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.
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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.
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