Does Diversity in the White House Press Corps Matter?

Does Diversity in the White House Press Corps Matter?

WGBH-TV Boston PBS, Greater Boston on
Diversity of the White House Press Corps

See video of the show segment at:

http://www.wgbh.org/gb/

Beat the Press
Jan 16, 2009

Issue:
Does Diversity in the White House Press corps matter?

Emily Rooney daughter of 60 Minutes personality, Andy Rooney, and Host of Greater Boston, asks Should networks look to diversify their White House press reporting staff?

She said “the majority of the White House press corps is white.” The majority of the population of the country is white. The majority of the world is non-white. 16 percent of the world is white.

She mentioned Howard Kurtz’ column “Pallid to the Corps,” in the Washington Post, January 12, 2009. [Title changed online to “A Pale Reflection of America.”]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011102157_pf.html

and Jeff Jacoby’s January 14, 2009, column in the Boston Globe “Why should a journalist’s race matter?”

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/01/14/why_should_a_journalists_race_matter/

Jacoby asks, “But why should it matter to anyone but a racist whether a White House reporter is black or white? Well, says Michael Fletcher, a colleague of Kurtz's, ‘you would want to have black journalists there to bring a different racial sensibility.’ [. . .] [Jacoby asks,] ’Do you know of any news organizations that are fretting over the “relative paucity” of evangelicals, Southerners, or Republicans on their payrolls?’”

Why are there no reporters with disabilities? To rephrase the question who cares about the paucity of persons with disabilities among the White House press corps?

Rooney said “it is something that is always true about discussions that go on in newsrooms across America. There’s always something that somebody of a different racial or ethnic background would think of that somebody else wouldn’t.”

Who speaks for persons with disabilities? That is what I’ve been complaining to Rooney about her show for a few years. Her response was to ban me from Boston. She has yet to have on a person to describe the perspective of being accused of having a psychiatric disability. Her guests include psychiatrists who boast of how great their drugs are. To Rooney access to treatment is what rights are about. Not the Constitutional Rights enjoyed by others just treatment.

Cassie Crossley, woman of color commentator said “it’s not about objectivity, it’s about fairness. There are different perspectives, which give a fuller picture,” she said. This is the “browning of America,” she added. “We are representative of what America is all about.” She added, “The White House Press corps should look like America.”

There are more persons with disabilities than there are persons of color. But to Crossley color trumps other categories. If brown color brings a fuller picture, what does no persons with disabilities bring?
If being representative of America is essential why are there no persons with disabilities among the White House Press Corps? Why is this not an issue for Rooney, Crossley or the other pundits on her show and elsewhere?

Joe Sciacca Boston Herald reporter, said, “politics should be color blind. If we say only African Americans can cover Barack Obama’s administration that is tokenism. Networks will appoint someone because of the color of his skin.” Does that mean that there are no persons with disabilities who are qualified to be a White House reporter?

Dan Kennedy, Journalism professor at Northeastern University whose daughter has a disability, said, people “do want that diversity and range and perspective and background. And it isn’t just let’s have more African American reporters. It’s let’s have more reporters from a variety of different ideologies and personal backgrounds.” Why is this not an issue for reporters with disabilities?

Kara Miller, reporter for the Metro West Daily News, said, “this is an issue not just for the White House press corps. It matters for the Sunday night news and for local news too. Same thing applies to persons with disabilities. How many local TV, radio, and print journalists have disabilities? Moreover, persons with physical disabilities are often as biased against persons accused of psychiatric illness as “normal” people.”

Cassie Crossley added “It’s been an issue not just for Barack Obama.” Yes, and disabilities being absent from the minds of reporters has been an issue with Rooney and all other media outlets for the same period of time.