Post on 24-May-2015
“Less vanilla, more pistachio”: The state of diversity in television news, and what broadcast educators can
do about it
Brad ClarkAssociate Professor
Mount Royal University
Statscan says by 2031…Foreign-born population of Canada could increase
four times faster than the rest of the population, up to 12.5 million.
29% to 32% of Canada’s population—between 11.4 and 14.4 million people—could belong to a visible minority group; could comprise 63% of Toronto, 59% of Vancouver and 31% of Montréal.
Aboriginal population is growing six times faster than the rest of Canada.
Research Question:
Does….
Reporter diversity=Source diversity?
Source-appearances by ethnic background 2011 NHS (census) data
Figure 1.
Figure 2. Source-appearances by White, Visible Minority and Aboriginal reporters
Figure 3.Visible Minority reporter source use by network
Study 2: Comparative analysis
Versus
Research Questions:
RQ1: How do mainstream national television newscasts frame Aboriginal peoples in Canada?
RQ2: How does indigenous television news (APTN) frame the same stories?
News Frames
News Frames continued…
Key FindingsThe mainstream national newscasts are much
more likely to frame Aboriginal people as passive, and less likely as active.
The mainstream newscasts are more likely to portray government and police positively, while APTN is more inclined to challenge those viewpoints.
77% of APTN’s sources are Aboriginal; 40% in mainstream news.
Frames-to-content-units ratios in stories by APTN compared to Global, CBC and CTV
1
0.78
0.11
0.89
0.29
1.35
0.650.58
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
Context Frames Stereotypic Frames Official Source Frames Counter-Hegemonic Frames
APTN Global, CBC, CTV
Key FindingsMore news frames associated with stereotypes
in the mainstream newscasts, and far fewer frames of Aboriginal context/perspective.
APTN includes more frames associated with context than stereotypes, but in greater balance.
APTN – in this sample – is more balanced than the mainstream.
ImplicationsThis is not simply an issue of negativity in the
news; the mainstream coverage is dominated by stereotypes.
Need for greater context in mainstream news.
Escape the routine of “crisis and calamity” news coverage of Aboriginal communities.
Further investigation into the production norms that shape the discourse.
That “Further Investigation”…Newsroom study and interviews, summer
2012
Plenty of awareness and commitment.
Hiring diverse journalists works… to a point.
Diversity might be an issue at the assignment level.
Diversity is often “soft news”, the “low-hanging fruit”.
Newsroom study
Community outreach takes time.
The agenda is king; and so are newsgathering routines around it.
Stories about ethnic communities are still far more likely to make it to air when there’s a negative element to it.
Diversity as added effort
“However, the Commission must also recognize that providing the best and most
accurate news coverage requires finding experts who are (a) available when we need them, and (b) considered experts
with the utmost credibility in their field. Therefore, it is not always possible to locate specific individuals in a timely
manner as issues arise.”
Shaw Diversity Report, 2010
Newsroom DiversityModel
Bringing it to the classroomWhat didn’t work: The Excellence Project.
Also: Ethics case, businesscase.
Bringing it to the classroomMore failures:How “we’re all different, but the same” exercise.
Sayings across different cultures.
Limited success:List of broadcasters versus Canadian
demographics.
Class on stereotypes; conventions on when to reference race/religion.
Bringing it to the classroom“I think this worked”:
Assigning stories about Aboriginal and immigrant communities.
Case studies; a) from my research, b) stereotypic coverage, news stories involving accusations of racism.
Bringing it to the classroom
Next year:
Do diversity audits on students’ work.
Watch ethnic media.
Get more diverse students.
Links:Duncan McCue’s website, Reporting in Indigenous
Communities:
http://www.riic.ca/
Strategic Alliance of Broadcasters for Aboriginal Reflection (SABAR):http://www.sabar.ca/
The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicityhttp://theauthenticvoice.org/
Links:CBC documentary series, The Eighth Fire
http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/8thfire/
Reflecting Which Canada? A Source Analysis of Canadian Network Television News, International Journal of Diverse Identities, Volume 12, Issue 1, p. 33-45.http://ijdi.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.243/prod.3
-FIN-A Brad Clark Joint