Situation Definition
The biggest ethical issues that I connect with is the issue of racial violence and profiling in the United States and how it is reported. In class we watched multiple videos of news reports on white supremacist radical groups in the United States. This caused me to sit and think if I could report on an issue like this without my emotions getting in the way. I’m a black man, issues like these hit on a different level with me. The use of extreme language accompanied by the racist imagery shown in the news report made me both extremely uncomfortable and angry at the same time.
Analysis
If I were assigned to report on an issue like this, I would constantly have to remind myself to remain professional and not be overcome by the situation in the face of racism. As difficult as it would be, I would have to tell the entire story of whats going on, not just from the point of view of a black man. I would have to let people tell their side of the story, even if it were to be extremely problematic and offensive. This is also where diversity in race is important in news media. Reporters such as Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper can bring distinct points of view to the news room because they belong to oppressed groups of people. Anderson Cooper is a gay man, Don Lemon is black and gay. I recall specifically the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Anderson was sent to report on the shooting. Because of his identity as a gay man, he was able to connect with the victims of the shooting because majority of them were gay as well. He was able to connect with audiences at home and help them grasp the gravity of the situation because of the amount of emotion he displayed because of members of his community being killed. Don often covers cases regarding police brutality, he is able to bring the same impact as Anderson to these issues because he’s black. The issues personally have an effect on the reporters, without a diverse approach to news, the value of the story will suffer. An article from Thrive Global titled The Power of Diversity in the Media says “Race and ethnicity are representative of ones’ belief system, cultural identity, and are the segregating factor between groups of people.” Having a plethora of different people from all over the human diaspora can only serve to destroy the invisible lines in the sand that we draw because of our differences.
Conclusion
In conclusion, diversity is an issue that constantly needs to be reinforced in news media. It allows for media outlets to publish better content because of the added element of authenticity that a diverse staff brings. It also will allow them to cover a wider range of content because their staff can bring forth different issues and scenarios that may go unreported. Diverse news media broadens the lens that the public can view the world through. It can show that there are a lot of issues that impact people of different communities and can help draw humanity closer together and move forward.
Works Cited:
Chen, W. (2015, January). Mediatizing the network model of cultural capital: Network diversity, media use, and cultural knowledge along and across ethnic boundaries. Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/science/article/pii/S0378873314000562.
Garcia Pires, A. J. (2014, September). Media diversity, advertising, and adaptation of news to readers’ political preferences. Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/science/article/pii/S0167624514000274.
Alang, S., PhD, McAlpine, D., PhD, McCreedy, E., PhD MPH, & Hardeman, R., PhD MPH. (n.d.). Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health Scholars. Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5388955/.
Evgenivna, D. (2017, August 30). Thrive Global. Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://www.thriveglobal.com/stories/human-diversity-in-the-media/