Lack of Diversity Among Newspaper Journalist Covering The United States Critical Issues

Up to this point in the semester we have talked about various issues that are important to know as we are preparing for our future jobs. In saying that we often talk about diversity and how it is represented in the workforce. I can recall before the midterm talking about how "white, affluent males control media, which reflects their perspective." I had one of those "aha" moments when I saw this article. Before seeing this article I believed it was a valid statement ,but I think its always interesting to actually see something in writing as proof that others see it true as well.

After reading this article in the Huffington Post I learned that there is a "deep lack of racial diversity among the newspaper journalist writing about some of the biggest political issues of the 2012 campaign." In the article it also states that white reporters "wrote 98.2 percent of stories on immigration." A study conducted "found that Latinos wrote .2 percent of stories." The article also states that according to a similar study it was "found that men are overwhelmingly quoted in stories about women's issues."


Overall this article is not new information that I did not already know, but I think that it is a great resource of information. I found the results of the study to be very interesting because I got to see the numbers and the lack of diversity among newspapers journalist that cover critical issues concerning the United States.

Link to Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/racial-diversity-media-front-pages-study_n_2016081.html

Gang Violence in Chicago

Recently ABC News did a special series on "Hidden America called Don't Shoot: I Want to Grow Up." I really enjoy how ABC News tries to bring current issues that Americans are facing in this time and age. Don't Shoot: I Want to Grow up is a special in which it is interviewing "38 former and present gang members to discuss what is going on." ABC says, "there have been more than 400 murders in Chicago this year, with the murder rates four times what it is in New York."

I was watching the special yesterday and Diane Sawyer was interviewing a 7-year-old boy, named Ralph, whose grandmother was killed just standing outside her house. It broke my heart that Ralph had to go through a family loss at such a young age. In the special he was wearing a shirt that had "R.I.P. Grandma" on it. He told of memories he had with his grandma, which involved eating noodles with her and whenever his grandmother fixed him something they would share it and how he loved it. It is moments like that when individuals who participate in gang violence should think about the other individuals involved, especially children. Children are our future, they are innocent and they have the whole world in front of them to live out their dream. Sadly, due to gang violence this is sometimes taken away from them. I really enjoyed this special series and I can't wait to watch the second part of it today. 

Video shown during the special series 

Link to Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/18/abc-world-news-hidden-ame_n_1982264.html

Latinos in the News Media- ALMA Awards 2012

The 2012 NCLR ALMA Awards took place on September 16 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and were broadcast on ABC on September 21. The 2012 ALMA Awards take place to honor the accomplishments made by Hispanics in film, television, and music. The show was co-hosted by Eva Longoria and George Lopez. Many celebrities attended the event, such as Christina Aguilera, Daniel Boneta, Naya Rivera, America Ferrera, Cheech Marin, and many more. Musical performers included Pitbull, Demi Lavato, and Gloria Estefan. In addition to the many celebrities that attended the event, there were also olympic athletes that attended such as Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer, Danell Leyva, Leonel Manzano, and Marlen Esparza.

A few winners at the show included:

•  Christina Aguliera won a Special Achievement Award for being "The Voice of a Generation" and she also won an award for Favorite TV Reality, Variety, or Comedy Personality or Act, "The Voice"(NBC)
• Cheech Marin won an Outstanding Career Achievement Award
• Diego Boneta won Favorite Movie Actor for Rock of Ages
• Zoe Saldana won Favorite Movie Actress in Drama/Adventure, Colombiana
• Tyler Posey won Favorite TV Actor, "Teen Wolf" (MTV)
• Naya Rivera won the award for Favorite TV Actress- Comedy, "Glee" (FOX) and she also won the award for Favorite Female Music Artist
• Rico Rodriguez won the award for Favorite TV Actor- Supporting Role in a Comedy, "Modern Family" (ABC)
• Pitbull won the award for Favorite Male Music Artist

On the topic of Latinos in news media I believe this is a great representation of Latinos who are currently working in the fields of film, television, and music. This award show not only awards Latinos who are currently doing very well in their field ,but it gives a chance for them to be spend time with each other. I had not heard of these award till last year because I do not think they are very well advertised as are other award shows that broadcast on television. It makes me happy to see latinos represented in a good way in the media. I think that the media sometimes stereotypes Latinos as being lazy, being uneducated, living off the government, being illegal aliens, and drug cartel members, but award shows like this show that we are so much more than that. We are hard working, talented, and educated individuals. It is award shows like this that make me proud to be Hispanic.

Link to Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/alma-awards-2012-winners-_n_1905245.html


To learn more about the NCLR ALMA Awards you can visit this website:
http://www.almaawards.com/