This week’s “Must See Monday” event at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School, titled “News Media in Black and White,” tackled issues such as race representation and other pertinent social conundrums in today’s media world.
Opening remarks by moderator Denise Meridith set the tone for the panel as she established the exercise of free speech as an essential piece of modern society. Meridith emphasized that without the free press, the general public would not know about important historical events such as the civil rights movement or the deaths of countless Katrina victims. She also discussed how journalism impacted the lives of not just journalists, businesses, or Capitol Hill, but everyone involved in the narrative of history.
Professionals representing the Phoenix media industry, such as members of The Arizona Republic, the Arizona Informant, ABC15 and the Phoenix Business Journal, shared their insight on the media and its future.
The discussion explored issues such as the media’s evolution from print to digital, minority representation in the newsroom and how young journalists are the key to solving today’s media problems.
Cronkite School freshmen Kelsey Mo and Alex Czaja talked about their place in the broader journalistic landscape and how they view today’s storytelling.
“Stereotyped roles and stories have become expected in our society,” Czaja said.
Cloves Campbell Jr. of the Arizona Informant addressed this observation.
“The black press is important. Different Perspectives are important,” Campbell said.
His perspective highlighted the continuing lack of inclusion of minorities in the press.
“We talk about issues that you don’t see. We record black history every day,” Campbell said.
Although the panel was unable to find a specific solution to the lack of minority inclusion in the media, they seemed to reach the consensus that the media needs to change and adapt in order to survive in the digital age.
Contact the reporter at Tayler.Brown@asu.edu.
