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The White Stuff: Where Are The Black Faces on Cable News?

by Rachel Sklar | 11:52 am, June 24th, 2010

» 23 comments

In January 2009, I wrote a media predictions piece for the Daily Beast, writing: “If 2009 isn’t the year of the black media star, then we are all doing something wrong.” Needless to say, it was not. Neither is 2010. In fact, with new shows being given to people like Eliot Spitzer, Kathleen Parker and Lawrence O’Donnell, it’s moving in the opposite direction.

Today I followed up with “The Unbearable Whiteness of Cable,” writing:

Let’s review: Carlos Watson got a show briefly on MSNBC and was canceled, then disappeared from the network entirely; Roland Martin filled in for Campbell Brown on CNN for two months, then seemed to fade away as well. MSNBC’s Tamron Hall has been spotted doing fill-ins on the Today show, but when it comes to branded TV real estate, the 3 p.m. hour with David Shuster doesn’t quite measure up. Even NBC’s Christina Brown, who used to be featured on MSNBC’s First Look, was shelved for a Rachel Maddow rerun leading into Way Too Early with Willie Geist. It’s competitive out there, even at 5 a.m.

…Yes, there are regulars: Apart from straight news (CNN’s Don Lemon and Fredricka Whitfield, MSNBC’s Hall), there’s the aforementioned Robinson, a staple on Morning Joe, plus Jonathan Capeheart, Harold Ford, and, occasionally, NBC News VP Mark Whitaker. Brazile is on CNN, Gwen Ifill on PBS, and NPR’s Michele Norris on an ABC or NBC Sunday-morning roundtable here and there. Touré was briefly a regular on Dylan Ratigan’s show, and we’ll see John Ridley on Morning Joe when they’re out in L.A. And hey, MSNBC viewers do see Tom Joyner all the time, but that, alas, is in an ad for his show.

You know that ad, right? I see it all the time. The juxtaposition always strikes me.

I’m not alone in noticing this. Per Eric Deggans:

With O’Donnell in the house, MSNBC will boast an anchor lineup packed with middle-aged white males from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., with one notable exception. From Dylan Ratingan’s overheated financial industry-based grousing to Ed Schultz’s talk-radio honed anti-GOP shtick and Chris Matthews’ bombastic political analysis, there seems to be no room remaining for one of the principles liberals once touted so strongly: ethnic diversity.

Contrast that scene with the stuff these guys are covering, where a Louisiana Governor of east Indian heritage teams with a U.S. Representative born in South Vietnam to pressure a black president to crack down on a British oil and gas company. Clearly, the world of politics and big business is diversifying faster than the media arrayed to cover it.

…and here is a slightly more exasperated take from Danielle Belton:

MSNBC, love them or hate them, is one of those places where everyone acts like it’s this glorious bastion of Rainbow Coalition Liberal political thought delivered fresh daily. And while there is some variety among those who anchor the daily news reports, all the network big money show ponies are different versions of the same white guy … with Rachel Maddow as the above-average token.

While I’m sure Lawrence O’Donnell is what’s hot in the very exclusive, gated-community streets that MSNBC President Phil Griffin lives on, if more than half of the United States is female and you’ve got a CRAZY PANTS amount of blacks, Latinos and others running around — many owning televisions and watching them on a regular basis — it seems a little lame to just do what almost people from the upper echelons of our society do … sit around and hire their friends.

As I said in my piece, no one is disputing the qualifications of O’Donnell, Spitzer, or Parker — they are all enormously impressive, especially Spitzer because Lord, he has managed to pull off what most of us would have called a miracle in March 2008. But — you can’t blame Belton for her frustration, or others in minority communities who saw the black faces newly popping up on cable during the election slowly start to drop away. As one said to me: “You have this change in the nation before their very eyes. No one would have thought that, when there was finally a black president, TV would get whiter.”

The Unbearable Whiteness of Cable [The Daily Beast]
Eric Deggans: Why Doesn’t MSNBC Embrace More Diversity? [HuffPo]
When Diversity Means Hiring A Not Really Different Version Of The Same Thing [The Black Snob]

***Headline shamelessly lifted from Jonathan Wald.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Kam-Fet/572005492 Kam Fet

Oh no, Not the race thing again. I think you might be bored.
libra blue

A better question is “where are the black faces during prime time cable news”.
badr

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38969.html Dem Rep Kanjorski says

“they’re not minorities and they’re not defective and they’re not all the things you’d like to insinuate that these programs are about — these are average, good American people.”

If only they were average, good American people they’d be on cable news.
zepfan81

Maybe because black people don’t watch much news…..
writer

Where are the Asians? Where are the Eskimos? Where are the Native Americans?
ImNotBlue

writer says:
June 24, 2010 at 12:55 pm

Remember, it’s not quality of the news… it’s race that’s important!

The only way to make sure things are equal, it to obsessively concern ourselves with race, constantly talk about it and point it out, and make sure we give opportunities to certain people while punishing others because of their race. That’s the only way we’ll… um… be… uhhhh… equal.
felixw

Where are the Polynesians? Where are the acne-scarred? Where are the Norwegian-Americans?
felixw

When do we get a host with a full beard? Discrimination against the hirsute is rampant!
http://the-w.com/ CRZ

This is fantastic – fantastically hypocritical.

Amongst other glaring omissions on this very site, some very newsworthy televised events NOT covered by “Media-white” during its brief existence include:
The Soul Train Awards
The BET Honors
The Boondocks’ season premiere, “It’s a Black President, Huey Freeman”
Just about every successive Boondocks episode this season, actually

But good lookin’ out, Rachel.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Larry-Gibby/1360313052 Larry Gibby

I don’t blame you for not watching but CNN seems to have a dearth of white folks. But I only watch by circumstance, not choice.
Big_F-ing_Deal

I think the answer is pretty clear….

1. Cable news is a breeding ground of douchebags.

2. Whites outnumber Blacks in the douchebag department.

3. Hence, Cable news is mostly Whites.
Moderate

No heavy Southern or Black accents are allowed on cable news.
Sean68

The white liberal elite are only interested in doing anything for black people so long as it costs them nothing. #1 on the list of “Stuff White People Like” should be: Accusing other white people of being racist. This an MSNBC staple.
notsofast

And while there is some variety among those who anchor the daily news reports, all the network big money show ponies are different versions of the same white guy … with Rachel Maddow as the above-average token.”

RM IS your average white guy!
notsofast

Big_F-ing_Deal says:
June 24, 2010 at 3:55 pm Big_F-ing_Deal(Quote)
Thumb up 1 Thumb down 6

I think the answer is pretty clear….

1. Cable news is a breeding ground of douchebags.

2. Whites outnumber Blacks in the douchebag department.

3. Hence, Cable news is mostly Whites.”

I always enjoy a self-hating white person.

Thanks!
Heatshield

When I find out what’s wrong with being White, I’ll get back to you.
http://none pyrope

It matters not to me whether a newscaster or participant on any TV or radio program is black, white, oriental, hindy, hispanic, german, greek, male, or female. I believe I speak for a considerable majority of those who, from time to time, frequent this site, so this playing of the race card by a bunch of folks who cannot garner ratings that make them feel proud is laughable in that it reveals the small-mindedness of the subjects of this article. So, I suppose the question becomes what does matter?

Talent, fairness, objectivity eruditeness (is that really a word?), and absence of agenda. I can only speak about Roland Martin, as he is the only individual whom I have watched on TV with any degree of frequency, and Mr. Martin clearly has an agenda–or several agendae that can all be categorized as pushing the so-called progressive movement. I cannot speak highly of his talent–average, at best–but his objectivity is severely lacking.

But you didn’t mention any black people Pyrope! OK, I will. Charles Payne is one of my heroes. I know something of his life and how he struggled to become what he has become. I believe anyone who has studied the man would agree. I also like Walter Williams and Herman Cain. All three are rational human beings, erudite among their peers, and from all I can learn good and decent human beings.

So, in summary, to all the blacks who still have the audacity to continuously whine about how ol’ whitey has his boot on your neck, I say suck it up and be responsible for yourself, this is the United States, and the best country the world has ever known. So great, in fact, that if a Greek from a God forsaken region called Thrace can come to this wonderful country (legally, by the way), learn this very difficult language you people use, become a citizen, and prosper through hard work and the honest application of skills I acquired in your wonderful universities, then anyone can–especially those who were lucky enough to be born here. (Yeah, I heard you, you’re telling me that since I’m not black, I do not know the “black experience.” Well, jokers, look to see whom is the current occupant of the White House and get back to me. OK?
http://none pyrope

Ooops! I left out transgender. Heavens forgive me.
Integr8d

And the ginger kids!

What’s wrong with all of you ginger haters???
GerhardWMagnus

Come on guys, racism no longer exists in America because nice white people say so!
writer

What do the black racists say?
http://none pyrope

Actually GerhardWMagnus, I believe the most racism I’ve seen is blacks against whites. It’s funny how when a white person murders a black person, there is always the question of whether it was a hate crime, but when a black person murders ANYONE outside their race, one never seems to hear the question of hate crimes being raised. Wonder why that is; perhaps YOU can tell us.

Are there racists in ALL corners of the world? Certainly. One would be a fool to think it were not true, but in the United States, racism is almost non-existent when compared with other cultures. Does that excuese the racism we have? Certainly NOT, but so far as I know, human beings have not yet evolved to a state of perfection–I doubt they ever shall.
Jess

Oh Puleez..there is more than a good amount of blacks on TV today. Nary a Mexican-American face whose demographic numbers are more than blacks or Asians.