What We Learned From Don Imus: TV News Needs New Faces

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Television news was much more about race and gender the week radio shock jock Don Imus inserted his foot in his mouth and subsequently was fired by MSNBC and CBS. A number of black pundits could be seen discussing issues of race, ethnicity, prejudice and stereotypes.

But that was then. In truth, without a major news event that motivates media companies to seek experts of color, the number of faces of color seen on news channels is woefully low.

Hiring for racial diversity in television news is a must because it directly affects the product: news coverage and the number of people who watch. Journalists of color have in mind issues pertaining to this group. A greater awareness and understanding of those issues and points of view will attract a larger audience of color and provide more information to the entire audience. And as the demographics of the nation change, relevancy to this constituency becomes even more pertinent for this industry, as well as others.

(See also: The Imus Fallout: MSNBC Pulls Plug on Controversial Host)

"Broadening the pool of guests and anchors and reporters improves the tenor and quality of the debate, offers a richer and more varied array of information to viewers and helps fulfill the responsibility of news outlets to educate the American public to make them better equipped to make informed political and policy choices," said Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.

Morial made that comment in an editorial explaining why the Imus controversy highlighted the need for greater media diversity. Morial noted that while guests and hosts on cable news shows are regularly white males, it changed a little during the week the Imus controversy was the hot topic, according to Media Matters research.

Media Matters, a Washington, D.C.,-based nonprofit organization that scrutinizes news reporting and political commentary, monitored cable news network shows in April during the Imus controversy for their representation of color. The group found that even during the week of the Imus controversy, whites--especially men--were the predominant faces seen, accounting for from 54 percent (CNN) to 72 percent (FOX News Channel) of guests booked.

But those percentages were down from the week before Imus made his comments about the Rutgers University's women's basketball team. The week earlier, whites accounted for 71 percent (CNN) to 93 percent (MSNBC) of booked appearances. And after the Imus incident, white representation made a comeback to the levels observed before Imus--a range of 74 percent (CNN) to 82 percent (MSNBC).

Furthermore, representation of color during the week of the controversy on MSNBC, which simulcast Imus' former radio show, skyrocketed 700 percent from 4 percent to 30 percent of guest appearances, compared with the week before the controversy. The week after the controversy, the percentage settled down to 14 percent.

"When an issue involving gender and race/ethnicity dominates the news, the cable networks do bring on a more diverse lineup of guests than they ordinarily do. The question, then, is why their guest lists are so overwhelmingly white and male the rest of the time," asked the Media Matters report.

The Media Matters report also monitored news talk-show appearances in 2005 and 2006, finding that whites tended to outnumber people of color by a ratio of 7 to 1 and that two out of every three guests on Sunday shows were white men. At NBC's "Meet the Press," white men accounted for more than three-quarters of guest appearances, followed by CBS News' "Face the Nation" with 72 percent. "FOX News Sunday" had the "best" track record, with 62 percent.

And one network responded to the dearth of journalists of color in decision-making posts. NBC News, which simulcast Imus' radio show on MSNBC, took three steps toward diversifying its ranks in the weeks following the Imus controversy. The news organization hired former Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker, who is black, to be second in command. It also appointed black journalist Lester Holt, host of the weekend "Today" show, to serve as weekend anchor of "NBC Nightly News," and promoted weekend "Today" executive producer Lyne Pitts, who is also black, to be vice president of NBC News and the division's point person on diversity issues.

"Diversity isn't just about numbers, it's about making our news reports better," said Dave Zeeck, president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, in a statement that accompanied the report. "Diverse staffs lead to better journalism."

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