Publisher's Synopsis
In this volume, Clint C. Wilson II offers a comprehensive study of the historical heritage and current role of African-American journalists in both the black press and mainstream media. In addition to outlining the historical development of black communication from pre-slave trade Africa to the 1990s, Wilson profiles leading black journalists and examines what factors affect black journalists' efforts to rectify past distortions in media coverage of African Americans. Particularly concerned with the dilemma faced by all black journalists today (am I a journalist who happens to be black or am I a black who happens to be a journalist?), Wilson examines how workplace socialization and traditional Eurocentric news values continue to foster stereotypical coverage of Black America in the mainstream news media. He concludes by offering suggestions on how African-American journalists may constructively channel their skills and creative energies toward enhancing communications among black people while attaining the professional satisfaction largely unavailable to them in mainstream organizations.;Beginning with an introductory overview of the black heritage in journalism, Wilson goes on to present a series of chronological chapters which demonstrate the transition from pulpit to press in the 1800s, explore the development of black media through the civil rights protests of the 1960s, and examine the price paid by African-American journalists as integration gave them access to the mainstream white-owned media. Subsequent chapters address the current situation faced by black journalists. Here, Wilson assesses the impact of the Kerner Commission Report of 1968 which increased the hiring of blacks in the mainstream press. Wilson then evaluates newsroom dynamics and explores "the illusion of inclusion" which he feels characterizes the situation of many black journalists today. An important contribution to the study of journalism, Wilson's work offers new insights into the historical roots and current experiences of African-American journalists.
