Race and the Media

The sector of the media has grown rapidly over the years. The traditional ways of reporting news such as through the print media, radio, and technology have changed due to technology. Nowadays, most media companies have taken to online reporting since the majority of the audience are now using this platform (Rose, 2014). However, even with the change in the manner news is dispensed, the ethical principles of journalists still apply. As the media sector has diversified, so has the demand to increase revenue. Finally, solutions to this problem will be offered. Racism and the Media Racism is a social evil where a person is negatively judged or treated due to their ethnic descent. The issue of racism has been present in the United States ever since African Americans were used as slaves.

The Civil Rights Movement that took place in the 1960s and the 1970s was a milestone towards equality for every American citizen (Rose, 2014). However, racism is still present. This behavior has led to the shooting and killing of innocent youths from minority groups (Ortega & Feagin, 2016). The main problem of racial stereotypes is that they consider that the criminal elements portrayed in the media refer to the entire race. Thus, the media engrains the thought that every black or Latino person they encounter is likely to be a criminal. This culture tends to erode the entire ideology used to create the United States as a land of freedom (Ortega & Feagin, 2016). Even when journalists from minority groups are hired by the media agencies, it is almost impossible for them to report on the positive aspects of the African Americans or the Hispanics.

These measures have been taken by the Latino people where various media networks report about the news happening in their community (Rose, 2014). Such information includes the project and measures taken to create a positive change in the community. This approach ensures that the public can understand that despite the challenges as well as the negative media representation, there are still people from the minority groups who are keen on improving the society. Additionally, the media should focus on positive ways of reporting the news involving race (Ter Wal, 2002). Thus, whenever a robbery or a drug bust occurs, the media should also include solutions to the main cause of the problem. Conclusion The media is supposed to be an independent agency whose sole purpose is to fight for justice and fairness.

However, in the US, the media has been a major enhancer of racism through racial profiling and stereotyping. Often, the news items on blacks or Hispanics tend to be negative where issues of crime and shootings are the main focus. The media has failed the society by not attempting to present positive measures and solutions to the problems experienced by the communities with minority groups. The solution to this problem is through the use of independent media agencies as well as community journalism. P. The New Racism in the Media: a Discourse Analysis of Newspaper Commentary on Race, Presidential Politics, and Welfare Reform. Thesis, Georgia University State. Accessed on March 14, 2018 from https://scholarworks. gsu. Routledge. Accessed on March 14, 2018 from https://www.