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April 8, 2004

Journalists say black community is demonized in Boston media

Jamila M. Moore

As the final plenary session began at the third annual 21st Century Black Massachusetts Conference on Saturday afternoon, the words, “Stand Up and Be Counted” were hung alongside sponsor banners in bright yellow type to highlight the theme of this year’s conference.

Senator Dianne Wilkerson, the conference convener, joined Massachusetts residents, old, new and temporary as an eight-person panel of television, radio and print professionals discussed issues of media, coverage and the image of Boston from a black perspective.

Panelists, first asked to describe Boston’s image in two words, gave responses ranging from “mixed bag,” “racist, parochial,” “long-troubled,” “suffering, racist,” “proprietary, elitist,” and “unique, confused.”

While these negative descriptions came as no surprise to the majority black audience assembled at the Hynes Convention center meeting room, the implications of the pessimistic views in Boston’s civic life became the hour-and-a-half long discussion that followed.

Overall the panel agreed that negative images of Boston as a racist city have to change, beginning with the ways in which people of color, especially black people, are depicted in the local media.

Some panelists argued that although journalism is supposed to be fair and balanced, often times the company holding the purse strings to a media outlet decides what is covered.

“Advertising now drives news coverage,” said Howard Manly, a columnist at the Boston Herald and President of the Boston Association of Black Journalists.

Manly said the role of media is to present the most interesting news, not always the news stories that should be covered. Norma Baker, host of Kujichagalia, a talk-radio show on WTCC 90.7FM in Springfield agreed, saying, “they don’t care what we think until we affect their advertising.”

So the question then became how can blacks affect advertising dollars. Many on the panel suggested individuals write letters to studio heads or call in to shows that they feel misrepresented a topic, or ignored an important story. Karen Holmes Ward, Producer and host of Cityline, and Director of Community Affairs at Channel Five encouraged letter writing via snail mail or online, insisting that at Channel Five the belief is that one letter is worth 10,000 viewers.

When the discussion opened for questions from the audience, however, many were still unsatisfied with letter writing as a vehicle through which stereotypes, covert and overt racism and blatant disregard for positive stories from the black community could be countered. After all only one percent of listeners to talk-radio shows call in regularly, which means 99 percent of average listeners go unheard.

They demanded more media coverage, more mentoring of aspiring black journalists and writers, and most importantly, more relationship-building between black communities and the media.

All of these demands come at a time when Boston has been designated the site of this year’s Democratic National Convention. Media outlets across the nation will be looking to place this city and its people into context, which leaves one to question, “what Boston will they see?”

If money is what directs the world of fair and balanced journalism, then short of purchasing smaller stations across the state that have not already been consolidated into the major broadcasting giants like ClearChannel and Citadel, black Bostonians must continue to “stand up and be counted,” the panelists agreed.

Baker said that for both black media professionals and Massachusetts residents that the burden does not rest on one group alone, we must all, “put our money where our mouth is.”

Baker’s show, Kujichajalia, is Kiswahili and means name ourselves, speak for ourselves, create for ourselves, and define ourselves.

As the panel drew to a close, the audience stirred with thoughtful comments on where to go from here, and the panel walked away with fresh, newsworthy story ideas to bring to the table at their places of business.

Not all the issues of Boston media and the black image were addressed that afternoon, in fact some topics were moved to another time and place. One feeling many in the audience walked away with, was as Cambridge City Councilor Ken Reeves stated, quoting a panelist from an earlier session, and that is that blacks must “keep swinging” at this issue.

Wilkerson ended the session by firmly stating, “If you want to be protected, you have to be involved in the plan for protection.”

 

 

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