It is a common knowledge that good journalism should be objective, independent and balanced. It is also no secret that members of ethnic and visible minorities are underrepresented and stereotyped in the news.
Latinos in The United States are the largest minority accounting for more than 15 percent of the whole population. According to Media Awareness Network, “of 12,000 evening news stories aired annually by the three major American Networks, only 1% is about Latino people or issues.” That is an enormous difference. “When Latinos are included, they are portrayed negatively 80% of the time.”
It is not only insufficient and biased coverage on minority issues that is so troubling. Ethnic minorities are much underrepresented in the media industry as well. In year 2007 34 percent of the population of the United States were minorities but “only 11.6 per cent of U.S. newsroom staff were members of ethnic or visible minorities” (Media Awareness Network).
Even though this is not an easy problem to fix it has to be done. The question is how to do it. Should there be specific quotas? That does not seem like a very good and democratic solution; but is such an enormous underrepresentation democratic? Should the news content be strictly regulated? This again seems dangerously close to restricting the freedom of speech. There is not one way of solving this problem that would suit to all but sooner or later, and I very much hope it will be soon, this inequality will have to disappear.
Links:
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/ethnics_and_minorities/index.cfm
I came across this information on Latinos that you mention here in my Media and Society presentation as well, and it is really disturbing. How is it possible when Latinos, who are the biggest minority in the US are mentioned less then 1 % in the news? It is absolutely not fair and discriminatory. Also, another fact that is very dissapointing is that when they are actually portrayed in the media in the 1 % it is almost always negatively and that shows the stereotyping of this minority as bad.
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