Panelists Tackle the Media's Coverage of Race
There will be a lot of discussion in the years to come about the media’s coverage of race during this pivotal moment in our nation’s history.
From the Movement for Black Lives to the presidential election, race has become a central focus in our country’s daily political and social conversations.
That’s why Free Press, along with the Open Society Foundations, the Center for Media Justice, Color Of Change and the National Hispanic Media Coalition, recently co-hosted an event about the media’s reporting on race and dog-whistle politics.
The wide-ranging panel discussion took place on Oct. 18 at the Open Society Foundations in New York City.
The panelists included Tanzina Vega — CNN Money’s national reporter for race and inequality — who questioned whether the news media’s increased commitment to covering race in recent years would last.
Brandi Collins, the media and economic justice campaign director for Color Of Change, discussed how activists have played a critical role in pressuring the media to challenge law enforcement’s narrative following police shootings.
Award-winning journalist Juan González — co-host of Democracy Now! — stressed the need to adopt policies that increase the number of people of color who own media outlets in order to improve coverage of race.
And Mic senior writer Zak Cheney-Rice noted how journalists need to call out racism but are often reluctant to do so for fear of offending people.
