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Black Sports Journalism
July 15, 2006Scoop Jackson, of ESPN and SLAM magazine fame, recently posted a story on the wide world of sports website pointing out the lack of black sports journalists in America.
Then he went on to point out that only 4 - count 'em - sports editors exist at ASPE newspapers.
What is America coming to?
I understand his point with an overwhelming lack of diversity, but what does it matter?
I'm not saying racism doesn't exist, especially in sports, but pointing out that there are about 300 black journalists, and 4 black editors, in the U.S. doesn't make sense to me.
The majority of NBA players are black; the majority of tennis/golf/hockey players are white. The majority of NFL players are black, and the NHL is a majority white. Baseball is the most diverse sport, besides soccer, in America. You have Mexicans, Latin Americans, Asians, Whites and Blacks.
But why does it matter who writes the news. Last time I checked, newspapers have and will always be printed in Black and White.
Scoop Jackson is an idiot.
He points out in his rant that "The sports experience for black people is different. It is one that hasn't and will never be shared by any other race or nationality in the country."
When did black people stop being concerned with winning and losing?
Last time I checked that's what it was, and still is all about. Yes cultural differences exist; even in celebration and during a remorseful lose. A good example is the World Cup.
But how different can it be?
A black man watches a sporting event and writes a story. 90 percent of the time a black man is going to observe the same facets of the same game.
I grew up playing sports with people of all races and winning and losing was the only thing we were concerned with.
Maybe he's preaching on the standard set by Billy Hoyle -- Woody Harrelson -- in "White Man Can't Jump." Hoyle stated that a black man would rather look good first and win second.
Is that what Scoop Jackson is talking about?
I have no idea. Does anybody?
Posted by Clayton Hein at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Comments
Clayton:
You're missing the point in Scoop's article. The point is that when it comes to being diverse, the media, especially in the area of sports journalism, is not very diverse at all. When you look at upper management positions, there are very few African Americans who are in a supervisory role.
Maybe you haven't read the APSE Study that was done by Dr. Richard Lapchick. As a journalist, surely you would have done your homework before blogging such a post.
When you are dealing with a demographic where the chances of a young man going to jail far outweigh him even thinking of becoming the next William Rhoden, Sam Lacy, Stephen A. Smith, Scoop Jackson, Michael Wilbon or even someone on a national stage like Roscoe Nance of the USA Today, the argument has less to do with who is playing the game and more about the opportunities for advancement or even just getting a look see on the job.
Can you honestly tell your readers that even your newsroom has a diverse look where there is a sense of equity in getting various points of view out? And before we call anyone an idiot, let's take a close look at our own situations?
When a lack of opportunity arises for some, they will tell others to not even try. From the standpoint where Scoop is coming from, he is talking about editors in a hiring position not willing to look outside their own cubicles and finding qualified African Americans. That in itself tells me that many editors don't care about a certain segment of their readership and that Mr. Hein is the reality in the business we call journalism; not just he myopic view of one writer who you disagree with.
