The Conversation Continues....

I know you wouldn't feel "complete" without a last blog for our class! So, in watching "NBC Nightly News" tonight, I noticed a story about how French lawmakers are concerned over the image photographs of "perfect" female models ingrains in young women. The link to the clip is below:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#34265345

Let us all know what you think after watching the clip.

You may notice that the title of this blog is "The Conversation Continues..." I know that many of you (as expressed both in class today and at other times) have enjoyed our discussions on-line. While it may not be every day or every week, I do hope that we will keep the conversation going about contemporary issues that arise involving race, gender, and class in the media. I'll try to post occassionally, so check back, and also please send me ideas and/or complete blogs that I can post. In other words, to the extent that you can and want to do so, keep following the conversation, not for a grade (obviously), but out of interest.

Again, I want to reiterate how much I have enjoyed having each and every one of you as co-learners in what has been a rare, perhaps even unique, open forum on an important topic for us--as journalists and as citizens. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:30 will always remind me of our class and each of you.

All the very best,
Dr. Silvia

Having Your Say

I've always believed that the best learning doesn't result from looking for the "right" answers, but posing the important questions.
Since this is the last class blog, and I have been posing all the questions all semester, I thought it only fitting that you have your turn. Specifically, we are going to be discussing the article by LynNell Hancock titled "The Haves and the Have-Nots." As with a number of the readings we've had, it is somewhat dated in its content and conclusions, but still makes some valid points about inequalities in media access along race, gender, and class lines.

After reading the article and thinking back on all our discussions this semester, post your own questions for discussion on this topic during Tuesday's class. If you each post just one question (and aren't redundant) we should have a fine basis for bringing to a conclusion what has been, for me (and I hope for you), an energizing semester!

The Digital Divide in Media: An Unlevel Playing Field

An early study (1995), around the inception of the Internet, suggested that "white families are three times more likely to have computers at home than blacks and Latinos." Since then, a great deal of research has been done on what is termed the "digital divide." The digital divide is most commonly defined as the gap between those individuals whohave, and those who do not have, access to on-line information.

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Commerce released "A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet," the latest study on computer and Internet use in America. It pointed to U.S. Census data showing that 143 million Americans, or about 54 percent of the population, are using the Internet. It also states that the gap between the have's and have-not's has expanded, with Hispanics (31.8 percent) and African Americans (39.8 percent) lagging behind whites (59.9 percent) in Internet access at home, "suggesting serious ethnic and racial divides". (Dickhard and Schnedier. "The Digital Divide: Where We Are."

Given the above, is there reason to be optimistic that the Internet will help minorities and lower income Americans develop a stronger voice in media?

The Importance of Ethnic Newspapers

In her article on this topic, Jae Chul Shim quotes several noted sociolgists who see ethnic newspapers as serving two primary purposes: "helping newcomers adapt to the cultural values of the host country; the other to help immigrants preserve their ethnic heritage in the new environment." She also suggests that these two fuctions can seem "contradictory." It seems to me that she has a point. Do you agree? Shim also points to Korean newpapers in Los Angeles as examples of how ethnic papers can become an institution within a community by helping bring about positive change. I found myself wondering if such papers can be just as effective if they are owned and operated by people from outside the community as opposed to those who live and work there. What do you think?

Empowerment of Women in New and Old Media

There are two areas in media--one new (the Internet)and the other old (country music)--where women appear either to have found a new "voice" for their interests, beliefs and values or grown in such numbers that their collective "voice" can no longer be ignored by those in power. In the article "A Woman's Place? In Cyberspace," Kris Gensen cites a study suggesting that back in 1995 the on-line user population was roughly 80 per cent men to 20 per cent women. By 1998, that number had been expected to be 62 per cent men to 38 per cent women.

More recently, I found a study from eMarketer estimating that there were 97.2 million female Internet users ages 3 and older in 2007, or 51.7% of the total online population. In 2011, 109.7 million US females will go online, amounting to 51.9% of the total online population (eMarketer.com, March 2007).

So, what began as a male-dominated user medium is trending toward domiance by women. The same could be said about country music; once the near exclusive domain of men, today's biggest country stars are women: Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Faith Hill, even Taylor Swift! As the author of "Women in America: Country Just Ain't What It Used to Be" writes, "country's women...are asserting themselves as never before."

In your opinion, are there similar reasons for the emergence of women in these two very different forms of media expression? If so, what are they? (Note: on the subject of country music, the CMA Awards are on ABC tonight and may provide some insight into why the "message" behind women's music has gained prominence and acceptance).

Diversity in Magazines and Radio

In the two articles we have to read for Tuesday's class, I'm intrigued by what I see as a common theme surrounding how ineffective the magazine industry in America has been in terms of recruiting, promoting, and retaining African-American editors in contrast to how effective another media genre, "Native Radio," has been in creating diversity for a specific population in the United States. Given the poor economic climate for all print media today, is it possible to believe the situation with magazines will improve? If so, what would you suggest? If not, what does this say about the commitment to diversity? Given the same set of conditions for radio, is it likely or unlikely that niche formats serving a specific population can survive? Why or why not?

Advertising to Young Latinos and Women

A great deal is made of advertisers targeting of young Latinos for beer products. The study done by Rodriguez and her co-authors suggests that there was a backlash against beer advertisers for specifically creating their messages for young, Spanish speaking Latino consumers. When you consider this article in relationship to the one titled "The Role of Ethnic Advertising Agencies," it seems to me that one role might be anticipating this kind of backlash. Would you agree or disagree that an advertising agency run by and for people of the same ethnicity could lead to a better outcome for mainstream advertisers?

Latino youth aren't alone in being a desirable market for advertisers. Young women represent the largest group of new smokers in the U.S. Do you see any similarities between the targeting of Latino consumers for beer sales and that of young college age women by tobacco companies?

Advertising to Gays and Latinos

Gays and Latinos, according to the studies by Brett Chase and Richard Natale respectively, represent a significant market for major advertisers. In the instance of gay individuals and couples, Chase points out that Miller Lite, the Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda, as well as at least one regional telephone provider, actively courts gay consumers. In the instance of Latino audiences, media producers and programmers recognize that the burgeoning Latino population in the U.S. (estimated to hit nearly 41 million by next year) represents a major opportunity to connect advertisers with movie and television audiences.

We will begin our discussion on Thursday by considering the marketing power of these two groups. What additional products or services can you find as illustrations of this trend toward advertising to gays and Latinos and why do you think those advertisers have targetted these groups, in particular, for their products?

Native Americans and Journalists: A Clash of Cultures

In "When Worlds Collide: Navajos and the News Media," Michael Haederle describe a specific case study in the 1990's when journalists descended on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico to cover a "mysterious respiratory illness." From the start, the reporters proceeded to interview tribal members about their lost loved ones. It led one tribal leader to remark that incidents like this one suuggest a "clash of cultures" between reporters and Native Americans. The Navajos responded with large signs reading: "No News Media Allowed." One could argue that the journalists were just doing their jobs, but, on the other hand, what can this case study suggest about the very different cultural values that exist between the reservation and the newsroom, if not the larger mainstream American culture in general?

The Invisible Majority

In the two articles you have to read for Tuesday, October 20th, there are some interesting observations one can make. First, I find it somewhat ironic that Asians in news coverage appear, from Wong's study, to be an "invisible minority," while women, according to the Women, Men and Media study are the "invisible majority." Another observation is that while the WMM annual study began in 1989, it appears to have ended with this last report in 1999:

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?
documentID=6465

That year's study focussed on progress being made, especially in regard to economic coverage on the three main network newscasts — ABC, CBS and NBC. The results showed more women speaking as "experts" than it had10 years earlier. I ask myself why the WMM annual study is no longer being done; is it because so much "progress" has been made in terms of women's visibility and prominence in news coverage that this is an issue we no longer need to study?

In regard to coverage of Asian Americans, increased visibility, Wong suggests, might result from hiring, cultivating, and encouraging Asian American journalists "who bring special language and cultural skills" to our newsrooms. Toward that end, the Asian American Journalists Association exists to improve coverage of their community. Go to their website (aja.com), read about their mission, and check out the link under "news" where members and others can report perceived abuses in news reports involving Asian Americans. On the whole, would you agree this is a step in the right direction toward improving coverage of this race? Why? Why not?

Black Face, Nicknames, and Cartoon Controversy

Singer Harry Connick, Jr. recently appeared in Austraila as a judge on a televised talent show that featured a parody of the Jackson 5, in which the participants wore what's called "black face" makeup. Blackface harkens back to a time in 19th century America where white actors would dress like African-Americans and mimicked their speech and mannerisms in what would today be considered an insulting, if not humiliating manner. Connick sparked controversy when he walked off the TV show's set because, he said, he found the segment racially offensive. Here's a link to the segment on NBC's "Today Show."

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/33221866#33221866

In some ways, this exemplifies issues raised in your two readings for Tuesday, the first on naming sports teams after Native Americans, the second on the decision by editors of a San Francisco newspaper to publish a racially charged cartoon.

Think about connections between all three and ask yourself: Where do we draw the line?

How do we decide when people are being too easily offended or when someone is being too offensive?

Choosing Words Wisely

Both pieces you have to read for next class deal with the power of words: one with so-called "isms,"words that Jean Gaddy Wilson defines as "authorative language diminishing the roles and lives of women and minorities." Sometimes using language that creates stereotypes about people of a certain race, age, gender, or sexual orientation rises to the level of "hate speech," as discussed in the second article by Joseph Hemmer.

A national dialogue about the role and responsbility of media took place in April, 2007 when "shock jock" Don Imus used language laced with "isms" on his nationally syndicated radio show (simulcast on MSNBC) when discussing the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Go to this link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/12/national/main2675273.shtml

After reviewing this story, do you believe that Imus' language (1) was racist and sexist according to the terms of Gaddy Wilson, or (2) rose to the level of "hate speech" as defined by Hemmer?

Letterman Admission Raises Gender Issues

David Letterman shocked his audience on Thursday when

he revealed he'd been the victim of an extortion scam.(CBS Photo)

Comedian David Letterman helped create a national discussion this week following his disclosure of an alleged extortion plot, a disclosure that also led to his admission of having had sex with female staff who work for him. While he was not married at the time (ironically lastyear he married a woman who once was a writer on his show, following their 23 year relationship) and no allegations have surfaced of sexual harrassment by Letterman, two issues, it seems to me, arise. The first relates to the manner in which Letterman revealed details of the plot itself.

Watch the clip embedded in the New York Daily News story: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/10/01/2009-10-01_david_letterman_reveals_extortion_plot_con_man_wanted_2m_for_sex_secrets.html

Is there anything in either Letterman's demeanor or the audience's reaction to his words that might suggest a subtext of gender bias toward those women with whom the comedian admits to having sexual relations? Do you feel Letterman handled what some might consider to be a serious subject using an appropriate tone? Of course, the second issue pertains less to the media and more to the workplace issue of whether it is ever appropriate for someone in a power position to have a relationship with a subordinate.

Finally, consider one of the articles you have to read for Tuesday titled "We're Gonna Make It After All," suggesting women have come a long way in media portrayals since the pivotal Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970's. Do media depictions of workplace romance like the one on the Letterman Show support that assertion or not?

Gender in Advertising and the Color Line in Sports

This week we both move into a new area in our consideration of race, gender, and class in the media, as well two new media: advertising and sports broadcasting. First, read the following two articles from Facing Difference: "The Beauty Machine" (sec. 1.2) and "Color Blinded: Racial Bias in Network Television's Coverage of Professional Football Games." Consider the findings in both studies.

Before Thursday's class, please post your thoughts on one or both of the following: first, how do the authors' findings in "The Beauty Machine" relate to contemporary depictions of female beauty in entertainment media and advertising? Second, a good number of you, in your local TV news audits, noticed certain trends in the depiction of African-Americans on sportscasts; can we connect those trends to the authors' findings in the second article?

This past week, several stories have featured prominently in the national news media that involved high-profile, "celebrity" figures who are African American: rap artist Kanye West and tennis star Serena Williams. In both instances, there were lapses in what some might refer to as "polite" or civil behavior in public. For West, there was the interruption of teen country singer Taylor Swift as she accepted her VMA award; for Williams, there was the use of extreme profanity at an official who made a call she disputed at the U.S. Open. The clips involving Kayne West can be found at:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621529/20090914/west_kanye.jhtml

Embedded in the West incident (if not the one involving Williams), there are those who would suggest a racial subtext drives the media storyline: tough, uncouth urban black vs. dimunitive innocent white girl. Is there validity on any level to that view?

Presumed Innocent: Charles Stuart

Charles Stuart on respirator after being shot

Presumed Innocent: Charles Stuart
In 1990, Charles and Carol Stuart, an upper-middle class white couple were returning from a birthing class (Mrs. Stuart was expecting their first child) at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. That night, Carol Stuart died of gunshot wounds in the car that her husband said was invaded by an assailant when the couple were stopped at a traffic light. Police responded following Charles Stuart's frantic 9-1-1 call from his cellphone. His story: a black man had jumped into the car and shot his wife, fatally, while wounding him near fatally with several gunshots to the abdomen.

The atttack took place in the Mission Hill section of Boston, near Roxbury, a predominantly African-America section of the city. Law enforcement and the news media readily accepted Charles Stuart's version of that night's events. The city went on a massive manhunt for the killer, with police detaining dozens of young African-American men who fit the description. The news media did stories sympathetic to Charles Stuart, suggesting his was a "camelot" marriage; some television stories suggested that "if it could happen to them (the Stuarts), it could happen to anyone."

It was later proven that Stuart himself had staged his wife's murder, both for insurance money and the desire to be with another woman. He even enlisted the help of his brother, who shot Stuart himself to help cover the crime. Once Stuart was finally caught in a series of lies and arrested for his wife's murder, he committed suicide by jumping off Boston's Tobin Street Bridge.

Once the truth about Charles Stuart was finally revealed, the finger pointing began. Questions like "why were police so quick to accept his story?" and why did the news media almost "canonize" Charles Stuart so readily as a poor victim of a random crime? These are important questions and ones on which I would like to hear your ideas and insights.

The Henry Louis Gates Episode

In our first few discussions this semester, we've talked about how "what you see depends upon the seer." This was the major point behind the exercise we did in class this week involving two adult males--one Caucasian, the other African-American--involved in what by any definition would be considered "normal" (one was even a journalist!), but was misinterpreted by an observer who thought a violent act could be taking place). Most of you have no doubt read about a recent incident involving a Harvard professor who was mistakenly arrested by police after locking himself out of his own home. The account below is taken from Boston.com, the website of the Boston Globe:

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.

Gates

Police arrived at Gates’s Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard, had trouble unlocking his door after it became jammed.

He was booked for disorderly conduct after “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” according to a police report. Gates accused the investigating officer of being a racist and told him he had "no idea who he was messing with,'' the report said.

Gates told the officer that he was being targeted because "I'm a black man in America.''

Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver’s license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody for several hours last Thursday, they said.

The police report said Gates was arrested after he yelled at the investigating officer repeatedly inside the residence then followed the officer outside, where Gates continued to upbraid him. "It was at that time that I informed Professor Gates that he was under arrest,'' the officer wrote in the report.

Ask yourself: was Henry Louis Gates a victim of the same kind of "everyday racism" (Essed's theory) as the African-American journalist who was at the center of the scenario we discussed in class?

On June 27, 1994, following O.J. Simpson's arrest on charges of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, Time magazine put a photo on its cover that created instant controversy. It's the photo on the bottom right above and was altered by Time illustrator Matt Hahurin because, in his words, he "wanted to make it more artful, more compelling." The same week, Newsweek used the same mugshot of Simpson, but did not alter the photo from its original form. In response to complaints by readers and charges of racism from critics including the NAACP, Time did what no magazine up to that period in journalism history had ever done: they recalled the cover and replaced it with a new one, shown on the top right. Only mail subscribers ever saw the first cover; the recall camebefore it ever reached newstands. There were those who agreed with the magazine's decision based not only upon the potential for racism embedded in the altered photo, but on the broader principle that news photos should never be manipulated to change reality. It's worth reflecting on whether, if you were a reader back then, you might have gained an impression of O.J. Simpson's guilt or innocence based upon the original photo. When you look at the photo, what do you see?

Hi everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the first week of our class. I've decided to set up this blog to help us communicate between our face-to-face meetings. By joining it, you can respond to my postings as well as read the comments of the others in our "community." To start with, I thought I would pass along that Terry Anzur, our guest in class on Thursday, blogged about the discussion on her site, terryanzur.com. Go to her coaching blog and you'll see a class photo as well as short blurb about the discussion. Soon I'll post some photos of the front pages done by Time and Newsweek when O.J. Simpson was arrested.