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The news is usually considered the most reality-based programming on television. People tune into the news to learn about the current events and stay on top of global occurrences. Inherent in this dynamic is trust. Viewers trust newscasters and journalists to portray reality in a truthful way. The reality, however, is that newscasters are storytellers and stories can be told in many different ways.
The Newscaster as the Storyteller
The perpetuation of racial and cultural stereotypes is often carried out unconsciously. A newscaster or journalist who interviews people after a traumatic event or during a newsworthy activity will portray reality through his or her own view. Along with this reality is that no human being is without prejudices or weaknesses. The journalist is no different. The questions asked and interpretations of situations will be directly related to how that journalist was brought up and his or her own personal beliefs about people as a whole.
Stereotypical Images in the News
Stereotypical images on television often present a minority racial group as perpetrators of crime, women as helpless creatures and particular cultures as being backwards or possessing undesirable traits such as being smelly or uncivilized. These images are often selected subconsciously beginning as fundamental beliefs on the parts of journalists who haven’t yet taken the opportunity to challenge their own ways of seeing the world.
Challenging Stereotypes
As humanity grows and transforms, individuals will be forced to challenge their personal beliefs about the inferiority of particular societal groups. Only as this process occurs will the television news also reflect this change and represent the true potential of each individual and group.
