A project of the Manship School of Mass Communication, LSU
African Americans
Call me back, Hollywood: What it's like to be a black woman trying to make it in TV
By Megan Angelo
(Sept. 30, 2014 | Glamour.Com) - There is a 15-foot picture of Kerry Washington on the wall of the ABC lot in Burbank, California—an ad for Scandal featuring the actress in full Olivia Pope terrified-gorgeous glory. Beneath the billboard is a stoplight, and beneath that stoplight, in a banged-up Honda Civic on a Wednesday this spring, is 22-year-old actress Diona Reasonover. She's late. Read more
Experts: ‘Opportunity Gap’ key impediment to black male academic achievement
By Autumn A. Arnett
(Oct. 5, 2014 | Diverse) - What if the academic achievement problems with young Black males were not actually a problem with the students themselves, but a problem with those charged with educating them? Read more
It's still the era of white television
By Kellie Jackson
(Sept. 24, 2014 | The Atlantic) - This week, many new TV pilots will premiere and many beloved dramas will return to the air. Two of the shows I’m most looking forward to will be ABC’s black-ish produced by Anthony Anderson and Laurence Fishburne, as well as a new drama produced by Shonda Rhimes, How to Get Away With Murder, starring Viola Davis. Read more
Related Story
Black-ish review: A Family rooted in two realms (The New York Times | Sept. 24, 2014)
Bounce TV is one of the fast-growing networks
(Sept. 29, 2014 | BlackNews.Com) - Three years after its debut in 2011, the Bounce TV continues to grow in strength and popularity with affiliates, sponsors and viewers. Read more
St. Louis police apologise for 'racial overtones' in media training flier
(September 22, 2014 | Associated Press via The Guardian) - St Louis County police apologized Monday for the wording of a flier announcing a seminar to help officers interact with the media. The flier on county letterhead says topics of the 24 October program at the St Louis County and Municipal Police Academy will include “Feeding the Animals” and “Meet the 900-pound Gorilla.” Community activists and other critics say the references have racial overtones. Read more
Related story:
People imagine Twitter and Facebook to be much alike, but reaction to the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson suggests otherwise (The Guardian | Sept. 6, 2014)
Latino/Hispanic Issues | African-American Issues
U.S. Latinos And Blacks Don't Trust How Mainstream Media Portrays Them, Study Finds
(Sept. 17, 2014 | Source: Fox News Latino) - A new study shows a large majority of African-American and Hispanic news consumers don't fully trust the media to portray their communities accurately, a statistic that could be troubling for the news industry as the minority population of the United States grows. Read more
Related Research:
The growth of web and mobile media has not lived up to the promise in terms of the coverage of race/ethnicity
(Source: Science Daily, Sept. 16, 2014)
Wrought in Rhimes’s image
By Alessandra Stanley
(Sept. 18, 2014 | The New York Times) - When Shonda Rhimes writes her autobiography, it should be called “How to Get Away With Being an Angry Black Woman.” On Thursday, Ms. Rhimes will introduce “How to Get Away With Murder,” yet another network series from her production company to showcase a powerful, intimidating black woman. Read more
Reaction:
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Shonda Rhimes Educates The New York Times On Their ‘Angry Black Woman’ Label (Source: BlackAmericaWeb.Com | Sept. 19, 2014)
Is corporal punishment abuse? Why that's A loaded question
By Gene Demby
(Sept. 20, 2014 | WRKF89.3) - Over the past week, Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings' all-world running back and one of the NFL's biggest stars, has become the face of corporal punishment in America. Peterson turned himself in to police over the weekend on charges of child abuse after he allegedly hit his son with a switch that left welts on his body. Read more
Comedy sketch nails media portrayal Of black victims to the wall
By Cate Matthews
(Sept. 12, 2014 | The Huffington Post) - We're not surprised that there's a PR firm specializing in protecting the public images of black teens wrongly targeted by cops -- we're just surprised that it's only in a satirical Funny Or Die sketch. The firm promises that after a black teen's all-too-likely experience with police brutality, the right photo ends up on the evening news. Read more
Mississippi University of Women professor publishes a book on "institutional racism"
(MUW University Relations) - Dr. James D. Ward, professor of political science at Mississippi University for Women, has co-authored a book titled "Institutional Racism, Organizations and Public Policy," which was released by Peter Lang Publishing, New York, N.Y., this summer. Read more
Black Twitter comes for vogue booty article, doesn't hold back
By Jessica Dickerson
(Sept. 11, 2014 | The Huffington Post) - Remember that time Marie Claire applauded Kendall Jenner for rocking "new epic" cornrows and Twitter had a meltdown? Well, it appears Vogue Magazine just kicked off take two.
The fashion and lifestyle magazine published an article on Wednesday titled “We’re Officially in the Era of Big Booty,” in an attempt to give a history lesson on the progression of cultural regard for derrieres in anticipation for the release of a new Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea song. Read more
Black voters in the South face a new threat
By Freddie Allen
(Sept. 2, 2014 | Louisiana Weekly via NNPA) - Despite major advances to access to the ballot box nearly 50 years after the passage of Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), Blacks, living primarily in the South and Southwest, continued to face challenges at the ballot box, according to National Commission on Voting Rights (NCVR) report. Read more
Related story:
Lawmaker: Stop the black vote (DiversityInc. | Sept. 12, 2014)
America’s unspoken education issue: Black kids need black teachers
By Melinda Anderson
(Sept.. 9, 2014 | The Root) - “Hiring more white teachers is not the best way to improve education for students, particularly students of color.” This recent commentary by a black student from New Orleans in the Washington Post predictably aroused the ire of readers who accused the young man of reverse racism, playing the race card and divisiveness. Read more
National leaders in politics and media will participate in NABJ14 this summer
(June 12, 2014 | NABJ) - The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will hold its 39th Annual Convention and Career Fair, July 30- Aug. 3, in Boston. During the convention, attendees can expect to hear from national leaders from the worlds of media, politics, and culture. Read more
Racial diversity is a problem for police: "Mostly white forces in mostly black towns"
By Shaila Dewan
(Sept. 9, 2014 | The New York Times) - The population of this working-class Cleveland suburb has gone from nearly all white to two-thirds black since its mayor declared more than 35 years ago that he did not know “what a minority is.” But its police and fire departments have not kept pace: The Maple Heights police force today still has only two black officers out of 35; the fire department is 100 percent white. Read more
Related stories:
- Outrage and calls for change follow Ferguson officials into Council meeting
(Source: The New York Times | Sept. 10, 2014)
- The New Racism (Slate.Com | Sept. 5, 2014)
"Victor White's death deserves more national attention"
By Robert Mann
(Sept. 12, 2014 | The Times Picayune) - It's been more than a month since the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., captivated the nation. It started with the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of Michael Brown in the majority-black suburb of St. Louis. Brown, a 18-year-old black man, died at the hands of a white Ferguson police officer who shot him six times after a street confrontation. Read more
Only 4 black-owned companies made more than $1 billion in 2013
(July 7, 2014 | Black Business Blog) - Black Enterprise magazine has released their 2014 annual list of the top 100 Black businesses in the country. Based on statistics from 2013, the top companies represent the best of the best in enterprise and innovation in various industries including industrial/service, auto, advertising, and financial services. Read more
USC's black twitter study draws criticisms
By Yesha Callahan
(Sept. 3, 2014 | The Root) - Let’s discuss the phenomenon that is Black Twitter. Yes, I’ve capitalized the “b” in black, because it deserves the distinction as a proper noun, especially since there’s currently a study on it being conducted by the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California. Read more
As news business takes a hit, the number of black journalists declines
By Monica Anderson
(Aug. 1, 2014 | Pew Research Center) - The financial challenges of the journalism industry have resulted in significant declines in the number of employed reporters, editors, anchors and photographers. Minority journalists, who were already underrepresented in newsrooms, have, for the most part, experienced the same type of decline in recent years. The National Association of Black Journalists, founded in 1975, meets in Boston this week for its annual convention. Here are some facts about the state of black and minority journalists. Read more
Biography reveals: Bill Cosby’s jokes masked pain
By The Root Staff
(Sept. 15, 2014 | The Root) - Journalist Mark Whitaker, author of the new book Cosby: His Life and Times, talks with The Root Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. in a wide-ranging interview. Whitaker says comedian Bill Cosby became an accidental role model for him at a critical point in his childhood after his father left his family. He recalls embarking on a subconscious search for a black male role model when he stumbled upon a Cosby comedy album. Read more
Having more African-Americans in charge could help NBA
By J. A. Adande
(Sept. 7, 2014 | ESPN.Com) - There is no realistic way for the NBA to bridge the racial gap between the demographic that makes up its owners and the demographic that constitutes the majority of its players and the largest share of its fans. The solution, of course, would be more African-American owners. It's hard to see that happening, though, when the skyrocketing franchise valuations have essentially reduced the applicant pool to people who made their money in sectors in which African-Americans are notoriously absent. Read more
Black churches are becoming more gay-friendly
By Blue Telusma
(Sept. 11, 2014 | theGrio.com) - For years, there has been an unspoken but deeply prevalent “don’t ask, don’t” tell policy in the black church. But today, Duke University released data that show those days may be coming to an end. Read more
Sagging pants and the long history of 'dangerous' street fashion
By WRKF 89.3 Editor
(Sept.. 12, 2014 | WRKF 89.3) - Mary Sue Rich finally had enough. The council member from Ocala, Fla., was tired of seeing the young people in her town wearing their pants low and sagging, and successfully pushed to prohibit the style on city-owned property. It became law in July. Violators face a $500 fine or up to six months in jail. Read more