September 08, 2008

July 21, 2008

The AP's New Man on the 'Race and Ethnicity' Beat

By David Paulin
The Associated Press just announced an important change in a high-profile news beat that's overseen by its national desk -- a beat called "race and ethnicity."

AP's editors, perhaps sensing a racially charged presidential election at hand, picked a writer from 449 candidates they'd been considering for their new "race and ethnicity" writer. And last week, they named the lucky writer, a long-time AP staffer named Jesse Washington. Previously, the 39-year-old journalist was the "entertainment editor" at America's most influential news outlet, the source from which most Americans get their news from outside the areas covered by their local newspapers and TV and radio stations.

Earlier in his career, Washington was an editor at two prominent hip-hop magazines. And recently, he published his first novel: "Black Will Shoot," which is about America's hip-hop culture. Its cover jacket calls it a "compelling look at the most impactful (sic) and influential cultural movements of the past thirty years."

For AP's editors, the race and ethnicity beat is obviously important. An opening on the beat occurred due to the resignation of AP writer Erin Texeira. Interestingly, the AP gave no reason for her resignation. Among the headlines of some of her memorable stories: "Duke Rape Scandal Reopens Old Wounds For Black Women"; "Slavery Reparations Gaining Momentum" and "Black Men Fight Negative Stereotypes Daily."

So what does the AP's "race and ethnicity" beat mean for the type of news coverage Americans can expect?

In the good old days of American journalism, reporting beats had pretty mundane names: police, city government, national politics, etc. But in the post-modern journalism world, beats like "race and ethnicity" have become popular. And in a sense, they often feed the perception -- the false perception -- that America's race relations are in the dire state that's usually portrayed in the mainstream media's stories.

How come? First, consider the very first bias that invariably creeps into a news story: It's that reporters and editors even choose to write a story about something; and in the case of a news beat, they have to produce stories on a particular issue on a regular basis. By itself, the decision to create a news beat says a lot; for it defines a particular subject as being an issue -- one worthy of news space and air time. And a news beat also places a certain onus on reporters and editors.

Those covering "race and ethnicity" beats, for instance, are expected to flesh out the basic elements of a story. And the very best stories, of course, invariably revolve around conflict and controversy. But what if no obvious conflict or controversy exist? Well, for clever reporters entertaining a certain worldview, it's usually easy to come up with something.

A beautiful sunset over an orderly middle-class suburb in Chicago or Los Angeles is not necessarily what it seems: It's merely the calm before a Perfect Storm of racial grievances. Basically, that's what's often going on at places like the AP and New York Times in respect to its ongoing and obsessive coverage of "race and ethnicity" in America.

And so then, the "news beats" created by editors say much about what those editors think is important, reflects the potential conflicts they believe are festering all around them. According to his memo on Washington's promotion, published at trade magazine Editor & Publisher,  AP's manging editor of  U.S. news, Mike Oreskes wrote:

Few subjects permeate every corner of American life more fully than issues of race and ethnicity. So, few assignments have more potential to expand our understanding of America than writing about race and ethnicity.

That is why we have conducted an extensive search for a new national writer to cover this important and complex territory.

That search, ably led by John Affleck, brought in 449 applicants. There were many strong candidates.

It turned out the top choice-and a very exciting one-was right here at home. I am very pleased to announce that our new national writer on race and ethnicity will be Jesse Washington, currently the AP's Entertainment Editor.

(Washington's tenure as AP's Entertainment Editor was not without controversy.)

Does race in fact "permeate every corner of American life" as Oreskes claims? There is good reason to believe that it does not, at least not in the way Oreskes and his AP colleagues think it does. And certainly not in the way Barack and Michelle Obama may say or imply. And definitely not the way that's described by Obama's former hate-filled minister and spiritual mentor, Jeremiah Wright, who recently resigned as pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.

Put aside these issues for a moment, however, to consider some things about the AP's new "race and ethnicity" writer. No doubt, Jesse Washington was thanking his lucky stars upon hearing of his promotion. In recent months, after all, thousands of editors and reporters have lost their jobs as the newspaper industry has suffered its worst-ever downsizing bloodbath. Even top people at the New York Times and Washington Post are being shown the door.

Yet Washington, rather than considering himself a lucky insider, considers himself an outsider, at least if Oreskes' memo is anything to go by. The memo not only calls attention to Washington's considerable achievements, it portrays him as something of a scrappy contender - and even a victim. According to Oreskes' memo:

Jesse brings to this new assignment more than just a resume of achievements. He has lived the subject of race and ethnicity every day of his 39 years.

Son of an interracial marriage, Jesse is, as he puts it, "a kid from the projects who went to Yale and married a doctor. I'm a person who fits in everywhere and nowhere." He and his wife live in suburban Philadelphia with their four children.

Given the AP's evident preoccupation with race and ethnicity, it's interesting that Oreskes' memo makes no mention of Washington's own racial or ethnic background; but a photo of him posted with the AP's online news release reveals what is all but obvious: he appears black.

But perhaps the failure of Oreskes' memo to mention Washington's race is consistent with some of the AP's news coverage. Recent AP articles about gang violence in the nation's inner cities, Chicago in particular, made absolutely no mention of the racial or ethnic background of the young thugs rampaging through city streets with high-powered weapons. It took a little Googling to learn that Chicago's gangbangers are part of the city's dysfunctional black culture.

Washington himself has been guilty of such oversights during the early part of his AP career in the mid-1990s. Writing in October, 1993, about Detroit's annual "Devil's Night" -- an arson spree occurring on Halloween -- Washington made no mention of the ethnic or racial backgrounds of the young thugs torching vacant buildings during a night of mayhem that "added insult to the city's already injured reputation." ("Detroit Hopes to Stifle Devil's Night Fires Again," AP, Oct. 1992.) Then again, maybe the story Washington submitted did mention such things, only to have them deleted by a politically correct AP editor.

According to a check of Factiva, the news archive, Washington wrote a variety of stories while assigned to the AP's national desk in the 1990s, the kinds of stories one might expect on the national beat -- crime, political scandals, etc. But he returned repeatedly to stories about race. And invariably, the stories on race that really "moved" on the wires (get picked up by lots of newspapers across the country), involved those that highlighted an earlier period of racism in America's history.

Washington wrote one such story in mid-July of 1991: "White schoolmarm challenged New England's anti-black stance." Reporting from Canterbury, Conn., he began:

When a strong-willed white schoolteacher in 1833 opened New England's first academy for black girls, she was tormented by her neighbors, made an outlaw by the state Legislature and even jailed.

Today, the clapboard house where Prudence Crandall operated her boarding school is a museum, a monument to one woman's courage and a reminder of a troubling episode in Connecticut history.

Americans, of course, ought to reconsider their history and look back on their past. But in the post-modern journalism world, the approach to news coverage that does that inevitably has a cynical tone -- the equivalent of repeatedly tearing a scab off an old wound. And invariably, progress in the nation's race relations is never noted; it never stresses what America has accomplished, thanks to Americans of all colors working together. Instead, news stories are invariably about white Americans have done to black Americans; no matter if most white Americans today display little if any racial animus, an issue that Linda Chavez recently highlighted in a perceptive and lengthy piece in the magazine Commentary. She wrote:

To put the truth plainly: far from there being a racial stand-off in the United States, relations between blacks and whites have never been better. According to virtually every survey of racial attitudes taken over the last several decades, only about 10 percent of whites report generally unfavorable views of blacks. In a 2007 Pew Research Center poll, the relevant figure stood at 8 percent-lower, interestingly enough, than the percentage of blacks reporting similarly negative views of their fellow blacks.

Because of the nation's rapidly changing demography, the whole issue of race and ethnicity in America has become much more complicated and variegated. One thing remains clear, though: in surveys assessing racial attitudes among all groups, non-whites display consistently less favorable attitudes toward each other and toward whites than whites display toward blacks and other minority groups. One such survey, taken in the mid-1990's, found blacks and Hispanics significantly more likely than whites to regard Asians as hostile to non-Asians and as "crafty in business," while both Asians and Hispanics were likelier than whites to think that blacks "like living on welfare" and "can't get ahead on their own." Nor have inter-minority stereotypes changed much since then. A 2007 poll found that a plurality of blacks would rather do business with whites than with either Hispanics or Asians.

Chavez is chairwoman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, the only conservative think tank devoted race and ethnicity in America. Her conclusions about race in America are far different from what was found in the racist sermons of Jeremiah Wright, the Obama's former minister. In her Commentary article, "Let Us By All Means Have an Honest Conversation about Race," Chavez wrote:

Of course, it may never be possible to eliminate every vestige of individual racial prejudice; we humans, after all, are imperfect creatures. The more important issue is whether lingering white racism plays a significant role in the treatment of blacks or other racial or ethnic minorities in the United States today. Here, the record is unmistakable and irrefutable.

By every measure, barriers based on race have essentially disappeared.

But don't expect the AP to concede that. Indeed, when announcing Washington's promotion to its "race and ethnicity" beat, the AP's official news story reiterated Oreskes' memo, and it called attention to Washington's first assignment:

Few subjects permeate every corner of American life -- and can expand our understanding of America -- more than issues of race and ethnicity. The presidential candidacy of Barack Obama will be an early focus of Washington's coverage, as well as topics such as immigration and the Arab experience in America.

So there you have it: AP's game plan for covering the presidential election. It's all about race. It will be interesting to see how Washington covers such issues, because perhaps he does not in fact agree with his editors. Indeed, one can only hope his reporting is infused with the perception and intelligence that was evident in an AP story he wrote in December, 1993, "An Explosive Word Still Divides the Black Community."

That word, of course, was the n-word.

In his 1,223-word story (long by news wire service standards), Washington offered some fascinating insights. He noted how many blacks use the word in a variety of contexts. And he noted that use of the ugly slur "is hardly universal among blacks." Indeed, he explained that "these days, blacks who casually drop the word in conversation are more likely than ever to get a dirty look or a rebuke." And, interestingly, he quoted author Nelson George as saying:

"For people in the sub-30 generation, a lot of them have never been called `n****r' by a white person. It doesn't have the same context for them as it has for a lot of older blacks."

The ugly racial slur, of course, recently made headlines when the Rev. Jesse Jackson accused Barack Obama of "telling n*****s how to behave." Coincidentally, Washington interviewed the self-appointed heir to Dr. Martin Luther King for his article. He quoted Rev. Jackson as saying: 

"The use of the word (by blacks) ... has a dehumanizing effect. In a time when African-American males are seen as less than worthy, the use of the word ... only maximizes that condition."

Perhaps for his first story on his new beat, Washington could interview Rev. Jackson again. It might point him and his editors in the direction of where America's real problems on race relations may be found.

David Paulin, a journalist, reported from abroad for nearly ten years, while based in Venezuela and the Caribbean. He blogs at The Big Carnival.

Comments

There are no different 'so called races' just people groups wilh varying amounts of melanin in their skin pigmentation. For example look at these two toned twins.

http://creationontheweb.com/content/view/5622
These two little girls help answer one of the questions that has troubled many people about the Bible. If there was just one man and one woman at the beginning then where did all the 'races' come from, with their 'different skin colours'? Remee and Kian prove that it is simply a matter of genetics--with the right genes, all the different complexions can appear in one generation.

Photo by Gary Roberts, .

So if Adam and Eve had a middle-brown complexion due to a mixture of 'light' and 'dark' genetic information, similar to Remee and Kian's parents, all shades from the darkest through to the lightest could be accounted for in their children and future generations.

Kian and Remee also illustrate the biblical truth that we are all related--we all belong to the same family through Adam and Eve, and through Noah and his family too, just as the Bible says.

CNN Video: "Twins' Skin Color Different'
Twins born in Germany may be alike in many ways, but they have at least one noticeable difference: their skin shades are somewhat different!

Sky News reports that the twins, named Ryan and Leo, are the children of father Stephan from Germany and mother Florence from Ghana. Ryan's skin is a lighter shade of brown that people call (somewhat mistakenly) "white," whereas Florence's is a darker shade of brown that people (equally mistakenly) call "black."

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/07/19/news-to-note-07192008

We are all 'one blood' as the Bible teaches . We have to be closely related for Jesus to be our kinsman redeemer and saviour.
But it is not just the Christian world where people find "black" and "white" twins incredible--it is also shocking to the secular world. They are surprised because they ignore the Bible's account that we all came from one race (begun by the first man and woman, Adam and Eve) and dispersed as a result of the Tower of Babel, which led to the formation of people groups (Asians, Caucasians, etc.). They assume, instead, that human groups are deeply divided by significant variations over tens or hundreds of thousands of years and that different people groups originated from different "ancestral apes."

All humans in the world today are classified as Homo sapiens sapiens (same genus, species, and subspecies). When the Human Genome Project published a draft of their findings in 2000, the New York Times reported that "the researchers had unanimously declared there is only one race--the human race."

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v3/n2/twins-black-and-white

Posted by: Jennifer Parfenovics | July 21, 2008 03:06 AM

I think what the AP is doing meshes with the Rev. Jackson's kind offer to provide free surgery for Obama. With the likely prospect of an Obama presidency, and the requisite race and ethnicity bean counting that is sure to follow, the fear is that the country will think that they have put to bed this 'great divide'. In order to prevent this long-standing political gravy train from derailing and forcing the Jacksons of the world to go out and find a real job, the AP has got their back. Creating this beat is for no other purpose than keeping the race and ethnicity turmoil bubbling with all the trimmings of power it provides. Solving problems is not the way our Lefties do things; for problems that appear to be dying a natural death, well, just rub the paddles and yell "clear!". Now there will always be a story to enable the lecturing (read: dialogue) on race to continue. Like the man says: "Keep Hope Aliiiive!"

Posted by: George S | July 21, 2008 05:00 AM

Typical msm bias..
Only a single viewpoint..
Too bad they can't form a racial-ethnic committee..
Of course all groups of color could gang up on the dastardly Whitey..
But what the heck, at least there would be more than a single group whining..
And Whitey would be able to offer his-her defense to the slurs and innuendos..

Posted by: Someone's Crazy Uncle | July 21, 2008 06:18 AM

The opening of the new batman movie took place across the nation. It seems that Senator Obama might have a lot of experience that would serve him well should he pursue acting. I hope you consider Senator Obama Could Have Played Many of Heath Ledge's Parts found at: http://zachjonesishome.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/heath-ledger-obama-the-joker-batman-larry-sinclair/

Posted by: ZachJonesIsHome | July 21, 2008 06:45 AM

Can I see a comparison of of Mr. Washington's credentials to all the White Male candidates for this position? I feel they may have been discriminated against in applying for this job.

Nope, no 'facts' to base this assertion on, just that I 'feel' there may have been some...

Isn't that all you need these days?

Posted by: Mohammed the Teddy-Bear | July 21, 2008 10:15 AM

All of this race stuff will be flushed away in November when the "white-card" comes down.

Posted by: RotgutSaloon | July 21, 2008 11:20 AM

Well, this puts a crimp in the I Have A Dream speech.

Martin would be disappointed in the AP / MSM. No one there is the least bit concerned about the content of someone's character.

Posted by: Scott | July 21, 2008 01:33 PM

I am so sick of hearing this kind of nonsense. Writers who complain about this country's racism are those educated in Ivy league institutions because of affirmative action.
As several blggers wrote already, "feelings" should not be printed as news, rether as editorials.
As far as the "N" word is concerned, the only time I hear it is when black people speak to each other.

Posted by: Mare | July 21, 2008 04:42 PM

You want to examine race? Just ask Obama where he stands on reparations for blacks? This is not going away.

We are being set up for this "entitlement" and don't know it.

Posted by: Barry Schumann | July 21, 2008 04:48 PM

I have a question: Has Barack Obama ever told anyone his LSAT scores? How did they compare to the average entering scores that year at Harvard? We could start an honest examination of race in America with openness about black entitlement and its ramifications for deserving white kids.

Posted by: saltine | July 21, 2008 06:08 PM

Jennifer - If skin pigment is the only variance in human beings how do you explain diseases like sickle cell anemia, and this recent study that shows blacks more susceptible to HIV? Why are 90-95% of blacks lactose intolerant?

Posted by: Infamous0ne | July 21, 2008 07:48 PM

Hmm. It seems to me that concerns (actually, fears) such as though expressed by Saltine (who obviously assumes that Obama had low LSAT scores), or Barry Schumann (who fears that "we," i.e. white Americans are being "set up"), or Mare (who is "sick" of the whole thing), or the other commentators who preceded me would PROVE that there is a definite need for coverage of race issues in America.

Obviously, there's a lot of white resentment going on here. Equally obvious is the assumption that the AP beat will ONLY report on alleged white-against-black racism. Today, one of the most concerned groups involves people of Arab descent.

There seems to be an underdog mentality that forgets that the United States has a history of racism that has pitted just about every single ethnicity against another. We were all taught in school that the USA is a melting pot. Why ignore the fact that at many times in its history, the melting pot has boiled over? Why ignore the fact that in many places the anger is still simmering just below the surface? That anger is blatantly expressed here.

As for the so-called non-existence of white racism, a simple Google search will turn up websites full of burning hatred toward anyone who is "different," but especially black.

Yes, progress has been made, but there remains a sad amount of hatred and fear on every side, especially when economic and educational opportunities seem so few. Not writing about the resentment seems silly. Read about it. Talk about it. But don't demand that it be ignored as a non-issue when, in fact, it is.

Posted by: Persia Walker | July 22, 2008 06:01 AM

To Persia Walker: It's NOT NEWS!

Posted by: Mare | July 22, 2008 12:53 PM

Reparations were given to all blacks who were former slaves at the end of the Civil War - besides being emancipated, they got U.S. citizenship, and all their descendants automatically received U.S. citizenship as well.

Posted by: Robert | July 22, 2008 08:23 PM


This is how conservatives market to black America.


Fox Attacks: Black America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY04gIruZ4E&eurl

They are just telling the other side... ha?

Posted by: Marcell | July 24, 2008 12:06 PM

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