By VENUS LEE
The UNITY News Online

“We’ve made some changes, but we still have a long way to go,” said Nancy Udalve, a news assistant for KABC in Los Angeles. “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal.”

Her comments echoed the findings of the Kerner Commission report. Issued 40 years ago, it attributed rioting by African Americans to frustration over a lack of economic opportunity.

“The journalistic profession has been shockingly backward in seeking out, hiring, training and promoting Negroes,” the report noted in 1968.

Udalve was among about 400 people who attended a plenary session on Thursday morning that examined progress the United States has made since the landmark report was issued.

CBS News correspondent Byron Pitts moderated the discussion, which included journalists representing all four UNITY partners.

Among the panelists were Dori Maynard, president of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education; Mark Trahant, editorial page editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Felix Guiterrez, a communications professor at USC Annenberg School; and Helen Zia, the former executive editor of Ms. Magazine.

The session featured a brief video by the McCormick Foundation of news industry managers commenting on whether the goals outlined in the report have been met.

“It is something that people see as something that is very important and necessary for our industry,” Sharon Wilmore, an assistant features editor for the Detroit Free Press, said in the video.

People interviewed in the video agreed that progress has been made since the 1960s, but they still see room for improvement.

“We’ve actually gotten people to listen about diversity in the newsroom — on the air, newspapers, magazines — but where we’re growing is online,” said Rodney Brooks, deputy managing editor of the Money section at USA Today. “That’s where the diversity is the absolute worst.”

Drawing upon their personal experiences, the panelists addressed the issues raised by the journalists in the video, including underrepresented minorities in news coverage and newsrooms.

Audience members said they were concerned that news coverage did not accurately reflecting the diversity of the population.

“With the Internet and bloggers, there are no excuses for not knowing about those communities,” said Maynard, who acknowledged some neighborhoods may be perceived as less accessible than others. “It shows a fundamental lack of curiosity and journalism principles.”

“It boils down to how curious they are about these people,” Zia said.

The panelists suggested the lack of curiosity was due to a lack of minorities in the newsrooms. However, they differed in opinions about a solution.

Gutierrez suggested more mentoring, while Zia recommended learning from the past. Maynard said it is up to the members of those underrepresented minorities.

“We need to read it, and we need to grow it,” Maynard said. “No one will do it for us.”

Marissa Mike, a reporter and producer with KPSP in Palm Springs, said she was pleased with the session.

“They provided a lot of insight on what needs to be done,” she said.

But Udalve said that while the gathering was helpful, it didn’t provide “as many direct answers as I would’ve wanted.”

Attendees agreed that it was great to talk about the issues, but they said action needs to happen.

“The gaps are not because of an absence of talent,” Zia said. “The gaps are not because of an absence of stories. The problem is complicity of not doing anything about it. Ultimately the power is in our hands. What are we going to do about it?”

topic: Industry Issues
tags: diversity, Kerner Commission

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