RACISM IN THE MEDIA
Introduction
Mainstream media across the world have been accused of 'virtually whitewashing' the airwaves. Many ethnic minority groups claim to experience hostility, marginalisation and discrimination regularly from many media institutions. There is an endless struggle for minorities to gain professional access to the media, as the monochromatic view of black people as scrounging immigrants, dysfunctional families, drug-dealing thugs and pimps fails to go away. Factors such as state-ownership, Trans-National Corporations and major advertisers have transformed the creative sphere of the media into a capitalistic, profit-obsessed empire, and view the role of the ethnic minority as a hindrance to ratings and the status quo themselves. Commercialism and capitalistic structures are taking over the media's promise to be creative and democratic.
Racism in the media is not a process of name-calling or stone throwing, but it is a noticeable lack of ethnic minorities participating in the media and the way in which they are excluded from structures of the media. Many English speaking communities maintain their cultural control through mainstream media with a peculiar form of professional standards called 'our style our standard'. These keep out well qualified first generation ethnic migrant journalists and broadcasters from mainstream media. British and American media institutions, which broadcast into Asia, use Asian faces with American or British accents to present news programmes, which are produced by white journalists from a Western perspective. These 'token' programme presenters never rock the boat in
terms of programme contents (Seneviratne, 2000). Media institutions reply in the usual, non-chalant fashion:
"It's become a no-win proposition. Unless you're putting on an hour-long show about a black brain surgeon helping Third-World children, you're insulting the race". (Jackson, 2000)
Prior research has shown that minority characters are under-represented and are portrayed by the media in a negative fashion. African Americans for example, have typically appeared in minor roles, in low status occupation, lacking high school qualifications and generally overweight. By doing so, both under-representing and typecasting minorities, the media are solidifying stereotypes, which then impact upon the public perception of minorities. The results are threefold. This not only hinders the public's ability to view the world unreservedly, but it impinges on the ethnic communities right to democracy and it also sacrifices the integrity and morality of the mainstream media.
In this essay, I will examine 15 articles dealing with the topic of 'Racism in the Media''. I will investigate whether the marginalisation of ethnic minority groups is confirmed by their omission from print and broadcast realities. The essay will be thematically structured, exploring four main themes: Public (Mis)perception, Stereotyping Minorities, Over/Under-Representation of Individuals and 'It's not Racism, it's Economics'. I felt the topic of racism was of utmost importance because I feel there is a phenomenon of racism manifesting itself in our democracy, and subsequently in our own media institutions. The fundamental human right to democracy and free speech is being broken, and as a UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights once said, 'Today's violation of rights are the causes of tomorrows conflicts'. For example, the Civil War in Bosnia was an ethnic war partly initiated by media-induced Serbian nationalism, and the role of radio in Rwanda's ethnic slaughter is constantly being challenged. The media's indulgence in 'foreigner-bashing' serves to reproduce racist ideologies and these only serve to intensify the fundamental problem of racism (van Dijk, 2000). The media, as we will see, are an inherent part of the problem.
Review of Literature
Public (Mis)perception
'Our opinions cover a bigger space, a longer reach of time, a greater number of things that we can directly observe. They have, therefore to be pieced together out of what others have reported' - Lipmann (Gilens, 1996)
The media are our primary source of socialisation and everyday information. The media is, for most people, the only contact they will ever have with politicians, celebrities, sporting heroes, and victims of crime or poverty. However, 'to report is to construct' (Husband, 2000) and what the public perceives as reality is actually the media's constructed version of social reality. The 'bias' of a text translates into the 'mental bias' of the public and therefore, media discourses affect social beliefs, racist ideologies and prejudices (van Dijk, 2000). Dixon et al (2003) explain how these discourses are affected - negative stereotypes of African Americans in the media are perpetuated in viewer's minds. The presentation of more African American than White law-breakers on the news make viewers believe that there social world is populated by dangerous African Americans. The activation of the stereotype, they continue, increases the likelihood that this knowledge will be used in subsequent judgements.
Muharrar (1998) takes a related perspective. He found that TV viewers were so accustomed to seeing African American crime suspects on local news, that even when the race of a suspect was not specified, viewers still recalled seeing a black suspect. A good example here is a study undertaken by Gilens (1996). He shows how poverty in America is viewed primarily as a black problem. He says when the US public estimated that 50% is made up of Black people, it is a good example of how they dramatically misunderstand the racial composition of Americas poor. The truth is that Blacks make up 29% of Americas poor. Pictures of poor African Americans appeal to editors as 'a readily recognisable form of poverty'. Gilens says that if an editor wants a picture that is easily identified as poor, and believes that readers strongly associate poverty with black people, then he/she will use it. The media's proportion of black poor people will undoubtedly mirror that of the public's perception. For example, in Washington and Oregon, black people constitute only 6% of the poor, yet residents of these states believe that the American poor are 47% black. However, Gilen does not believe that this may not be a conscious process of editors.
Similarly, Ferguson (2000) does not believe it is a conscious process. 'Media producers are not likely to warm to the suggestion that they may have inadvertently contributed to the shared reserve of racist discourses which are available in societies'. Similarly, Sabo et al (1995) refer to an 'unconscious nationalism' of sports commentators in America. Their study shows American commentators characterising American athletes as warm, fair and humane; referring to their families often and calling 61% by their first name. Contrastingly, they characterise foreigners as more machine-like, unemotional, and cheating; their families are less referred to and calling 41% ...
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Similarly, Ferguson (2000) does not believe it is a conscious process. 'Media producers are not likely to warm to the suggestion that they may have inadvertently contributed to the shared reserve of racist discourses which are available in societies'. Similarly, Sabo et al (1995) refer to an 'unconscious nationalism' of sports commentators in America. Their study shows American commentators characterising American athletes as warm, fair and humane; referring to their families often and calling 61% by their first name. Contrastingly, they characterise foreigners as more machine-like, unemotional, and cheating; their families are less referred to and calling 41% by their first name. This is more than likely due to a familiarity with the US athletes, and not a mark of conscious bias.
However, Seneviratne (2000) accuses media professionals of conscious bias. He highlights a bias towards the English accents. Media managers regard ethnic accents as 'unprofessional and hard to understand', he says, and ethnic broadcasters face 'tremendous barriers' from media insiders. But are the audience completely innocent here? Mertens (2000) believes that it is the 'creative receiver' who interprets media messages in order to sustain their own psychological and cultural worldview. Maintaining racist ideas, he says is a strategy of the 'creative' viewer'.
Stereotyping Minorities
In Gilens (1996) study, he found that the poverty population as portrayed by the media is black, non-elderly and overwhelmingly unemployed. He also discovered that the unsympathetic topic of the 'underclass' (crime, drugs, welfare-dependency, out-of-wedlock births, labour force non-participation) was devoted exclusively to pictures of African Americans, as 100% of pictures on underclass stories were composed of Black people. 'Sympathetic' topics, such as poor kids, and people in Medicaid and employment programmes, pictured less black people and more white people. Muharrar (1998) called the problem of stereotyping ethnics in the media, 'racial profiling'. A social problem is defined in 'blackface', he says, i.e. in racial terms. Once portrayed in blackface, the 'blackness' of the problem encourages suspicion, polarising antagonism, and typically leads to the targeting of the racial group for punitive action. Examples of typical stereotypes are: the black drug abuser/dealer; the welfare cheat and queen; the threatening black criminal. Husband (2000) echoes this train of thought: 'race is a viable and apparently legitimate conceptual tool for explaining individual action and political strategies'.
Similarly stereotypes exist in sport media. Past studies showed white footballers were praised more than blacks and blacks were more described in physical terms. However, Sabo et al's study (1995) has clearly opposite findings. Black athletes were least likely of all groups to receive negative comments and Asians and Hispanics were more likely to be described in physical terms than blacks or whites. This might show a heightened sensitivity and guardedness among commentators when analysing black athletes. On the other hand, Asians were depicted in ways that drew upon stereotypes. The study showed they were characterised as stoic conformists; very hard workers; very disciplined; obsessed with winning; machine-like and unemotional. Hispanics were also blatantly stereotyped. Commentators were found to have been very liberal in their praise of Hispanics, and seemed to make a conscious effort to portray them in a favourable light.
Although Blacks and Latinos are among the heaviest TV consumers, they are also among the most stereotyped. Tamborini et al, (2000) typify the image of the Latino - violent and unintelligent; drug dealer/gangster; the buffoon - an object of humour due to unintelligence and little English e.g. Ricky Ricardo, 'I Love Lucy'. Similarly, Mastro & Stern (2003) found that Latinos are not only under-represented (12.5% of population, only 1% of speaking characters in ads) but also stereotyped. They found they are commonly depicted as highly attractive, younger adults, with noticeable accents, they are extremely thin and suggestively clad, and found engaging in alluring behaviour e.g. 'sexual gazing'.
Black models are most likely to appear as musicians or athletes and had the highest presence in public service ads and government-sponsored ads, according to Bowen and Schmid (1997). Companies trying to portray themselves in a favourable light want their commercials to promote their involvement with community and helping those less fortunate i.e. minorities. Roles of black models are often limited or demeaning, and usually conform to the white stereotype of black life, those that entertain and those that serve. Jackson (2000) says that 'media stereotypes maintain the status quo and reinforce the existing hegemony'.
Over/Under-Representation of Individuals
All articles generally conclude that white people are substantially over-represented and minorities are chronically under-represented. Some deal with under-representation of minorities on the screen/in pictures (sport events, crime stories, advertisements), and some deal with under-representation behind the scenes (directors, writers, commentators). Jackson (2000) reveals the astonishing fact that of the 839 writers working on prime-time shows in America, 55 are black, 11 are Latino, 3 are African American and there are no Native Americans. In relation to directors, in 1998 the Directors Guild of America showed that minority TV and film directors worked less days in 1997, despite an increase in work for directors overall. Sabo et al (1995) revealed that in their study, of the 369 commentator appearances, 92% were white, 8% were Black and there were no Hispanics or Asians. Seneviratne (2000) emphasises the difficulty ethnic media producers have in getting professional access to the industry. People from ethnic communities are described as NESB - Non-English Speaking Background. This term creates a 'psychological barrier for the
media gatekeepers when they have to assess our capabilities to work in the English language'.
Van Dijk (2000) also underlines the difficulties minority media figures have getting professional access to the industry. He states that virtually no European newspaper has minorities as editors or in other prominent positions. Also, minority organisations, leaders and spokespersons have less access to the media than their white counterparts. They are also less credibly quoted than the mainstreamers.
The Dixon et al study (2003) showed the portrayal of race and crime of TV Network News. It found that overall, white people were more likely than African Americans to appear as perpetrators, officers or victims of crime. In summary it found that news focuses on whites in a variety of crime roles. This is staple of network news programming to focus on non-violent and white-collar crime (in comparison to local news). It also found that the composition of perpetrators was accurately represented on the news. The similarly themed article by Tamborini et al (2000) was more insightful and threw a different light on the matter. This study was divided up into portrayal of officers and portrayal of criminals. Out of all officers, 83% were White, 13% were Black and 4% were Latino. Regarding criminals, 82% were White, 11% Black and 7% Latinos. All three nationalities of officers were found very competent, equally neutral in honesty and equally high in knowledge. The majority of officers used no physical aggression (95%, 91%, 89%).
Regarding criminals, there were also no significant findings by ethnicity. Overall the percentages of the use of physical aggressiveness were: 62% White, 56% Black and 50% Latino and use of verbal aggression were: 63% White 67% Black and 67% Latino. The study found that the representation of minorities with white people to be equal, and one would expect associated perceptions to be
positive. However, although most images were positive, it is the relative scarcity of these images that impact on stereotype formation.
"It's not racism, it's economics"
Many of the articles expressed the economical and political factor as a principal reason for racism in the media. Mertens (2000) suggests that this tendency towards racism in the description of crime in the press is a reflection of 'the content of the media being influenced by current power relations between majorities and minorities in Western societies'. Jackson (2000) quotes the media industry argument to consistent complaints surrounding the issue: 'It not racism, it's...economics'. For most networks, she said, diversity just doesn't pay. Shows feed off high ratings, the higher the rating, the more attractive a shows become to advertisers - more advertisers equals more money and a hit show. Economics is about attracting the 'hard-to-get audience of 18-34 year olds with vast spending power... advertisers pay less for programmes that garner non-white audiences'. For example, Dawson's Creek, although it attracted 500,000 less viewers than the Steve Harvey show, charged $65,000 more per 30-second commercial. The Media Awareness Network (2004) have said that the foreign market is a huge influence on the cultural content of films and TV programming. 70% of audiences are white, and advertisers buy audiences. Foreign distributors, they say, are not interested in minority casts and ethnic themes, because studios think that action movies with white principals are what the box office audience want.
Van Dijk (2000) says the 'elites' play a special role in the reproduction of racism. They a) make crucial decisions that affect immigrants and minorities (employment, immigration) and b) they regulate access to the news, including that of the portrayal of minorities. This is not, he continues, merely a passive reflection of
widespread prejudices of the population, but a result of the explicit discursive practices of the media elites. Similarly, Husband (2000) accuses the state ownership and far-right proprietors in specific countries as unambiguously promoting xenophobia, racism and inter-ethnic hostilities.
Conclusion and Findings
Throughout the assignment, I discovered a number of conflicting arguments between some of the articles. Most of the findings highlight disparities between representations of the same theme e.g. differences between the treatment of news on a local and a national level, and also differences between advertisements in magazines and on television.
Local News vs. Network News
The Dixon et al (2003) study highlighted obvious contrasts between the portrayal of crime on Network TV news and Local TV news. The interesting difference between both types of news is the emphasis on White law-beakers and the accurate representation of perpetration on network news. He found that on network news blacks were accurately portrayed as perpetrators (in relation to figures from US Department of Justice), they were under-represented as officers and also under-represented as victims. On the other hand, they found that local news over-represented blacks as perpetrators, under-represented them as victims and accurately represented them as officers. Similarly, Muharrar (1998) had two findings, through a content analysis of a local TV station, that a) crime is violent and b) criminals are non-black. There are a few reasons for this, as explored by Dixon et al: Crime is first and foremost a staple ingredient of local news. Network news tends to emphasise political and international coverage, and this may reduce the number of perpetrators represented overall. The overall theme of network news is politics and policy, not crime. As a result, when they do focus on crime it tends to be on non-violent and white-collar crime. Their emphasis on whites in a variety of crime roles may be linked to attempt to increase ratings given the racial majority of white people in the US. Editors of network news may also use whites more often because this imagery is more comfortable and intriguing to the white audience.
Fictional vs. Reality-based TV shows
A second interesting finding was from Tamborini et al (2000). It showed how African Americans are portrayed more negatively in reality-based police shows/televised news/newspapers than in fictional programmes about crime. For example, reality-based shows are more likely to present African Americans as poorly-dressed, handcuffed, more physically threatening and nameless. 93% of robbery suspects featuring in a local newspaper were African American and more than 80% on local TV newscasts. Whites are also mostly cast as officers in this genre. It is suggested that these programmes encourage racial hostility, formation of ethnic stereotypes and fear of African Americans. In contrast, fictional programmes depict whites as criminal suspects more often than minorities. African-Americans also represent 10% of all perpetrators on television. The limitation of minorities in these roles on fictional programmes suggests that the favourable portrayal of Blacks in these minor roles does not pose a threat to the white man on television.
Prior Research vs. Modern Research
A few of the articles found disparities between prior research and their own research on the topic. For example, Sabo et al's study (1995) on televised sporting events - previous research on the topic had shown that televised sport reinforced African American stereotypes as less intellectual, described them commonly in physical terms and generally portrayed them in a negative light, in comparison to white athletes. However, their study discovered that a conscious effort was made by commentators to avoid prejudicial treatment of minority athletes and instead produce a balanced multi-cultural atmosphere. Commentators almost never mentioned race. They also found that Blacks were least likely to receive negative comments out of all nationalities. Overall, no significant differences were yielded in the number of positive evaluations by race and ethnicity. Similarly, as Gilens (1996) argues, most studies examining the proportion of ethnic or minorities appearing in news coverage found that blacks were under-represented in all areas of news media. His study however, showed that US newsmagazines grossly over-represented African Americans as poor people. Overall, they made up 62% of poor people pictured in stories, over two times their true population of 29%. Another example is Bowen and Schmid (1997), who based their study of advertising in magazines. Previous research showed that that the use of Asians and Hispanics was very small and in decline. However, there study discovered that (in one section based on 5 ads) Hispanics had more major roles than Black and Asian models in mixed-ethnic ads.
TV advertisements vs. Magazine advertisements
Differences could undoubtedly be identified between portrayal of minorities in TV advertisements and magazine advertisements. Mastro & Stern (2003) found in their study of TV commercials the use of models went in this order - white, then Black, Asian, Latino, Native American and finally other. However, Bowen and Schmid's (1997) similar study of magazine ads found the use of Asian and Hispanic extremely limited - Asians decreased from 2.5% to 1.8%, and Hispanics decreased from 1.5% to 0.6%. This decline in use of Asians highlights differences between the considerable use of Asian's in TV commercials and the decline in their use in magazine advertisements. Also, Mastro & Stern found that Blacks were portrayed more diversely and at true rates to their population, indicating an incline in use of Blacks. However, Bowen & Schmid found that although there has been an increase in the use of Blacks in magazine advertisements, it still tends to be stereotypical and depicting them as athletes, and blues/jazz musicians - thus showing that magazines tend to hinder their flexibility in roles, unlike television which appears to portray them more diversely. However the two articles did have a similar finding - Mastro & Stern found that blacks, whites and Latinos were usually seen in advertisements not at work and Asians were usually found at work. Bowen & Schmid found that Blacks were usually represented in ads regarding finance/insurance, but more significantly, in ads for automobile and travel. Automobile and travel ads usually project images of driving, travelling or holidaying and this backs up the former argument that black people are not represented working in any advertisements, Also, despite infrequent use of Asians in magazine ads, Bowen & Schmid highlighted one ad in which an Asian model was working as an air hostess, again backing up the finding that Asians are represented at work in advertisements.
'We must combat exclusion and work towards a media landscape that corresponds more to the multi-cultural and pluralistic realities in Europe' (Ouaj, 2000).
All writers and theorists offer similar solution processes to tackle the problem of racism in the media. A lot of emphasis was placed upon the importance of the relationship the media have with their audiences. Ferguson (2000) emphasises throughout his article that 'deconstructing racism is not only the possibility if the media but also the responsibility of the media's fluctuating and travelling audiences'. He instructs media audiences to develop our abilities as analysts of media messages, develop our skills as active citizens in democracies, and combine a development of our understanding of media representations with a willingness to exercise our democratic and consumer rights. Husband (2000), on the other hand, sees it as primarily the responsibility of the media industry to take initiative and incorporate new media groups to represent minorities. The essential element in any model of a 'polyethnic' media environment, he says, must be the presence of a wide range of autonomous minority ethnic media that are capable of adequately portraying the interests of ethnic minorities. On top of this, he suggests the 'implementation of complementary media which actively aim to promote dialogue across certain boundaries'.
Van Dijk (2000) emphasises the need for a conscious effort to promote high-quality, objective journalism. He uses the example of the Inetrnational Federation of Journalists in Brussels, where they set up a commission composed of experts to monitor ethnocentrism, xenophobia and racist prejudices in the media. Journalists who distinguish themselves by excellent multicultural practices though reporting or programme-making receive a prize. Such procedures would indeed encourage good practices and standards of excellence among young journalists in particular.
Racist and the mass media most of the time are intertwined phenomena (Oauj, 2000). Minority figures have, for too long, been denied professional access to the industry. Whether the exclusion lies with the absence of on-screen minority characters, or if it lies behind the scenes in production and management, this is racism in its purist form. The industry is not only sacrificing its own integrity, but also sacrificing good opportunities to integrate high-qualified, intelligent journalists of ethnic descent into their production processes. Advertisers also must take initiative. They must look beyond the young, white, middle-class audience and branch out to the vast amount of minorities who are just as capable as white people of purchasing consumer good and avail of consumer services. Taken altogether, the spending power of African Americans, Hispanics and Asians equals $395 billion. Surely, someone can see an opportunity to cash in on the tastes and spending capabilities of these large communities.
'Minorities read mainstream magazines and buy mainstream products. It's time they received mainstream treatment'. (Bowen & Schmid, 1997)
Responsibility must be taken and inroads must be made. Media professionals must learn to adopt and enact recognised professional standards of quality, fairness, balance and social responsibility. They must disregard 'our style and standard' that serves only to eliminate people outside their convention. Such fair standards and practices have become particularly important if the media are to play a positive role in the development of multi-cultural societies, who respect human rights of minorities. This is the month that Ireland celebrated the EU Presidency, and the government have promised to welcome 10 new states to the EU by encouraging and promoting multi-culturalism, ethnicity and nationality throughout the nation. The media, one of the prominent cornerstones of our democracy, must also abide by this promise and learn to incorporate ethnic communities in our interests and experience's and vice versa.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bowen, L. & Schmid, J.; 1997; Minority Presence and Portrayal in Mainstream Magazine Advertising: An Update; J & MC Quarterly; Vol. 74, Issue 1, pg.134-146
Dixon, T.L., Azocar, C.L. & Casas, M.; 2003; The Portrayal of Race & Crime on Television Network News; Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media; Vol. 47, Issue 4, pg. 498-523
Ferguson, R.; 2000; The Potential Role of the Mass Media in Deconstructing Racism; Media Development; Vol. 0, Issue 2, pg. 20-22
Gilens, M.; 1996; Race and Poverty in America: Public Misperceptions & the American News Media; Public Opinion Quarterly; Vol. 60, pg. 515-541
Husband, C.; 2000; Beyond contesting racism: Imagining the Polyethnic Media Environment; Media Development; Vol. 0, Issue 2, pg. 11-14
Jackson, J.; 2000; Anything But Racism; Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting Website; http://www.fair.org/extra/0001/tv-racism.html
Mastro, D.E. & Stern S.R.; 2003; Representations of Race in Television Commercials: A Content Analysis of Prime-Time Advertising; Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media; Vol. 47, Issue 4, pg. 638-647
Media Awareness Network; 2004; The Economics of Racial & Ethnic Stereotyping; http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/ethnics_and_minorities/ minorities_economics.cfm
Mertens, S.; 2000; Everyday Racism and the Importance of a Cultural Paradigm; Media Development; Vol. 0, Issue 2, pg. 27-31
Muharrar, M.; 1998; Media Blackface: "Racial Profiling" in News Reporting; Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting Website; http://www.fair.org/extra/9809/media-blackface.html
Ouaj, J.; 2000; More Colour in the Media; Media Development; Vol. 0, Issue 2, pg. 6
Sabo, D., Jansen, S.C., Tate, D., Carlisle-Duncan, M. & Leggett, S.; 1995; The Portrayal of Race, Ethnicity and Nationality in Televised International Athletic Events; Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles; http://www.aafla.org/9arr/ResearchReports/ResearchReport4_.htm
Seneviratne, K.; 2000; Migrants, Racism & the Media - a Perspective from Australia; Media Development; Vol. 0, Issue 2, pg. 17-19
Tamborini, R.; Mastro, D.E.; Chory-Assad, R.M.; Huang, R.H.; 2000; The Colour of Crime and the Court: A Content Analysis of Minority Representation on Television; J & MC Quarterly; Vol. 77, Issue 3, pg.639-653
Van Dijk. T.A.; 2000; Media, Racism & Monitoring; Media Development; Vol. 0, Issue 2, pg. 7-9
NAME: AMY HARTE
STUDENT NUMBER: 51731106
COURSE: JOURNALISM
YEAR: TWO
MODULE: GLOBAL COMMUNICATION
MODULE CODE:
LECTURER : MR. FARREL CORCORAN
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: RACISM IN THE MEDIA
ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE: 13/5/04
