On the Beat

The section "ON the Beat" reveals the complexity of the racial issues for the purpose of journalism. I found some of the subsections particularly useful. For example, "Handling Race/Ethnicity with Discretion" mentions the fact that race or ethnicity should not be used to describe subjects, especially when dealing with negative events that can generate negative criteria on a given group. Or at least, race should not be used as the only description of subjects. I totally agree with this idea.

Giving the color alone presupposes all blacks or Hispanics or Asians are the same and further description is irrelevant. If, for instance, the news are on a crime, that might suggest that all blacks or Hispanics or Asians are criminals. However, the skin color can be of effective use when seeking information about fugitives. Still, more information like height, clothing and age should be given so that the description is not racist.

I think the term minority could be effective under certain contexts still. Minority should be used when describing a situation in which the subject was actually part of the minority, not just because he/she belongs to a given group. For example, a Hispanic who was arrested in Hialeah should not be mentioned as a minority member if the report does not include an angle from the national perspective. Referring to whites as minorities if reporting about a context in which whites are the actual minority would be fair then; even though, it is otherwise at the national scale. This approach could actually be more effective to contextualize the report. In regard to "people of color", which is the other topic in this subsection, you know my opinion from another post. I do not find this term fair or accurate. Otherwise, I find it very racist. See the "Colored People" post.
 http://3188lappin.blogspot.com/2012/01/colored-people.html

"Rethinking the Race Beat" talks about the Journal-Constitution in Atlanta, which is a city with a long history of civil rights issues-still today. But, that resembles Miami a lot. "Race is a factor in virtually everything we write in this community," editor Mike King said. That's not very far from what we face in Miami. This is a multi ethnic community in which the minorities are majorities.

Johnathan Tilove advocates for journalists to be experts in racial topics for more ethical and accurate approach. It might sound logic but I disagree with that idea. He says that certain journalists covering health care or military affairs are experts, which avoids any bias or prejudice.

Experts journalists are not the only ones who report or write on these topics with dignity and efficiency. Leaving the topic for experts only would actually create more taboo than bringing it to the table all the time by everyone. What should be the focus is that each journalist must know how to approach race/ethnicity free of restrains, biases or prejudices. This is the actual idea of democracy. The more people talking on a subject -in the right way- the more progress in the area. This is real diversity.