“Less vanilla, more pistachio”: The state of diversity in television news, and what broadcast educators can

do about it

Brad ClarkAssociate Professor

Mount Royal University

Statscan says by 2031…Foreign-born population of Canada could increase

four times faster than the rest of the population, up to 12.5 million.

29% to 32% of Canada’s population—between 11.4 and 14.4 million people—could belong to a visible minority group; could comprise 63% of Toronto, 59% of Vancouver and 31% of Montréal.

Aboriginal population is growing six times faster than the rest of Canada.

Research Question:

Does….

Reporter diversity=Source diversity?

Source-appearances by ethnic background 2011 NHS (census) data

Figure 1.

Figure 2. Source-appearances by White, Visible Minority and Aboriginal reporters

Figure 3.Visible Minority reporter source use by network

Study 2: Comparative analysis

Versus

Research Questions:

RQ1: How do mainstream national television newscasts frame Aboriginal peoples in Canada?

RQ2: How does indigenous television news (APTN) frame the same stories?

News Frames

News Frames continued…

Key FindingsThe mainstream national newscasts are much

more likely to frame Aboriginal people as passive, and less likely as active.

The mainstream newscasts are more likely to portray government and police positively, while APTN is more inclined to challenge those viewpoints.

77% of APTN’s sources are Aboriginal; 40% in mainstream news.

Frames-to-content-units ratios in stories by APTN compared to Global, CBC and CTV

1

0.78

0.11

0.89

0.29

1.35

0.650.58

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

Context Frames Stereotypic Frames Official Source Frames Counter-Hegemonic Frames

APTN Global, CBC, CTV

Key FindingsMore news frames associated with stereotypes

in the mainstream newscasts, and far fewer frames of Aboriginal context/perspective.

APTN includes more frames associated with context than stereotypes, but in greater balance.

APTN – in this sample – is more balanced than the mainstream.

ImplicationsThis is not simply an issue of negativity in the

news; the mainstream coverage is dominated by stereotypes.

Need for greater context in mainstream news.

Escape the routine of “crisis and calamity” news coverage of Aboriginal communities.

Further investigation into the production norms that shape the discourse.

That “Further Investigation”…Newsroom study and interviews, summer

2012

Plenty of awareness and commitment.

Hiring diverse journalists works… to a point.

Diversity might be an issue at the assignment level.

Diversity is often “soft news”, the “low-hanging fruit”.

Newsroom study

Community outreach takes time.

The agenda is king; and so are newsgathering routines around it.

Stories about ethnic communities are still far more likely to make it to air when there’s a negative element to it.

Diversity as added effort

“However, the Commission must also recognize that providing the best and most

accurate news coverage requires finding experts who are (a) available when we need them, and (b) considered experts

with the utmost credibility in their field. Therefore, it is not always possible to locate specific individuals in a timely

manner as issues arise.”

Shaw Diversity Report, 2010

Newsroom DiversityModel

Bringing it to the classroomWhat didn’t work: The Excellence Project.

Also: Ethics case, businesscase.

Bringing it to the classroomMore failures:How “we’re all different, but the same” exercise.

Sayings across different cultures.

Limited success:List of broadcasters versus Canadian

demographics.

Class on stereotypes; conventions on when to reference race/religion.

Bringing it to the classroom“I think this worked”:

Assigning stories about Aboriginal and immigrant communities.

Case studies; a) from my research, b) stereotypic coverage, news stories involving accusations of racism.

Bringing it to the classroom

Next year:

Do diversity audits on students’ work.

Watch ethnic media.

Get more diverse students.

Links:Duncan McCue’s website, Reporting in Indigenous

Communities:

http://www.riic.ca/

Strategic Alliance of Broadcasters for Aboriginal Reflection (SABAR):http://www.sabar.ca/

The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicityhttp://theauthenticvoice.org/ 

Links:CBC documentary series, The Eighth Fire

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/8thfire/

Reflecting Which Canada? A Source Analysis of Canadian Network Television News, International Journal of Diverse Identities, Volume 12, Issue 1, p. 33-45.http://ijdi.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.243/prod.3

-FIN-A Brad Clark Joint