Chapter 17

 What comes to mind when you hear the word alien?

 What about “Illegal Alien”  What do you think of when you see or hear that?  Does it apply to a specific demographic group?

 Even carefully chosen words  Can be interpreted differently than intended  Things that influence interpretation ▪ Gender ▪ Race ▪ Geography ▪ Ethnic background

 Define the following words ▪ Majority ▪ Ghetto ▪ Inner City ▪ How did you learn the definition of each?  Do the definitions people have of these places ▪ Help to develop stereotypes?

 There are news writing terms preferred by different groups ▪ African American ▪ Chicano ▪ Hispanic, Latino ▪ People of color  How would you know what term is appropriate at any given time? ▪ Reporters often ask members of the group how they would like to be addressed

 There are many organizations that help promote fairness  NABJ  NAHJ  AAJA  NLGJA

 During your newsgathering  Consult different groups & sources ▪ To find the terms they would prefer to be used ▪ Age, Race, Gender, etc ▪ This goes with the sensitivity that we discussed earlier ▪ Also helps to get different points of view

 One way the media can be more sensitive to the needs of minorities ▪ Is to hire more minorities ▪ Encourage them to express their diversity  Minorities make up ▪ percent ▪ Of the 54 thousand full time journalists ▪ 21 percent of the workforce in TV & Radio

 The increase in the Hispanic population  Has led to the development of ▪ More Spanish speaking publications  Multicultural sensitivity ▪ Not only includes the sources, but also the kinds of stories chosen ▪ Stereotypes presented in the media also impact the groups portrayed

 Gender Differences  When covering stories of different genders ▪ Try to avoid incorporating stereotypical elements ▪ Use appearance descriptors only if used for both genders ▪ Tips to avoid sexism, listed on Page 331

 Every group has some special needs and concerns about language.  How would the following be described? ▪ A man in a wheelchair ▪ A person with AIDS ▪ People over 65 ▪ Best place to start is to ask the people you are discussing

 People with disabilities  Don’t characterize someone as disabled ▪ Unless it’s important to the story ▪ Avoid the word “handicapped”  When interviewing people with disabilities ▪ Be aware of – Pg 333 ▪ Volume ▪ Perspective when writing ▪ Use of Adjectives

 The U.S. Population is aging  Often stories about elderly people are ▪ Written by younger people ▪ Developed from a younger perspective ▪ Lack sensitivity towards age  When writing about people over 65 ▪ Avoid descriptors that apply only to older people ▪ Avoid stereotypes ▪ More on pg 334

 Interview members of various ethnic and racial groups on campus or in your community ▪ Ask bout their concerns and the kinds of stories they think newspaper are not writing about them.  Develop 10 story ideas based on your interviews and select one to do a story on. ▪ Include all 10 story ideas at the end of your article