The Press: Covering the Minorities

By failing to portray the Negro as a matter of routine and in the context of the total society, the news media have, we believe, contributed to the black-white schism in this country. They have not communicated to the majority of their audience—which is white—a sense of the degradation, misery and hopelessness of living in the ghetto. They have not shown understanding or appreciation of—and thus have not communicated—a sense of Negro culture.

Since the Kerner Commission published its disturbing report on race relations two years ago, the news media have stepped up their reporting of minority concerns. But an imbalance in...