Whitewashing the news must end

Because this administration seems hellbent on targeting everyone, the press must highlight and reflect the masses.

By Carron J. Phillips

Just 52 days into his second term as president, Donald Trump has made clear whose support he is courting. And now the media have made it clear that they are catering to the same audience. Though diversity has been a longstanding issue in journalism and the media, several recent significant blunders are making the issue crystal clear.

The most blatant recent example is MSNBC.

Consider, as one example, the promotion for the network’s coverage of the president’s address to Congress last week. The photo prominently featured Rachel Maddow, three other women and three men.

The problem?

Everyone was white.

An updated image quickly surfaced, this one featuring 10 faces–including two Black people: Symone D. Sanders and Michael Steele.

Some might think I am overreacting, suggesting that this could simply have been a clerical error. However, when such "errors" keep occurring, making or ignoring them becomes a deliberate choice.

Let me explain.

In addition to what happened during the president’s public pep rally, the event took place on a day that clearly illustrated why those who report and comment on the news should reflect the diversity of the people that news will impact.

Social media and news headlines were filled with topics such as intensified immigration enforcement efforts, Republicans avoiding town halls to escape accountability, women potentially missing out on significant earnings as colleges and universities begin compensating student athletes, the Kremlin praising Trump, higher education facing the loss of federal funding if certain protests occur on college campuses, and a possible trade war as nations targeted by Trump for tariffs retaliate.

With all of this going on, who gives the news is as important as the news itself.

The practice of excluding the individuals who are reported on or affected by news from having a say or providing commentary is not limited to traditional news media. For instance, in 2017, The Athletic faced criticism for launching an "All American" team of sportswriters—all white—to cover college football.

“For centuries, there has been a sustained effort to keep us subjugated at worst, and on the margins at best. If there has been any positive to enduring those acts, it’s that all that time shoved into the background offered nothing but opportunity: to observe and listen, to understand exactly how America operates, and to see just how fraudulent so many of the supposed “superior” really are,” Shalise Manza Young recently wrote for this very publication about the topic.

“That power, gained over the generations, is why far too often Black women who are provided platforms to offer commentary speak truth to power so forcefully that it isn’t long before that platform is stripped away.”

People are frustrated for various reasons, and one of them is how the news is too often whitewashed. Joy Reid, the first Black woman to have own primetime cable news show, was fired by MSNBC last month. And before her, Tiffany Cross was given the boot by the network in 2022.

CNN has a highly diverse group of on-screen journalists, but it also has had problems. Similarly, ABC News has faced allegations regarding toxic work environments and racism.

And then there’s FOX News.

Look, I don’t think the word “diversity” pops into anyone’s head when it comes to that network. However, it is very clear on what it is, who it intends to serve, and the hellbent way it has decided to do the news. I might not agree with it, but I respect it at the same time.

This is an industry-wide issue, and MSNBC was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, it's worth noting that the network appointed Eugene Daniels as a senior Washington correspondent and co-host of one of its weekend shows. Additionally, Sonali Basak will host a new financial series for Bloomberg.

Two people of color secured prominent positions in news just days apart. Don’t tell me this can’t be the norm.

Perhaps these cable networks could take a page from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), which issues racial and gender report cards for various sports leagues. Sports journalists are well acquainted with these reports, particularly the one created for the Associated Press Sports Editors.

In every reputable newsroom, there’s a designated space for daily meetings, whether they are held in-person or virtually. This is where the stories of the day are discussed. The people in those meetings should reflect all of America —not the America Donald Trump and his supporters want to see.

Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University.

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