Racialization of News: Constructing and Challenging Professional Journalism as “White Media”

Abstract

This article explores the persistent racialization of professional journalism, describing the implicit processes that define “mainstream” news as white media. We emphasize the whiteness of U.S. news as emanating from cultural practices of professional journalism and institutional forces shaping the journalistic field rather than simply the demographic characteristics of the newsroom workforce. In theorizing how news has been constructed as white, we describe the historical foundations of the cultural authority of news and point to how such racialized authority has always been subject to enduring challenge. We analyze the complex cultural and political challenges that the Black press in the United States has long represented to the power of white media and racism; the Black press represents an alternative practice of journalism, one that critiques traditional notions of objectivity and situates news as a voice for equality and social justice. We close by discussing the newly resurgent white nationalist media and recent controversies surrounding prominent black female journalists as examples highlighting the structural limitations of white professional news media. Ultimately, we seek to understand the emergent racial dynamics of the journalistic field and how objectivity and white racial power are challenged and reaffirmed in our contemporary mediascape.

“The Paper Is White”: Examining Diversity Issues With the Next Generation of Journalists

“…This matters because lack of diversity has shaped how journalism is defined, practiced, and consumed. Alamo-Pastrana and Hoynes (2020) argued that “news that is produced primarily by white journalists, focused primarily on white communities, and targeted primarily at white audiences claims the label of professional journalism” (p. 78). In their reporting, journalists tend to use sources who are similar to them, which results in news sources that skew White, male, and official (Ford et al, 2020; Len-Ríos & Perry, 2020; Rodgers & Thorson, 2003; Zeldes et al, 2012).…”

Perpetuating Health Disparities of Minority Groups: The Role of U.S. Newspapers in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…It is possible that when the leastbiased newspapers published news stories about COVID-19, they tended to shy away from mentioning racial and ethnic minorities to avoid appearing partisan. Prior research on this topic argues that such extraneous efforts to remain objective marginalizes journalists (and people) of color, while upholding white experiences as standard, neutral mediums for information sharing (Alamo-Pastrana & Hoynes, 2020). Additional research is needed to explore the individual and structural factors that drive the newsroom and editorial decisions on how report minority health issues which are inherently related to health disparities and have been politicized.…”

The Versatility of Intersectionality in Journalism and Mass Communication Research

“…Most JMC scholars have worked professionally in the academic fields they study (Benson & Neveu, 2005;Mensing, 2010), which, in the case of journalism, remains dominated by White men (Grieco, 2018). Newsrooms and journalism education center Whiteness and maleness (e.g., Alamo-Pastrana & Hoynes, 2020;Alemán, 2013;Byerly, 2013;Pritchard & Stonbely, 2007;Usher, 2021), which corresponds with the demographics of those who have always been and continue to be in positions of power in the newsroom (Weaver et al, 2019). The broader field of communication studies is also dominated by White men (see Chakravartty et al, 2018).…”