For every positive news story prominently featuring blacks in 2009, there were 10–12 displaying the exact opposite on a nightly basis. To find those stories, one would only have to flip on the evening news of any local affiliate.
The steady stream of headlines on some nights could have easily served as a Ku Klux Klan recruitment video, as blacks were consistently portrayed as an out-of-control, ignorant race. If there was a crime — we did it. If government largesse was being handed out — we were first in line to receive it. If there was an inarticulate witness on the scene — that person was guaranteed to be black.
That’s just how things went down on the local evening news in 2009. Is the outlook any better for 2010? Doubtful. –dewayne rogers
