Panel critiques media coverage of the affirmative action story
WASHINGTON, D.C.
When a news reporter fails o bring depth and
sophistication to his or her reporting about affirmative action issues,
he or she runs the risk of being a “megaphone for PR agents,” Harvard
Law School Professor Christopher Edley Jr. told a gathering of more
than fifty reporters and educators at a National Association of Black
Journalists convention workshop here last month.
The workshop — which included a panel of prominent educators, an
education policy consultant, and an education reporter — was entitled
“Covering the Affirmative Action Story.” It was held to discuss how the
news media could improve its coverage of affirmative action issues.
Black Issues in Higher Education sponsored the session, which
included Edley; Dr. Donald Stewart, president of the College Board; Dr.
Freeman Hrabowski, president of University of Maryland-Baltimore County
(UMBC); Robert Kronley, senior consultant to the Southern Education
Foundation; and Ernie Suggs, an education writer for the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. Cheryl D. Fields, executive editor of Black
Issues his Higher Education, moderated the discussion.
Edley, who has served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton on
the affirmative action debate, had sharp criticisms of the news media.
He noted that reporters fail to prepare themselves to cover the
affirmative action beat in the manner they would prepare for other
public policy subjects, such as nuclear arms control or the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“Many journalists think that shooting from the hip should suffice,”
Edley said. “This is not rocket science; this is harder than rocket
science.”
Edley also told workshop attendees that reporters repeat the
language used by affirmative action opponents without considering the
implications of the language. He also said that reporters are too eager
to give both sides of the debate equal space in their reporting without
attempting to determine whether the arguments posed by each side are of
equal logic and equal sophistication of thought.
