How the Press Helped and Hurt During Segregation
Read All About It!
For a democracy to work, we need to have a strong
press. What the press reports affects citizens knowledge. Even
if the press is objective in their actual writing, they must be selective about what they print and broadcast.
This can help if the stories are truthful and important.
But if they don't talk about bigger issues it leaves the general public ignorant
of what
is going on around them. Thus a problem is created.
During segregation reporting
played an important role. Some press hurt because they didn't inform people
on issues like riots, demonstrations, and other racial topics. Because of this
even some people in neighboring places didn't know or care about these issues.
Few papers like The Black Press
reported all the facts. The press helped in many ways too. The media that
reported the whole truth kept America informed and knowledgeable. The
public can't help the victims if they are unaware. For example, in the Children's
March of 1963, because the press reported it the president was aware of the
situation therefore President Kennedy proposed the Civil
Rights Act which was passed after his death.
Because of laws like the "Jim
Crow Laws" some reporters were afraid to report on certain segregated
protests. Some were against these laws and published their opinions
anyway. The Jim Crow Laws ended in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Even today the press chooses
to report on certain stories instead of others because of space and time
limitations. Some papers are unreliable
and some broadcasting stations fail to report on bigger ongoing issues.
Unfortunately,
racism is still alive today. There are even more complications now in America especially because of our many
ethnicities. If
journalists write
reports on racial politics it may open the eyes of the public. Maybe
someday racism will be just a memory. But one thing is certain, it's going to
take plenty of hard work—and a pen and paper.
By: Emily Burr & Sam Hoskins
LaVilla 7th grade Journalism
