Monday, March 17, 2014

“Black media: A thing of the past?”


Black media outlets provide tailored news and entertainment to a minority group and have been a way to cater to the black community for many years. These outlets have provided an avenue to tell stories about black people from their own perspectives for some time now. Some people believe that society still has a need to hear these stories first-hand in the voices of blacks themselves devoid of stereotypes, while others have given reasons as to why they disagree. Is a separate black media still a necessity?
A panel discussion at Temple University regarding the role of black media had a varied range of media experts who weighed in with different opinions about this. Lori Tharps assistant professor of journalism at Temple University said, “I do believe there is room in the media landscape for any number of media enterprises catering to black people; if there can be magazines for craft beer brewers and urban chicken farmers, then there can be magazines for black people who live in Harlem or black women between the ages of 25-35 who enjoy fashion.” According to Tharps, even though black media is no longer crucial it is still beneficial. So are we still holding on to “Essence magazine” or BET due to a sense of entitlement or just for the sake of it? Could there a significant reason why these outlets would prefer these black platforms even though the media landscape continues to evolve and now represents inclusion of diverse groups like blacks?
Sara Lomax-Reese, president and general manager of WURD Radio, Pennsylvania’s only African-American-owned talk radio station disagrees. “I think it is vital and critical to have a specific outlet for this population…The mainstream media is still very separate and there are not a lot of opportunities [for black people] to speak and to be heard,” she said. With the recent rise of hit television shows that cast blacks like Kerry Washington in lead roles, one might choose to disagree with Lomax-Reese.
Shonda Rhimes, creator and executive producer of the two hit television series-“Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy”-has proven that “color blind casting” can work. Gone are the days when shows with minority casts are to be shown only on BET. Rhimes’ ability to cast people from different ethnicities, sexual orientations and socio-economic backgrounds is a step in a unified, dare-I-also-say dignified direction. This type of casting gives the hope that a black actor can be the lead in a popular television series and that the show can still have high ratings in the white community.  It is true that the media plays a sociological role in shaping the way different groups are viewed and there is the argument that the way blacks are portrayed in the media will go on to shape the perception people have of this minority group (Croteau and Hoynes, 18). But with executive producers like Rhimes, black roles have been and will continue to be elevated and now have more dignified representations that do not only reflect domestic work like Octavia Spencer’s role in “the Help”, which is typical in Hollywood. More and more black talent is being showcased in mainstream media and the inclusion gap has continued to close.

According to the Association of Magazine Media, “Magazine media transcend any one platform. Whether they are consumed in print, tablet, on a smartphone or on the web, magazine media fulfill readers’ desires for timely information and entertainment that appeal to a broad spectrum of personal interests.” It’s no wonder that Essence magazine is still going strong and continues to appeal to blacks as a medium where their talents and achievements are constantly being celebrated, but how much of these black success stories are seen only in this magazine and not on other platforms? The Essence awards was created as an answer to showcase black talents due to the fear that mainstream Hollywood award shows did not reflect much of black talent in the industry. Recently Hollywood’s new “it” girl Lupita Nyong’o was awarded Best Breakthrough performance at the Essence Awards for her role in 12 years a Slave. Nyong’o also won the Best Supporting actress award at the 2014 Academy Awards for the same movie. One might look at this and begin to see that the trend of giving out awards to these black actresses in those not so inclusive arenas like the Essence Awards is no longer needed. The old fear that their talents or hard work will go unnoticed is a thing of the past because it does appear as if black actresses are constantly being celebrated in Hollywood, which dismisses the old ideology of marginalization.

In Dec. 2013 as we neared award season, the Hollywood Reporter Actresses Roundtable interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgZsPepO9Z0&feature=share featured an even balance of black and white successful Hollywood talent comprising of Julia Roberts, Octavia Spencer, Oprah Winfrey, Lupita Nyong’o, Amy Adams and Emma Thompson. If this is not an indication that the representation of blacks in media has continued to grow each year, I don’t know what else is. The question remains: Do we still need to have niche media outlets that focus exclusively on blacks?

Work Cited
"2013 Is Pivotal Year for Magazine Media: Advertising Up 6% Across Platforms." MPA: The Association of Magazine Media. 30 Dec. 2013. Web.

Croteau, David, and William Hoynes. "Chapter 1: Media and the Social World." Media Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2014. 16. Print.

Tharps, Lori. "Minority Reports." Columbia Journalism Review. N.p., 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. <http://www.cjr.org/minority_reports/black_media_separate_and_equal.php?page=all>.




2 comments:

  1. This is an issue that can be approached from many angles and can be fought with a variety of opinions. From one prospective, it is necessary to have such targeted media around because it helps to foster a sense of community. Ethnically targeted TV shows, magazines, newspapers, or other media create a community for users. Just like a popular TV show like Duck Dynasty fosters a community, so do ethnically targeted media. According to a research study conducted by the Association of Magazine Media, “37% of total respondents and 47% of avid magazine readers have gone to a magazine’s website for more information after following a magazine on Facebook, Twitter or other social application like a newsreader”. In our technological era, and with the rise and growth of social media, creating communities through Twitter, Facebook and other platforms has become increasingly popular. The growth of communities online and around other media may not be out of necessity, but simply because our world today provides people with the opportunities to form communities simply because they can. With the large growth of online communities, I would have to believe that racial communities are not shrinking, but growing in the face of new media.
    From a different perspective, ethnically targeted niche media may be a think of the past as we step into the 21st century. In my own experience, diversity is a theme that can be found more now than ever, (especially if you have attended QU seminars…). Take Oprah Winfrey for example. A powerful woman in our media has worked her way up the social ladder and now has her own network, OWN. Although a black media star, her network is not reserved specifically for blacks, and certainly has a wider fan base than African-Americans. Oprah’s success has caused her to be “the first African-American billionaire and one of the few self-made women at that level” who is also worth near $2.9 billion dollars (Rose 2013). There is no doubt that Oprah’s success has made her known through a variety of audiences, not just though African-American audiences. With Oprah as an example alone, I believe that it would be reasonable to say that ethnically targeted niche audiences are becoming a thing of the past.
    Based on this information, I would have to conclude that racial niche media will never fully disappear. It will however, adapt to new technologies. It would be reasonable to assume in light of today’s technologies that racially targeted networks such as BET might find themselves on a decline, as we watch racial communities online become more popular. The community itself will never fade, but the way in which the people within the community communicate and interact with one another will certainly change over time. It would not be irrational to predict that networks such as BET become less popular on television, all while they transform into a new community on the Internet.

    Emily Hauser

    Rose, Lacey. "Oprah Winfrey on Forgoing Motherhood, Being 'Counted Out' and the Meeting That Turned OWN Around." The Hollywood Reporter. 11 Dec. 2013. Web.

    The Association of Magazine Media: magazine.org/socialresearch

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  2. One thing that stood out to me was when Weruche wrote, "According to Tharps, even though black media is no longer crucial it is still beneficial." I don't necessarily agree with that. I believe that it is extremely crucial. When we talk about representation and how it affects the underrepresented group this is exactly what they are talking about. As the Tharp article, “Do we still need a black media?” in the Columbia Journalism Review states, “A vibrant black media and a more inclusive mainstream media should both be available to the public.”

    In the Women in Hollywood Roundtable, when Lupita N'yongo talks about how she was inspired to be an actress because of Oprah, we see why it is still “crucial”. To only have white models in and on the cover of magazines is to tell the readers of these magazines that not only is there no one in this industry like you, there is no place for you in this industry. There are plenty of Black, Asian, and Hispanic models and actresses out there, magazines just choose not to utilize them. They may not see e importance of representation or understand what it means to other people.

    To answer Weruche’s main question, until mainstream magazines and other forms of media start to show diversity as it is in society and become more inclusive, yes, niche media such as magazines like Essence, which are created for an audience of color, is a necessity. Without them people of color have little to no representation in this specific form of media. Sure statistics say that representation in the media is growing, but this is at an extremely small rate. The fact that we have to talk about it at all means that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

    As Weruche mentioned, Croteau and Hoynes talks about the sociological impact that the media has on perceptions of different groups in society. In the case of Shonda Rhimes "elevating" black roles to "more dignified representations" is not necessarily the only image or the set desired image that we should get from the media. Yes, it is nice to see people of color in powerful positions, again because representation matters but it is equally as important to see people of color in all facets of society. Octavia Spenser’s role in The Help is no less dignified because she played a maid. This role has historical significance, especially in the Black community. Olivia Pope is just as important as the upper middle class Huxstables from The Cosby Show, which is just as important as the struggling Evans in Good Times. We don't want a one sided view of people of color, which Weruche is arguing, but we also don't want a one sided view of the lives of people of color which only paints the stories of few.

    The same is said about women in media. The idea of “strong and empowered females” is the washed over mainstream ideal, but this colloquialism does not do what is set out to be done when people use the phrase. Diversity is what’s important in these types of representation. You want women who are strong, but you also want women who are weak. Not only are empowered women important, but powerless women are just as important. Same goes for representation of people of color in the media. Why only target a specific “desired” representation “for the good of the people” when the whole spectrum is what’s truly necessary.


    Croteau, David, and William Hoynes. "Chapter 1: Media and the Social World." Media Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2014. 16. Print.

    Tharps, Lori. "Minority Reports." Columbia Journalism Review. N.p., 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. .

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgZsPepO9Z0&feature=share

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