White News

by Don Heider

Is TV news racist? If the purpose of local news is to cover individual communities and to present issues of interest and concern to local audiences, why are local newscasts so similar in markets around the country? These are the questions that motivated Heider's research, leading to the development of this book. Recognizing that local news is the outlet through which most people get their news, Heider ventured into the local television newsrooms in two moderate-size, culturally diverse U.S. markets to observe the news process. In this report, he uses his insider's perspective to examine why local television news coverage of people of color does not occur in more meaningful ways.

Heider examines the perceptions of racism and ethnicity, and addresses such dichotomies as "white" news (content determined by white managers) being delivered by non-white news anchors, thus giving the appearance of "non-white" news. He also considers how coverage of minorities influences viewers' perceptions of their minority neighbors. Heider then sets forth a new theoretical concept--incognizant racism--as a way of explaining how news workers consistently ignore news in significant portions of the communities they cover.

This contribution to the minorities and media discussion provides important insights into the newsroom decision-making process and the sociology and structure of newsrooms. It is required reading for all who are involved in news reporting, mass communication, media and minority studies, and cultural issues in today's society.

126 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[A YOGAM]

In seiner grundlegenden Studie „White News“ argumentiert Don Heider, dass lokale Fernsehnachrichten in den USA keine neutralen Spiegel gesellschaftlicher Realität sind, sondern die Welt durch eine unsichtbare „weiße Brille“ (whiteness) zeigen – jene vermeintlich universelle Norm, die alles andere als selbstverständlich ist. Basierend auf einer umfassenden Analyse von Nachrichtensendungen zeigt er, wie Minderheiten überproportional häufig in negativen Kontexten – insbesondere im Zusammenhang mit Kriminalität – erscheinen, während weiße Perspektiven die Rolle des Normalen, Rationalen und Maßgeblichen einnehmen.
Das Buch ist eine scharfe Kritik daran, wie Routinen, Auswahlmechanismen und redaktionelle Blindstellen – weit mehr als offene Vorurteile – Stereotype reproduzieren und öffentliche Wahrnehmung strukturieren. Heiders Befund ist damit nicht nur eine Medienstudie, sondern eine Diagnose kultureller Macht: Wie die unsichtbare Norm Weißsein ihre eigene Unsichtbarkeit erhält.

[Ke]

For a book this short, it was quite powerful in communicating the limitations of the news organizations when it comes to representing ethnic minorities. But I liked how the book also suggested solutions.