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Should anchor lineups match local diversity?

A

AliceTheCook

Guest
Saw this thread elsewhere. If your audience is broken up into sizable ethnic groups, does a TV station have an obligation to use a similar ratio with their anchor team? I know Ch 8 has been good in the past about this (thanks to prodding from John Wiley Price), and is possibly one of the only major market network affiliates that has a black and a Hispanic as their lead anchors. 4 probably has a similar distinction with 2 black anchors.

What I'm getting at is that, with such a large Hispanic population in DFW now, do any of these folks identify with our English-language stations, or do most of them flip to the local Spanish outlets for news? Do any of the local English-speaking stations use their SAP for Spanish translations during the news? Or should there be any special attempt to appease Hispanic viewers if most of them go to Spanish stations instead?

And you have to consider the demo of the target audience. Is local news just after men and women 25-54? That demo is vastly different, racially, than just a 12+.
 
> Saw this thread elsewhere. If your audience is broken up
> into sizable ethnic groups, does a TV station have an
> obligation to use a similar ratio with their anchor team? I
> know Ch 8 has been good in the past about this (thanks to
> prodding from John Wiley Price), and is possibly one of the
> only major market network affiliates that has a black and a
> Hispanic as their lead anchors. 4 probably has a similar
> distinction with 2 black anchors.
>
> What I'm getting at is that, with such a large Hispanic
> population in DFW now, do any of these folks identify with
> our English-language stations, or do most of them flip to
> the local Spanish outlets for news? Do any of the local
> English-speaking stations use their SAP for Spanish
> translations during the news? Or should there be any
> special attempt to appease Hispanic viewers if most of them
> go to Spanish stations instead?
>
> And you have to consider the demo of the target audience.
> Is local news just after men and women 25-54? That demo is
> vastly different, racially, than just a 12+.
>
This is an interesting question. I have always felt that newsteams should approximately match the local diversity. However, that match should be with the entire market/metro area -- not just the "big" city in the area.

In my mind, children watch a lot of TV and are encouraged when they see people who look like themselves. For example, I grew up in Seattle and am African-American. Although the metro area population of African-Americans is small, two Seattle television stations (KING and KOMO) were very progressive in terms of hiring minorities in the 70's. Sadly, in the early 70's, most of TV news was not very diverse (primarily Caucasian males, most women were relegated to secondary roles).
 
> > Saw this thread elsewhere. If your audience is broken up
> > into sizable ethnic groups, does a TV station have an
> > obligation to use a similar ratio with their anchor team?

>>>>>>>
The Station has an obligation to hier the best anchors based on delivery, connection to the audience, and unbiased reporting. It should not matter what color those people are. I think WFAA has done that. John Mccaa and Gloria Campos are the 2 best anchors they have, no other adjective has to be used to describe them.

> > What I'm getting at is that, with such a large Hispanic
> > population in DFW now, do any of these folks identify with
>
> > our English-language stations, or do most of them flip to
> > the local Spanish outlets for news? Do any of the local
> > English-speaking stations use their SAP for Spanish
> > translations during the news? Or should there be any
> > special attempt to appease Hispanic viewers if most of
> them
> > go to Spanish stations instead?

Language is a whole different matter. As soon as a station here starts doign some kind of hybrid language deal I am out. Even La Vida is all English. Stations would be doing there viewers a disservice by not broadcasting in English. SAP might be a great learning tool for bi-linguals and those aspiring to be bi-lingual,(like me)
> >
> This is an interesting question. I have always felt that
> newsteams should approximately match the local diversity.
> However, that match should be with the entire market/metro
> area -- not just the "big" city in the area.
>
> In my mind, children watch a lot of TV and are encouraged
> when they see people who look like themselves. For example,
> I grew up in Seattle and am African-American. Although the
> metro area population of African-Americans is small, two
> Seattle television stations (KING and KOMO) were very
> progressive in terms of hiring minorities in the 70's.
> Sadly, in the early 70's, most of TV news was not very
> diverse (primarily Caucasian males, most women were
> relegated to secondary roles).
>
I think that you are leading yourself up for the "token" syndrome. An anchor or reporter hired solely to satisfy some diversity goal rather than the best.

It may be true that investigative reporters of similar ethnicity to the subject can get the story better, and if so, then that will satisfy my request for the best. But then again, it may not be true. Asking the right questions and building trust to get the "true" answer are not part of the ethnicity gene.
 
> >
> I think that you are leading yourself up for the "token"
> syndrome. An anchor or reporter hired solely to satisfy some
> diversity goal rather than the best.
>
> It may be true that investigative reporters of similar
> ethnicity to the subject can get the story better, and if
> so, then that will satisfy my request for the best. But then
> again, it may not be true. Asking the right questions and
> building trust to get the "true" answer are not part of the
> ethnicity gene.
>
Nope. I am not setting myself up for anything. I believe that our society should be proud to be diverse. This is a country that has many different ethnicities, religions, and so forth. TV stations should generally be reflective of the community that they serve, which means there should be people of all races and ethnic backgrounds -- unless we are in a remote area.

The current problem seems to be that the majority in this country don't seem to want to discuss anything anymore. It's that "red" state/"blue" state thing with people screaming at each other -- instead of meaningful dialogue on substantive issues like diversity.

Question: Would it bother you to have an all male, all White news team in Washington, DC or Detroit?
 
It should just be "color blind" when it comes to hiring. Qualifications as a journalist would be a good place to start intead of one's chemical make up. Knowledge and experience should be the first and second major requirements in hiring. Hiring to appease a culture, a "Look"( eye candy) is a great diservice to serving and informing a community at large. If stories of discrimination are reported on race,gender and religion, then the station(s) should make damn sure they themselves are not discriminating in regrards to the aforementioned.
 
> > > Saw this thread elsewhere. If your audience is broken
> up
> > > into sizable ethnic groups, does a TV station have an
> > > obligation to use a similar ratio with their anchor
> team?
>
> >>>>>>>
> The Station has an obligation to hier the best anchors based
> on delivery, connection to the audience, and unbiased
> reporting. It should not matter what color those people are.
> I think WFAA has done that. John Mccaa and Gloria Campos are
> the 2 best anchors they have, no other adjective has to be
> used to describe them.
>
> > > What I'm getting at is that, with such a large Hispanic
> > > population in DFW now, do any of these folks identify
> with
> >
> > > our English-language stations, or do most of them flip
> to
> > > the local Spanish outlets for news? Do any of the local
>
> > > English-speaking stations use their SAP for Spanish
> > > translations during the news? Or should there be any
> > > special attempt to appease Hispanic viewers if most of
> > them
> > > go to Spanish stations instead?
>
> Language is a whole different matter. As soon as a station
> here starts doign some kind of hybrid language deal I am
> out. Even La Vida is all English. Stations would be doing
> there viewers a disservice by not broadcasting in English.
> SAP might be a great learning tool for bi-linguals and those
> aspiring to be bi-lingual,(like me)
> > >
> > This is an interesting question. I have always felt that
> > newsteams should approximately match the local diversity.
>
> > However, that match should be with the entire market/metro
>
> > area -- not just the "big" city in the area.
> >
> > In my mind, children watch a lot of TV and are encouraged
> > when they see people who look like themselves. For
> example,
> > I grew up in Seattle and am African-American. Although
> the
> > metro area population of African-Americans is small, two
> > Seattle television stations (KING and KOMO) were very
> > progressive in terms of hiring minorities in the 70's.
> > Sadly, in the early 70's, most of TV news was not very
> > diverse (primarily Caucasian males, most women were
> > relegated to secondary roles).
> >
> I think that you are leading yourself up for the "token"
> syndrome. An anchor or reporter hired solely to satisfy some
> diversity goal rather than the best.
>
> It may be true that investigative reporters of similar
> ethnicity to the subject can get the story better, and if
> so, then that will satisfy my request for the best. But then
> again, it may not be true. Asking the right questions and
> building trust to get the "true" answer are not part of the
> ethnicity gene.
>xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

"The Station has an obligation to hier the best anchors based on delivery, connection to the audience, and unbiased reporting. It should not matter what color those people are"

Gee, dare we think that these criteria might actually be utilized some day?
 
> It should just be "color blind" when it comes to hiring.
> Qualifications as a journalist would be a good place to
> start intead of one's chemical make up. Knowledge and
> experience should be the first and second major requirements
> in hiring. Hiring to appease a culture, a "Look"( eye candy)
> is a great diservice to serving and informing a community at
> large. If stories of discrimination are reported on
> race,gender and religion, then the station(s) should make
> damn sure they themselves are not discriminating in regrards
> to the aforementioned.
>
I have to agree with edward on this one, The whole "PC/multicutural movement" has caused more problems in the reporting of news than it has bridged. IMHO, reporters and anchors should have decent chops and great skills. race/creed/religion/sexual preference all comes secondary.
 
> > >
> > I think that you are leading yourself up for the "token"
> > syndrome. An anchor or reporter hired solely to satisfy
> some
> > diversity goal rather than the best.
> >
> > It may be true that investigative reporters of similar
> > ethnicity to the subject can get the story better, and if
> > so, then that will satisfy my request for the best. But
> then
> > again, it may not be true. Asking the right questions and
> > building trust to get the "true" answer are not part of
> the
> > ethnicity gene.
> >
> Nope. I am not setting myself up for anything. I believe
> that our society should be proud to be diverse. This is a
> country that has many different ethnicities, religions, and
> so forth. TV stations should generally be reflective of the
> community that they serve, which means there should be
> people of all races and ethnic backgrounds -- unless we are
> in a remote area.
>
> The current problem seems to be that the majority in this
> country don't seem to want to discuss anything anymore.
> It's that "red" state/"blue" state thing with people
> screaming at each other -- instead of meaningful dialogue on
> substantive issues like diversity.
>
> Question: Would it bother you to have an all male, all
> White news team in Washington, DC or Detroit?
>
No more than I would object to an all female, African American, Hispanic, or Oriental staff here. Just don't give me any more " for the sake of diversity " so so's
 
> > > >
> > > I think that you are leading yourself up for the "token"
>
> > > syndrome. An anchor or reporter hired solely to satisfy
> > some
> > > diversity goal rather than the best.
> > >
> > > It may be true that investigative reporters of similar
> > > ethnicity to the subject can get the story better, and
> if
> > > so, then that will satisfy my request for the best. But
> > then
> > > again, it may not be true. Asking the right questions
> and
> > > building trust to get the "true" answer are not part of
> > the
> > > ethnicity gene.
> > >
> > Nope. I am not setting myself up for anything. I believe
>
> > that our society should be proud to be diverse. This is a
>
> > country that has many different ethnicities, religions,
> and
> > so forth. TV stations should generally be reflective of
> the
> > community that they serve, which means there should be
> > people of all races and ethnic backgrounds -- unless we
> are
> > in a remote area.
> >
> > The current problem seems to be that the majority in this
> > country don't seem to want to discuss anything anymore.
> > It's that "red" state/"blue" state thing with people
> > screaming at each other -- instead of meaningful dialogue
> on
> > substantive issues like diversity.
> >
> > Question: Would it bother you to have an all male, all
> > White news team in Washington, DC or Detroit?
> >
> No more than I would object to an all female, African
> American, Hispanic, or Oriental staff here. Just don't give
> me any more " for the sake of diversity " so so's
>
Oriental? The correct term would be "Asian".

As a country, we need to embrace our diversity, not hide it. To do that, we need newsteams that are REPRESENTATIVE of the community. We should not go back to the all male, all white newsteam -- although that seems to be what many of your are advocating.

Do you also realize that, in the days of segregation, the excuse of "experience" was used to EXCLUDE non-whites from the newsroom? Oh, we can't hire a female or a black person because they don't have the experience. (Of course, they couldn't get the experience because NOBODY would hire them -- a catch-22 situation.) Honestly, those of you who are younger need to study the racial history of this country. I am not talking about 50 years ago; I am talking about 25 to 30 years ago.
 
> > It should just be "color blind" when it comes to hiring.
> > Qualifications as a journalist would be a good place to
> > start intead of one's chemical make up. Knowledge and
> > experience should be the first and second major
> requirements
> > in hiring. Hiring to appease a culture, a "Look"( eye
> candy)
> > is a great diservice to serving and informing a community
> at
> > large. If stories of discrimination are reported on
> > race,gender and religion, then the station(s) should make
> > damn sure they themselves are not discriminating in
> regrards
> > to the aforementioned.
> >
> I have to agree with edward on this one, The whole
> "PC/multicutural movement" has caused more problems in the
> reporting of news than it has bridged. IMHO, reporters and
> anchors should have decent chops and great skills.
> race/creed/religion/sexual preference all comes secondary.
>
I have changed my mind as I watched the coverage of Peter Jennings' death. It is clear that Peter was totally unqualified, never graduated from high school, and should have never been initially hired by ABC News. I am sure that ALL of you will agree with me on this because I am sure that there were other MORE qualified journalists available at the time (men/women/black/white/AMERICAN/etc.).

I await your responses...
 
ey
> I have changed my mind as I watched the coverage of Peter
> Jennings' death. It is clear that Peter was totally
> unqualified, never graduated from high school, and should
> have never been initially hired by ABC News. I am sure that
> ALL of you will agree with me on this because I am sure that
> there were other MORE qualified journalists available at the
> time (men/women/black/white/AMERICAN/etc.).
>
> I await your responses...
>
Actually you are "slightly" (very slightly) correct. They hired him PARTLY based on Youth BUT he covered the Civil Rights marches for the CBC and THAT qualified him to be hired at ABC. He also had a background thanks to his father at The CBC and had the Natural ability(read that talent) to be qualified. He was a natural journalist, not a columbia school of broadcasting student or american broadcasting school student or someone with A BA in Journalism. Just because you have a degree or a diploma doesn't mean you can actually do the job. Same goes for racial/gender qualifications. Either you have it or you don't. If you have it hopefully someone will notice you and get hired. If you are just eyecandy no, you should work as a model or salesperson.
 
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