Culture Bias in the Media
Cultural Bias in the Media
By Daniel L. Wilson
Peru State College Culture Bias in the Media
Studying the trends in regards to portrayals of minorities in media, in television and programming in relation to the impact portrayals have on viewers ' attitudes and beliefs, serves two main purposes: (1) it is important to understand the degree of how minorities are depicted so that changes, if needed, can occur; and (2) there is a need to determine if the portrayals of minorities on television exacerbate racial stereotypes (Mastro, 2000).
Devine (1989) contended that the negative perceptions and stereotypes of racial minorities are widely held and culturally embedded intentionally and inadvertently within the American public. Continuing with stereotypes on television does nothing to help the situation. "Minimal representation, in conjunction with possible stereotyping, would accentuate the probable impact of television on racial perceptions" (Mastro, 2000, p. 698). The purpose of this paper is to review portrayals of minorities on television.
History of Minorities and TV The history of minority exposure on television has been well documented. In the 1950 's, members of the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, "pledged racial or nationality types shall not be shown on television in such a manner as to ridicule the race or nationality" (MacDonald, 1992, p. 4). NBC also launched a PR campaign to improve its relations with African-Americans. They published guidelines for the equal portrayal of minorities on TV (MacDonald, 1992). These guidelines included making a predominate lead character a minority, including a large mix of minorities in group shots and casting minorities as "friends." During the 60 's, stereotyping and exclusion was still prevalent in television. "Television that featured an African-American as a host or guest star, the show was cancelled due to politics, poor ratings and/or inconsistent sponsors"
By Daniel L. Wilson
Peru State College Culture Bias in the Media
Studying the trends in regards to portrayals of minorities in media, in television and programming in relation to the impact portrayals have on viewers ' attitudes and beliefs, serves two main purposes: (1) it is important to understand the degree of how minorities are depicted so that changes, if needed, can occur; and (2) there is a need to determine if the portrayals of minorities on television exacerbate racial stereotypes (Mastro, 2000).
Devine (1989) contended that the negative perceptions and stereotypes of racial minorities are widely held and culturally embedded intentionally and inadvertently within the American public. Continuing with stereotypes on television does nothing to help the situation. "Minimal representation, in conjunction with possible stereotyping, would accentuate the probable impact of television on racial perceptions" (Mastro, 2000, p. 698). The purpose of this paper is to review portrayals of minorities on television.
History of Minorities and TV The history of minority exposure on television has been well documented. In the 1950 's, members of the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, "pledged racial or nationality types shall not be shown on television in such a manner as to ridicule the race or nationality" (MacDonald, 1992, p. 4). NBC also launched a PR campaign to improve its relations with African-Americans. They published guidelines for the equal portrayal of minorities on TV (MacDonald, 1992). These guidelines included making a predominate lead character a minority, including a large mix of minorities in group shots and casting minorities as "friends." During the 60 's, stereotyping and exclusion was still prevalent in television. "Television that featured an African-American as a host or guest star, the show was cancelled due to politics, poor ratings and/or inconsistent sponsors"
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