Over the past 45 years, I
have conducted numerous research studies of multicultural communities
throughout the U.S., many which involved their media and consumer behavior, and
have also taught survey research methods at several North Texas universities.
This experience, coupled with changes in the media landscape and demographic
composition of the U.S. population, points to a disturbing pattern that I have
observed in news coverage that is muting the voices in communities of color and
limiting news stories to a set of predictable topics. As a case in point, I
will describe these patterns for the Dallas Morning News, a mainstream
newspaper in North Texas, which I have studied in more depth in past years and
read on a regular basis. These patterns, however, may describe other media in
large urban markets like the City of Dallas. Although not an exhaustive list, following are
some of the disturbing patterns that I observed:
· A lack of interest in investigating
potential bidding and contract irregularities associated with the 2020 Census
campaign for Dallas County. According to recent news coverage by Dallas Morning
News, concern was raised regarding vendor performance since Census response
rates for Dallas County were clearly lagging behind other Texas counties with
large populations.
· A lack of interest in addressing
a legacy of supermarket redlining practices that limit the healthy food choices
in Black and Hispanic food deserts, especially relevant in the pandemic
environment.
· The practice of
excluding Black and Hispanic faculty or experts in news stories that tap their
expertise. While not the “usual suspects,” these individuals are present in
North Texas and not difficult to identify.
· A pattern of exclusion
of local Hispanic op-ed contributors to the Viewpoints section. Several years ago, Carolyn Barta – a past
Viewpoints Editor at DMN -- invited a group of known Hispanic writers (including
myself) to submit op-ed pieces to Viewpoints, but acceptance of these
submissions dwindled after Ms. Barta’s departure which muted the voices of
these Hispanic writers.
· Coverage of positive
stories during Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month have been a
common practice, but coverage over the remaining 11 months has generally focused
on poverty, immigration, under-achievement, crime patterns, and similar
downbeat topics.
· Careless reporting of
crime patterns has sometimes mis-portrayed communities of color as hot crime
spots, which discourages economic development in these areas.
· Rather than focus on
economic activity and achievements, business news about the Dallas Hispanic
Chamber has generally focused on internal problems that they were experiencing.
· Books written by
Hispanic authors with a scientific or social science focus often escape the
attention of journalists -- with the possible exception of cookbooks.
· In response to the
growing presence of Latinos, many mainstream media shops have added Spanish-language
publications that are primarily read by Latino immigrants. Unfortunately, Hispanic-focused
stories that are placed only in Spanish-language publications become segregated
from English-language audiences – reinforcing the continuing segregation that
is already evident in housing, education, religious and social areas.
· Media companies with
Spanish-language assets may face tougher times into the future [ii] as the potential audience
for Spanish-language media continues to decline. Indeed, the Census Bureau experts project
that, by the year 2060, 46 million native-born Latinos will be added to the
U.S.— vastly out-numbering the 7.6 million foreign born Latinos.
Going forward, my hope is that
journalists and schools of journalism will reflect on these patterns and
consider the extent to which they describe their respective practices. Unless these journalistic patterns change,
mainstream media like the Dallas Morning News may become obsolete as a
consequence of their reluctance to connect with the changing composition and
interests of their audiences. Spanish-language media, on the other hand, may
need to re-evaluate their growth strategy into the future.
The Dallas Morning News, and
the other major newspapers and media outlets here in North Texas and around the
country need to take bold, proactive steps to better reflect and cover
communities of color, and clearly needs to intensify its efforts to at least
make sure we have a share of the voice as sources and in opinion columns.
End Notes
[i]
Census Bureau (2020). American Community Survey 2019 One-Year Estimates,
accessed at www.data.census.gov.
[ii] Rincon, E. T. (2020, April 01). A perfect storm is facing U.S. supermarkets. Journal of Marketing Channels.
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