Stereotypes Don't Change Themselves

Survey on whites' misconceptions shows need for a new generation of minority journalists

by Jackie Jones

"Do you think it's important for African Americans to come into the journalism field?"

This question was recently posed to me by an African American student attending a high school journalism workshop at Penn State University. The program, sponsored by the College of Communications, aimed to attract students to Penn State and, hopefully, journalism.

I was a guest speaker, one of many that week, who had come to convince young people who had probably set their sights on more lucrative careers that journalism was still a noble profession. Fortunately for me, I had a wonderful weapon at my disposal.

On July 11, The Washington Post published an article that read: "Whether out of hostility, indifference or simple lack of knowledge, large numbers of white Americans incorrectly believe that blacks are as well off as whites in terms of their jobs, incomes, school and health care, according to a national survey by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University."

In fact, the story said, government statistics show that blacks still lag significantly behind whites in all those major categories. The lack of knowledge about these issues may explain in part, the report said, whites' resistance to "even the least intrusive types of affirmative action." It may even fuel the attitude that discrimination is nowhere near as bad as black people make it out to be, according to a political scientist from Swathmore College, who was a consultant on the survey project and who was quoted in the article.

The notion that there are scores of white people who don't understand the lives of black folks came as little surprise to me or most of the class, made up principally of African American students. Personal experience has seen to that for many of us. But what the results suggested, I said, was that the reason so many whites continue to have misperceptions about blacks is because there are not enough African Americans in the nation's newsrooms to strongly influence coverage of the black community. What gets reported and the way it is reported often does nothing to better inform the public.

I pointed out that the American Society of Newspaper Editors' annual newsroom census for 2000 revealed that less than 6 percent of newsroom professionals are African American, a decline from the previous year's census. The point was not lost on the students who heard several speakers earlier in the week talk about burned out colleagues who tired of proving themselves worthy repeatedly, only to be rejected for better assignments and promotions, or of being limited in their supervisory roles if their views differed radically from those of their white bosses and colleagues.

The real question beneath that student's query was: What was the use in entering a business that might drive you out before you could do the things you had set out to do?

These weren't students who were sold on journalism. Many of them were giving it a shot to better their writing or satisfy some latent curiosity before they went on to college to pursue careers in law, engineering or high-tech. But, as course organizers pointed out to me, there was a possibility that two, three or four of the 19 or so might decide to pursue journalism. They had hoped that my answers to student questions about income and job satisfaction might persuade them to give the field a second look.

Who better, I suggested, to tell the stories of black people? Who better to bring a different perspective to the table, I suggested, than those who are different from the current leaders of most newsrooms? Who better, to take on the fight that some older African American colleagues are wearying of? Someone has to chronicle the experiences of people of color. Should that be deferred to those who don't have direct experience in those communities?

As I spoke with the students, I thought about how many little slights I run across as a black woman, some of them so routine (being followed in a store; being addressed as though I were a preschooler by someone who thinks I don't understand standard English) that I no longer respond. It just takes too much time and, I reason, probably won't result in change. As I asked friends and colleagues for their thoughts, it struck me at how much they, too, just suck it up and take the hit.

"When I walk into a grocery store, a department store or drive up to a gas station pump, people look and see a black man. I get a little more respect from some if I'm wearing a suit and tie, but if I'm wearing my weekend shorts, T-shirt and a cap, I'm automatically a suspect — a black man who might be up to no good. That's not perception for me. That's my reality," said Will Sutton, president of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Sutton is the kind of black man that whites in the survey meant when they said the average African American is doing just as well, and maybe better, than the average white. He is the deputy managing editor of a daily, mainstream newspaper. A manager, not just a supervisor, with extensive experience as a reporter and editor in several markets including Gary and Philadelphia. His wife is an art dealer. They live in a lovely suburban home outside of Raleigh and are the parents of a bright and delightful son.

But for the many people, mostly white, who don't know Sutton, that's not the image that crosses their minds when they see him on the street.

"It wasn't perception when a Collingswood, N.J. police officer stopped me one early evening as I was carrying a couple of bags of groceries INTO my apartment, asking me what I was doing. It wasn't perception when I was stopped on the streets of Philadelphia and asked where I had been only a few minutes before since they were looking for a black man who may have been involved in a crime," said Sutton.

"The media plays a huge role in shaping perceptions whether it is the film industry, television or daily news reports. We can say what we will about what we think about these various facets, but the reality is that opinions — and actions — are changed based on exposure. If we don't know anyone in a particular group, we tend to generalize, often in a negative way," said Sutton.

A study in the mid-90s by George Gerbner, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, looked at African American images on television, in news as well as in comedy and drama. The most damning images of black people, especially black males, the report concluded, were seen in television news. While producers of commercial television balanced good guys and bad guys (i.e., black doctor, black junkie; black cop, black criminal), African Americans were most frequently seen as criminals or people who had fallen on hard times — sometimes self-imposed — or, when they were in a positive role, as athletes and entertainers.

That's why, I told the students, their presence in America's newsrooms is critical.

I also told them the field wasn't all doom and gloom either.

I told them about moments of unbridled fun when we beat the competition on a fast-breaking story, or get to poke fun at some pompous or bombastic politician. One day they could help a senior citizen get her heat turned back on and the next interview the president. They could travel to foreign countries and explain the issues of foreign governments and the impact on their citizens, as well as see the world on someone else's dime.

Yes, there sometimes are fights, and no one wins them all. I described a story and its controversial photo that was published over some staff objections and, ultimately, offended many Post readers. But the discussion made it to the table, I said. That may lead to more careful and critical thinking the next time editors are faced with a similar decision. Wins come in all sizes and varying degrees.

Over lunch, after the session, one of the students said the workshop had made him at least willing to consider a journalism career. I hope he wasn't saying that just to make me feel better.

Jackie Jones is a former national board member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Currently, she is assistant city editor at The Washington Post. She can be reached by e-mail at jonesja@washpost.com