T he P ortland O bserver • A ugust 3 0 , 1995
P age A 3
Drums In The Global Village
The Media And Racial Bias: A Long Term Problem
This week's column is a
commentary by Washington,
D.C.-based
w riter/public
relations worker Matt Bratschi.
He is a contributing editor to
Freedom Magazine, and
investigative Journal of the
Church of Scientology.
Incidentally, Bratschi is white.
- T S B ____________
M att B katschi ___________
Ethnic bias and prejudice against
African Americans are problems that
have plagues the advance o f positive
race relations for a long time. The
media, both print and electronic, have
been exposed many times as instiga­
tors o f problems between the races.
Numerous major papers have
been condemned for articles or edi­
torials that have shown bias. For ex­
ample, The Detroit Free Press, The
Cleveland Plain Dealer, The New
Haven Register, The Washington
Post and The Chicago Sun-Times,
among others, have all received crit­
icism for unfair portrayals o f African
Americans.
A Gallup Poll last year stated
bv
that 48 percent o f African Americans
are not satisfied with the way their
local newspapers cover the African-
American community. Also, the poll
found that 47 percent o f African
Americans in the survey felt the print
media contributes to poor race rela­
tions. “ Racial bias definitely exists,”
according to Lawanza Spears, city
editor o f The Washington Afro-
American newspaper.” A ll papers
have exhibited some bias.”
Jackie Jones, vice president for
print o f the national Association o f
Black Journalists, said that “every
paper has egregious examples ofbias
in their coverage. A Iso, some o f them
[the articles] are wonderful.”
In last F eb ru ary’ s issue o f
Emerge Magazine, Lee A. Daniels
wrote in his article entitled, “ The
American Way: Blame a Black Man,”
that there are “some media people
who are not ashamed to proclaim
their racist ideas."
One example ofa journalist who
has exhibited racial bias is Richard
Leiby, a writer for The Washington
Post.
Guilty Of
Congressman
Congressman Mel Reynolds,
found guilty o f having sex with a
minor and obstructing justice, was
left last week to ponder whether to
resign his seat, or be turned out by the
voters or his own colleagues.
Reynolds, 43, sat in apparent
disbelief and muttered something last
week as a ju ry delivered an over­
whelming guilty verdict on all 12
counts. He now faces a minimum
four-year prison sentence.
The year-old case derailed the
promising career o f the black Demo­
crat, who rose from picking cotton in
his Mississippi birthplace to study­
ing at Oxford University in England
under a Rhodes scholarship to Wash­
ington
Recently, in an article called
“ Suspicious Minds,” Leiby wrote that
life now “ seems precarious. We crave
simplicity. White men in particular
feel excluded, put upon, downsized.”
Jones said Leiby’s statement was
a “reaction” to the current downsizing
o f employment pool^in the media in
general. “ When one group has all the
cards and some o f the cards are taken
away, it gives a feel o f discrimina­
tion,” she said. “ Anything perceived
to hurt them sparks this reaction.”
Continued Jones: “ I f less than 11
percent o f the jobs are being held by
people ofcolor, it doesn’ t mean they
are taking jobs away, it just means
there are fewer jobs. Women and
racial minorities have been dealing
with this ail their lives.”
A report released by the Amer­
ican Society o f Newspaper Editors
stated minorityjoumalists only made
up 10.91 percent o f the total news­
room workforce last year.
According to the April 24 edi­
tion o f Jet Magazine, a study com­
missioned by the U.S. Labor Depart­
ment” counters the notion that poli­
Crimes,
Expulsion
“ He is through politically,” Paul
Green, a political analyst at Gover­
nor’ s State University, said. “ No
Afro-American figure is going to ral­
ly to his side — especially not Jesse
Jackson since his son (Jesse Jacksoy
Jr.) is planning to run for the seat.”
Reynolds may hold onto the seat
for as long as possible given that he
is deeply in debt and being a con­
gressman pays an annual salary o f
$133,600. He is also under federal
investigation for campaign financial
irregularities that allegedly involve
m ingling campaign and personal
funds.
“ Given his financial problems,
he may stick it out as long as he can,”
Green said. “ How much more humil-
cies designed to remedy discrim ina­
tion against minorities and women
have resulted in bias against whites
and men.”
The lack o f non-whites in mass
media decision-making positions has
a tremendous impact on its white and
non-white consumers.
D r. C a m ille O. C o sb y , w ife
ofcom edian/actor B ill, published
a book e a rlie r this year entitled,
“ T e le v is io n ’ s Im ageable In flu ­
ences: The S e lf perception o f
Y o un g A fric a n -A m e ric a n s.” A
review o f this book in Jet states
C o s b y " m aintains in this study
that the persuasive negative p ro ­
je c tio n s promoted by m edia in ­
dustry decision-m akers are h id ­
den form s o fo p p ressio n w ith s ig ­
n ifican t impact on self-esteem
and other essential valu e s for
potential su cce ss.”
Says Cosby: “ the way the media
distorts our differences is a covert
divide-and-conquer strategy which I
regard as a violation ofhuman rights.”
This “divide-and-conquer” strat­
egy can have controversial conse­
quences. For example, Leiby, who is
white, caused controversy two years
ago when he wrote the following to
describe his participation at anN A B J
convention:
“ I suddenly feel blonder, paler
and more thin-lipped than I ever have
in my life. I scan the roiling ballroom
and count two other white faces. You
want to establish your cross-cultural
bonafides... and so you start drop­
ping the g” s on your’ ing’ verbs in a
phony jiv e —’’Like I was sayin' to
him’ -an d even trying out dis’ and
even yo.’
Leiby’s convention article at­
tracted the attention o f The Center
for Integration and Improvement o f
Journalism at San Francisco State
University. A study produced at the
center entitled, “News Watch: A C rit­
ical Look at Coverage o f People o f
C olor," states: “ The use o f dialect
and references to drinking and danc­
ing echo the stereotypes o f blacks as
stupid, feckless and carefree—or
Sambos-that date back to slavery,”
referring to Leiby’s attempt to “ fit
in” at the black journalist’s conven-
tion.
Ebony Magazine, writing about
Leiby’s N A BJ article, did not fail to
mention this passage from The Wash­
ington Post writer, mentioning his
flight home from the N A BJ confer­
ence: “there are a dozen white faces
in First Class,'one black...I feel like
I ’m already home.”
So what does all o f this say to all
o f us, black and white?
O b v io u sly , that there is a
long-term problem with bigotry
and p re ju d ic e in o ur so cie ty .
Leiby and other jo u rn a lis ts tend
to exacerbate this.
And black journalists are small
in number and relatively new to the
mass media game. A s Jones said,
“ We came late to the party. There are
always going to be problems in re­
porting.”
This is a situation we all need to
deal with on an individual level. A
bigger problem occurs when jo u r­
nalists use the influence o f the media
in which they belong to promote their
own slanted views o f race. This needs
to stop-today
Jesse Performs For New Ronald McDonald House
iated can he get?” Congress ousting
one o f its own members is ahistorical
rarity, with the last case in 1980 when
Rep. Michael Myers, a Pennsylvania
Democrat, was expelled for taking
bribes.
No decison on Reynolds is ex­
pected until after House members
return from their summer recess on
Sept. 6.
Unless he isexpelled, Reynolds,
will remain a member o f the House
for the rest o f his term through 1996
and could even run for re-election.
He was first elected to Congress in
1992, beating the virulent Gus Sav­
age in his third try at the state’s
second congressional distiict repre­
senting Chicago’s South Side.
New Stickers Pay Tribute To Veterans
★ ★ ★ *
Pictured left to right: Jesse, Underworld/Capitol Records; Susan Sullivan, President of Loyola Caring
Place/Ronald McDonald, Dr. Craig Anderson, Chairman of Pediatrics & Board of Directors.
★ ★
W W II
U.S. NAVY
VetSignia
A group o f retired veterans has
devised new and useful window stick­
ers that allow men and women who
served in the military to display the
war they were involved in and their
branch o f service.
VetSignia Window Stickers are
two by four inches, black on silver
metalized film, with an American
Flag background. Twenty-six differ­
ent stickers are available; for four
major wars, W W II, Korea, Vietnam.
Persian Gulf; and five services, Army,
Navy, Marines, A ir Force, Coast
Guard. For example a sticker could
read; W W II/U .S . Army, Korea/U.S.
Marines or Vietnam/U.S. A ir Force.
Veterans who served in peacetime
can get a sticker that shows the branch
o f service.
“ The idea came up during a vet’s
bull session,” says Bob Kline, a W W II
Marine who distributes the stickers.
“ We were brainstorming about how
we could help veterans receive rec­
ognition on more than just a few
special holidays.
The sticker lets the Veteran say;
Hey, I did it when it had to be done
and I’ m proud that I did.”
Sticker requests should include;
name, address, war served in, branch
ofservice. Cost $4 each 3/$ 10 (S & H
Inch). Send to - Bob Kline, Distr.,
Box 382, Blue Bell, PA 19422. Phone
(6 1 0 )2 7 7 -1 1 7 1 Fax 277-3883.
New Windows Brings High Expectations
Microsoft’s ballyhooed W in­
dows 95 computer operating
system hit the street with a bang
last week but Attorney General Ja­
net Reno dampened the hoopla by
affirming an antitrust probe o f the
software giant was continuing.
Microsoft’s stock price eased
following Reno’s comment, but be­
yond Wall Street and Washington
the mood was decidedly more up­
beat as customers rushed to buy
about one o f the most widely antic­
ipated products ever.
Computer retailers, manufac­
turers, and software developers anx-
iously awaited initial sales reports,
hoping that the new version o f W in­
dows, delayed more than eight
months, can meet expectations in­
flated by weeks o f extensive media
publicity.
One prominent research firm in
Silicon Valley, Dataquest Inc., said
it expected 14 million Personalcom­
puters with the new software to ship
in the next few weeks and projected
Microsoft would sell 30 m illion units
o f the software by the end o f the year.
But M icrosoft’ s vast market
reach has also been under the scruti­
ny o f the Justice Department, which
is continuing to examine whether
the company’sonline computer net­
work launched with W indows 95
violates antitrust laws.
Just last week, M icro so ft
agreed to alter some o f its business
practices in another antitrust settle­
ment with the Justice Department,
but online services are still worried
about its entry into their budding
industry.
Microsoft rivals Apple Com­
puter Inc. and IB M went on the
offensive, launching ad campaigns
denouncing W indows 95 as old,
tired technology.
Underworld/Capitol Records
artist Jesse recently performed for
the Grand Opening o f the Caring
P lace at L o y o la , a R o n a ld
McDonald House serving the west­
ern suburbs o f Chicago. The third
Ronald McDonald House (A /K /A
the caring Place at Loyola) pro­
vides families with housing and
emotional support while their ch il­
dren are being treated for serious
illnesses at Loyola University Med­
ical Center or other nearby hospitals.
Jesse is the first artist on the
Hughes Brothers’ label. Underworld
Records, (a joint venture with Capi­
tol Records). Jesse’s debut LP Never
Let You Go is an album o f love,
focusing on the principles o f hones­
ty, communication, understanding
and commitment. The first single
“ When U Cry, I C ry” reached num­
ber 34* on Billboard’s “ Hot R & B
Singles” chart. Look out for Jesse’s
second single and video “ Baby,
Baby, Baby.” The video was direct­
ed by the Hughes Brothers, who
directed and produced the upcom­
ing Hollywood Pictures release
Dead Presidents. Jesse w ill also be
featured on the forthcoming Dead
Presidents soundtrack along with
labelmate Trina B, singing a re­
make o f Roberta Flack’s and Donny
Hathaway’ s R & B classic “ Where Is
The Love.”
Libel Payoff Bodes III For Journalism
A B C ’s settlement o f a $10 b il­
lion libel suit brought by two tobacco
giants over a report accusing them o f
raisingeigarette nicotine levels bodes
ill for journalism, according to free
speech experts.
They said they feared the move
is part o f an emerging pattern by the
corporations that own news organi­
zations to make decisions based on
money rather than defending the ac­
curacy o f their stories.
“ As you get more and more cor­
porate owners there is only one thing
they care about... sat isfying the share-
holders. A B C gave in because they
had to, it was a money decision. It
had nothing to do with journalism ,"
said Stephen Isaacs, who teaches eth­
ics at the Columbia Graduate School
o f Journalism.
“ This is part o f a pattern. Inves­
tigative journalism, in my opinion, is
dying in this country,” he said. “ The
bigger the corporation, you would
think it could sustain problems, but it
is not working out that way.”
A B C News settled the huge libel
suit Monday by publicly apologizing
for a report carried last year by its
Day One newsmagazine show that
Philip Morris and R J . Reynolds add­
ed extra nicotine to their cigarettes to
addict smokers. A B C also agreed to
pay the tobacco companies’ legal
costs. But the carefully worded apol­
ogy said A B C believed the primary
focus o f the story was correct. The
producer ofthe show, which has since
been taken o ff the air, and the corre­
spondent on the story refused to sign
the agreements.
Since the libel suit was filed,
Walt Disney Co. has agreed to buy
Capital C ities/A B C Inc. in a $19
billion deal. Some lawyers said they
were surprised that A B C had given
in at a time when documents have
been surfac ing that appear to support
the report. Also,justafew w eeksago
the Food and Drug Administration
began its first efforts to regulate cig­
arettes, citing evidence that tobacco
companies can control the amount o f
nicotine in cigarettes. The tobacco
companies have sued the FDA to
block regulation o f cigarette sales
and are lobbying Congress for sup­
port.
Lawyers believe they w ill try to
use the A B C settlement to advance
this campaign.
“ It’s an odd situation. Factually,
certainly the core o f the story was
accurate. The ambiguous apology
underscores that,” said Jane Kirtley,
executive director o f the Reporters
Committee for Freedom ofthe Press.
“ I ’ m very bothered by the no­
tion that a major media organization
would allow itself to appear to be
intimated by a major corporation,”
she said. “ This bodes ill for the future
o f investigative reporting involving
corporate entities... it’s not just a
question o f Philip M orris versus
A B C , it’s corporate American ver­
sus the news media.”
Richard Winfield, a prominent
media lawyer with New Y o rk ’s
Rogers & W ells, said he did not
think there was any pattern o f news
organizations bowing to corpora­
tions.
“ Frankly, I haven’t encountered
in my practice clients selling out their
professionals in the name o f eco­
nomics. I doubt it (a pattern) exists,”
he said.
Laurence Tribe, a constitutional
law professor at Harvard University
who has worked on anti-smoking
cases, said he thought A B C ’ s settle­
ment would make journalists even
more determined to investigate cor­
porations.