the Third World journalist. The root o f the problem lie in the small numbers o f non-white media owners, managers, assignment edit ors and producers. The N atio n a l A ssociation o f Black Journalist (N A B J ) is an organization geared specifically to supress ignorance among the public and w ith in the industry. I t ’ s president, Bob Reid o f K N X T -T V , Los Angeles, says, “ A Black Jour nalist can never lose sight that he’s Black. All he has to do is look in the m irro r. The question o f whether Black Journalist should cover only Black issues or are d iffe re n t from their white cou n ter-p arts, is one that we have to contend with. We do bring a certain sensitivity to issues that concern Blacks. And we should have the ability and access to cover such things. On the other hand, we should not lim it our coverage since we are journalists and thus capable o f being fair on any subject.” A m ong the prbblem s faced by Black journalists is the non-control o f cap ital resources. “ There is a problem in broadcasting things that are positive. News, by its nature, is that which is different and unique. BOB REID O fte n , one is simply to report the news o f the Status Quo which is not to be considered as news by any standard. It is d iffic u lt to report features about certain segments o f the so-called m inority com munity because the media is controlled by the m a jo rity race which feels that since a m a jo r segment o f their audience is o f a race other than m in o rity , they w o u ld n ’ t be in terested in minority affairs. W h at’s wrong w ith th a t is i t ’ s an un d er estimation o f the interests o f the au dience. Any news can be presented in an interesting lig h t that says, ‘This is a part o f you because your community is not lim ited to w l.at’s im m ed iately around youl Y o u r community is just as much the peo ple who live in the valley as the ones who live on the top o f the h ill.’ No part o f the community can be whole if it ignores any o f its halves,” Reid explained. What can be done to deepened the perspective offered? Reid answered: “ We need greater diversify among the people who control the media, along with a different understand ing o f what is news and what is o f interest to the people. Those same white men refused to put women on the a ir because they said th e ir audience w ouldn’ t be interested in it. N o w , in alm ost every m arket there is a woman anchor. W e see a historical record o f those men being wrong in their perception and judge m ent. I f they were enlightened enough to see that they’re wrong in this instance, we would have alot more progress in reporting all kinds o f news instead o ’ negative news about Black people.” The business o f news collection and distribution is said to be elastic to communication technology which Reid believes is yet to reach its Zenith. “ There are a great deal o f changes to com e. C ab le may not supply the answer that Black people are looking for in terms o f d iv e r sification. The technology is too ex pensive to do this and the control o f this technology is in the hands o f big corporations th a t are concerned with large-scale production and big profits.” The N A B J publishes a m onthly newsletter that compiles national in fo rm a tio n concerning and o f in terest to the Black jo u rn a lis t. Among the news items to be found in the NABJ newsletter are: San Francisco news rep o rter D o ro th y Reed o f K G O -T V , was taken o ff the air because she came to work with her hair in cornrolls. A com prom ise was m ediated that allowed her to keep the cornrows if she wears them pulled back while on camera. The New York Times reached an out-of-court settlement with a group o f its Black reporters who filed suit charging the newspaper w ith d is crim in atio in in pay and prom otions. The record showed that Black reporters often were paid less than their white colleagues. In New Jersey, Donald M eM ean has been harassed by the w hite leadership o f a near-by town because he is b u ild in g a U H F television s ta tio n . This type o f problem does not ordinarily receive much press coverige. Recently A B C ’s new anchorman, M a x Robinson suggested that race m ight m otivate some decisions o f the television networks. Controver sy arose when some critics o f the in dustry questioned his role as a news anch o rm an . T h ey focused on whether he had a right to express such a point o f view rather than on the validity o f his statement. In Boston, Robinson stated: “ There’s an unconscious racism at the decisioin m akin g level in the print and electronic medium. Black concerns are not a m ajo r factor in the selection o f news to be covered.” H is thoughts on being the first Black national anchorman: “ Beina a symbol, the first Black, w ithout any substance is worse than not being a symbol at all. There’s a need for Black Americans to talk about what ails Black America.” The Janet Cooke incident where the reporting o f a less-than honest re p o rte r stirred some critics to question the entire course o f con duct regarding the recruitment and hiring o f Black reporter. The NABJ believes the C ooke a ffa ir w ill and has caused an im pact on Blacks working in Journalism, but it is not likely to cause any permanent harm to either. Save money on your insurance. - A uto • Life • Fire Com m ercial .Truck) M o n th ly Payments Rita H. Jan kin * Sale* AaprManMtrv* 3714 N. W illiam * Portland. Oregon 97277 IS0312 4 *: ' arrners New AorW Ute Insurance Co Mercer Island WA Interested in current books about Civil Rights? Visit: JO H N REED BO O K STO R E In the Dekum Building 519 S .W . 3rd Avenue Sixth Floor Or call : 227-2902 Herndon speaks to Citizens Party By John Blank Last weekend, the Oregon C it i zens P a rty , part o f the n atio n al group that ran Barry Commoner for President in 1980, held its annual state convention in P ortland. Ron H ern d o n , co-chair o f P o rtla n d 's Black United Front, was featured as the keynote speaker o f the weekend, the greater part o f which was de voted to ham m ering out p latfo rm planks and a new constitution. In his speech, which was well re ceived by the delegates, Ron ex pressed a general sympathy with the ideals o f the Citizens Party. Howev er, he stressed the historical failure o f w hite progressive movements, from the Abolitionists on down, to systematically take up the struggles o f Blacks, recognize Black leader ship in those struggles, and oppose racism not only in the general popu lation but in the ranks o f the pro gressives as well. As a contemporary example, Ron pointed to the new “ Black” legisla tive district. House District No. 18, fought for and won by the Black com m unity. A lready several white “ progressives’ ’ with no significant Black support have indicated a desire to run for office in that dis trict. The Oregon Citizens Party left no doubt o f its stand on this question: on Sunday, it adopted the following resolution (previously adopted by the Party’s Portland chapter): “ RESOLVED: Unless the Citizens Party is able to recruit a Black can didate who has widespread support in the Black com m unity, the C it i zens Party will run no candidate in the 18th D istrict. Since it was the Black community which fought for and won the new district, the C iti zens Party will not endorse or assist any candidate who does not have support in the community. Since we perceive the Black United Front to be the most dynam ic force in the Black community, in any discussion regarding support or possible assist ance by the Citizens Party towards a candidate in the 18th District, sup port or lack o f support by the BUF will be considered the most import ant criterion.” In other resolutions, the Party pledged its support o f the 4-point program adopted by the N atio n al BUF (mobilization against the Rea gan foreign policy and support for T h ird -W o rld liberation struggles; mobilization against the growth in racist violence, including police kill ings and the Ku Klux Kian; mobiliz atio n against budget cutbacks against Blacks and the poor; mobil ization o f public pressure on C o n gress to extend the 1965 V o tin g Rights A ct). F u rth er, it explicitly recognized the centrality o f indepen dent Black organizations such as the B U F and the National Black inde pendent Party in bringing about a m ajor progressive political realign ment in this country. As one resolu tion concluded: . we see contin ued cooperation between the C iti zens Party and such groups (as the B U F and N B IP ) to be a necessary and fundamental tenet o f our politi cal philosophy.” O th er issues taken up included corpo rate d o m in atio n over the economy and measures to increase popular control over economic de cisions. u want Ram has the signal that keeps you in constant touch. Providing direct dial, tone alert, tone voice, and mobile telephone service. *74c Pcofdcf 713 S W 12th to e . Portland OH 97205 226-1507 We’ve got ways to help just about everyone reduce costs and manage their elec tric dollars better. In fact, we’ve got a pro gram that can help just about everyone who uses electricity. 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