Race and Ethnicity, Coverage of

As the United States has grown increasingly diverse, journalists have recognized the importance of reporting on issues of race and ethnicity. They also realize they must earn trust from multicultural communities and include people from a wide variety of backgrounds as sources and subjects. This task is not as straightforward as it may seem. As with most other U.S. institutions, those in charge of reporting and writing the mainstream news have been predominantly white. They have covered the news based on their own attitudes, experiences, and concerns. As a result, U.S. news organizations have an uneven history of equally and fairly covering all the people who participate in civic life.

This entry discusses coverage of race and ethnicity in the U.S. media since the 19th century, ...