Maynard Media Center on Structural Inequity

Point of View

The U.S. Census reports that people of color make up 36 percent of our country and are growing. Yet even in this era of the first black president, studies have shown that traditional media still continues to portray only a small slice of life when it comes of communities of color.

This is not new. The 1967 Kerner Commission laid some of the blame for the riots that swept through the nation at the feet of a segregated news industry, noting that one of the roles of the media is to facilitate a national conversation between all America.

While legacy media outlets embraced this idea, they have fallen far short of achieving this ideal. The introduction of online news sites provides a new opportunity and it comes at a time when America is rapidly changing and increasing the need for understanding.

With this in mind, we review the homepage content of Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Slate, Salon, The Grio, The Root, The Loop21 and Mario Wire daily to see how people of color are covered in the “general circulation” news sites and news sites geared at a specific ethnic audience. Recognizing that these sites are continually changing, our daily analysis of these sites is done at the same time. Here’s what we found today:

With Buzz About Booker, Rice and “Thriller,” Politicians and Celebs Reign

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Friday, November 30, 2012

Celebrity and politics continue to represent for people of color. Michael Jackson, Susan Rice and Cory Booker are trending on mainstream and ethnic sites . . .

“Thriller” fans celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album’s  release:

As Rice Attacks Continue, Conspiracy Theories Increase

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Thursday, November 29, 2012

The tirade against Susan Rice is still trending. There’s plenty of reaction as the ethnic sites weigh in with suggestions that Republicans back off, while the mainstream sites offer conspiracies about what’s really going on and consider who will get hurt in the fallout . . .

The Grio calls on black women to stand up for the embattled U.N. ambassador.

In the News: GOP Leaders, a Florida Shooting -- and NeNe

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Wednesday, November 28, 2012

GOP leadership in the House of Representatives is examined on ethnic and mainstream sites. There’s also a common thread in a fatal shooting involving an unarmed black teen and a white man . . .

In the next Congress, the GOP House leadership will be all-white and all-male:

Politics and Celebrity Define Coverage of People of Color -- Again

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Tuesday, November 27, 2012

People of color continue to thrive in the worlds of politics and celebrity on the mainstream sites, and there’s some crossover with the ethnic sites . . .

The former head of the Florida GOP says the state’s voting laws were tailored to suppress minority voters.

. . . Solange Knowles has a new album.

McCain Eases Up On Susan Rice; Rihanna Hangs Out With Chris

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Monday, November 26, 2012

People of color are represented through political and celebrity coverage in the mainstream. Political subjects include a lessening of GOP vitriol about Susan Rice and a look at Asian voters, while the world of celebrity is filled with A-listers like Rihanna and Chris Brown and Halle Berry . . .

Sen. John McCain is toning down his rhetoric opposing the potential nomination of  U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to become Secretary of State:

In the Headlines: Allen West Concedes and Kevin Clash Resigns

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The decision by Tea Party darling Allen West to finally concede is news on mainstream and ethnic sites. The common conversation also includes Kevin Clash’s resignation as the voice of Elmo and discussion about the GOP anger with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. . .

Rep. Allen West  (R.-Fla.) is officially a lame duck; he has conceded his defeat in the Nov. 6th election:

War of Words Escalates Over Susan Rice

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Monday, November 19, 2012

Today’s common conversation includes talk about the attacks on Susan Rice, statements by Marco Rubio and the allegations against Kevin Clash . . .

Is the Senate debate about U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice’s qualifications developing into a face-off between angry white men against women of color?

Hurricane Impact in New Jersey Continues to Reverberate

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Friday, November 16, 2012

New Jersey’s hurricane recovery efforts and the role of politics in the Garden State are trending on mainstream and ethnic sites. Also, debate about the next Secretary of State is still brewing, there was another fight on a bus, and Rihanna and Chris Brown likely have a hit song . . .

Governor Chris Christie’s tour of storm damage in New Jersey didn’t include a stop in Atlantic City and the city’s mayor is miffed.
 

Romney’s “Gifts” Theory Prompts Rebuke

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Thursday, November 15, 2012

Mitt Romney’s theory that President Obama’s policies bribed people into re-electing him -- and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s sharp rebuke of the notion -- is a common thread in today’s narrative . . .

In an interview, the failed Republican nominee claimed that the President appealed to young voters as well as blacks and Hispanics with promises of free birth control, health care and amnesty of undocumented immigrants:

Man Who Accused Elmo Puppeteer Recants His Claim

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Author: 
Jean Marie Brown
Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Kevin Clash’s unnamed accuser has recanted allegations the two had sex when the man was underage. The latest turn is noted in both mainstream and ethnic posts . . .

Clash, the voice of Elmo on “Sesame Street,” says he’s “relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest.”