2008 Woodie Awards
Media Portrayals of Blacks Become More Realistic
Seth E. Davis
Staff Reporter
Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: Campus News
BALTIMORE- In spite of some growth in visibility, the portrayal of blacks in the
media is widely debated among consumers.
Much of the public feels that too often the media emphasizes negative aspects of the African-American race.
"I don't too much agree with the way African Americans are portrayed in the media, because they are seldomly portrayed well," said Shannon Cohen, a TSU freshman biology major from Nashville."Too often we see the media covering arrests and mistakes made by black athletes and celebrities, instead of their accomplishments."
Even from a comedic standpoint, people have expressed concern in being typecast and stereotyped.
"In the media, blacks are portrayed as people that tend to get in a lot of trouble, fun and lazy," said Shaunna Pickett, a junior telecommunications major from Morgan State. "But now they are merging into more professional roles, I think in sitcoms, since it's only 30 minutes, you don't get the background of full portrayal."
Some have argued that blacks are not represented enough in media fields like broadcasting.
"Every time I watch the news, not so often do I see a black anchor," said Cody Ammerman, a contract worker for Peta2.com from Phoenix, Ariz. "In densely black populated areas like Chicago or Detroit areas, I see more black anchors."
The viewing public has even placed the blame of negative depictions with Black Entertainment Television (BET), which specializes programming for and about blacks. The videos, especially, that are aired on BET have been cited as depicting blacks in a less than flattering way.
"Most of the videos on BET portray us negatively. It's a false portrayal," said Jaquell Duncan, a freshman biology major from Morgan State. "They show the negative videos over and over again."
However, the public has noticed that blacks are becoming more and more visible in the media.
"Growing up in Indiana, the only time I would see blacks on television was when I would watch mainstream shows like "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," said Ammerman. "Now with more black politicians like Barack Obama, you see more of a sense of equality." To counter the media portrayals of blacks, organizations like Y.A.A.A.M.S (Young African-Americans Against Media Stereotypes) were founded. The goals of the group are "To rid the media of biases, inaccuracies and over-publicized and sensationalized stories of African Americans that at times are not even recognized as such or are poorly explained."
Permission to print granted by www.hbcu-journal.com
media is widely debated among consumers.
Much of the public feels that too often the media emphasizes negative aspects of the African-American race.
"I don't too much agree with the way African Americans are portrayed in the media, because they are seldomly portrayed well," said Shannon Cohen, a TSU freshman biology major from Nashville."Too often we see the media covering arrests and mistakes made by black athletes and celebrities, instead of their accomplishments."
Even from a comedic standpoint, people have expressed concern in being typecast and stereotyped.
"In the media, blacks are portrayed as people that tend to get in a lot of trouble, fun and lazy," said Shaunna Pickett, a junior telecommunications major from Morgan State. "But now they are merging into more professional roles, I think in sitcoms, since it's only 30 minutes, you don't get the background of full portrayal."
Some have argued that blacks are not represented enough in media fields like broadcasting.
"Every time I watch the news, not so often do I see a black anchor," said Cody Ammerman, a contract worker for Peta2.com from Phoenix, Ariz. "In densely black populated areas like Chicago or Detroit areas, I see more black anchors."
The viewing public has even placed the blame of negative depictions with Black Entertainment Television (BET), which specializes programming for and about blacks. The videos, especially, that are aired on BET have been cited as depicting blacks in a less than flattering way.
"Most of the videos on BET portray us negatively. It's a false portrayal," said Jaquell Duncan, a freshman biology major from Morgan State. "They show the negative videos over and over again."
However, the public has noticed that blacks are becoming more and more visible in the media.
"Growing up in Indiana, the only time I would see blacks on television was when I would watch mainstream shows like "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," said Ammerman. "Now with more black politicians like Barack Obama, you see more of a sense of equality." To counter the media portrayals of blacks, organizations like Y.A.A.A.M.S (Young African-Americans Against Media Stereotypes) were founded. The goals of the group are "To rid the media of biases, inaccuracies and over-publicized and sensationalized stories of African Americans that at times are not even recognized as such or are poorly explained."
Permission to print granted by www.hbcu-journal.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
JB
posted 2/18/08 @ 8:04 AM CST
Media covers mistakes by athletes and celebrities of ALL races. They feed off of that. It's just that there are a LOT of big time black athletes. But to name a few others, look at Britney Spears, Roger Clemens, Mark McGuire, etc. (Continued…)
Jeffrey P
posted 2/20/08 @ 12:07 PM CST
If tv portrayal is getting more realistic, then why don't the popular crime shows (CSI,etc) ever show blacks as the killer? It's always the crazy white person. (Continued…)
Masonry <=
posted 2/22/08 @ 7:11 AM CST
While it's true the media does cover things like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, you have to keep in mind the gain popularity for being bad girls. When a black person goes to jail, they don't gain popularity. (Continued…)
JB
posted 2/25/08 @ 8:21 AM CST
Maybe should watch this video as well.... whining gets us no where.... there are more important things in life.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HqdnjgkExY
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