Stereotypes Refuse To Die p. 21

By: Debra Gersh Hernandez

Journalists at Unity '94 cite some examples sp.

AFTER YEARS OF developing a national reputation, ABC News senior correspondent Carole Simpson says many people still see her as a black woman who got where she is because of special treatment.
One example out of hundreds she could have mentioned occurred at a colleague's going-away party. An executive spotted Simpson entering the room and asked where her cap and apron were and wasn't she going to serve?
As moderator of a discussion on myths and stereotypes at the Unity '94 convention in Atlanta, Simpson's story was among many.
Gary Fife, a reporter at KSKA radio news in Anchorage, said Native Americans "seem to be trapped in the past."
"What we find is that America knows more about our past and our dead ancestors," he said. "We want our colleagues to find out what we are really like. We are a diverse group of cultures."
He urged journalists to look beyond "dance or dysfunction" stories and to view Native Americans as "the first citizens, with a unique relationship to this country."
One of Fife's pet peeves is broadcast stories about Native Americans that open with flute music. Many tribes do not even use a flute, he explained, likening it to using polka music each time there is a story about Germans.
Minority groups themselves are not immune from stereotyping each other, noted Tritia Toyota from KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. Those stereotypes, she said, "hold us back and prohibit us from being a united front."
When asked how it felt to be a "model minority" as far as stereotypes, Toyota said the characterization was a simplification. "
We are an incredibly diverse community," she said.
Ray Suarez, host of National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation, said myths and stereotypes often are so deeply embedded that we don't question them. Journalists routinely ask questions about things they don't know, he said, but myths and stereotypes don't get questioned because they are part of what people do know, or presume to know.
Stereotyping "comes out of the most amazing mouths, people you'd think should know better," Suarez said.
In the news business, coverage decisions often hinge on stereotypes, he added, blaming the media for drive-by shootings of their own in which cameras do the shooting and victims often are young men in handcuffs.
Another misunderstanding stems from the word machismo, Suarez explained. When Hispanics use the word macho it is not to describe some brutish cave man who beats his wife, but a man who lives up to his responsibilities.
Melita Garza from the Chicago Tribune said from the audience, "By and large, stereotypes should not be used and encouraged. We are in a business of truth," and stereotypes are not always accurate.