Stereotypes And Exclusion Of Black Males In Primetime News

Not only is this stereotype and exclusion prevalent in primetime television, but, much more seriously, in our newspapers and television newscasts as well. Authors Steinhorn and Diggs – Brown state that “Even though most violent crimes are committed by people the same race as their victims, one 1994 study of local TV newscasts in Chicago found that the majority of perpetrators portrayed in the news were black or persons of color, while the majority of victims shown were white.” (154). This leads one to maybe see a causal effect of the wide-spread panic about black males being criminals that need to be feared and bewared whenever they are come into contact with. They also sited a different study that “found that the percentage of blacks

White people who are not exposed to black people on a daily basis where they work and live, or who do not have the opportunity to cultivate a friendship or even acquaintance with a black person only know of them through the images portrayed on TV, in popular culture such as movies and music, and what’s written in the news. So when coming into contact with a black person on a dark street, most white people (and even other black people such as Jesse Jackson) claim to feel fear. Mr. Jackson has commented that “even he would be worried if he were on the street at night and was approached by a young black man” (Freeman, pr.3). He said this during an interview with Bill O’Reily while speaking about the black male image in America. So much is reported on the crimes they commit, and so little is said about positive activities black males are involved in, that many people infer these messages to mean that black males AREN’T doing anything positive, and that crime is the only reason a black male will approach you. This has, to many, bred an immediate fear response to any encounter with a black male. Fear based solely on the color of the person’s skin, without knowing anything else about them. What would make this fear enter into our minds if not from what the media has told us? And what the media seems to be telling us is that if a black male isn’t making you laugh, it follows that he must be angry