Re: Just something I wrote up regarding Asians and the media

VolcanoMall wrote:
beernuts wrote:
peterlam1bm@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
beernuts wrote:
PeterL wrote:
peterlam1bm@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
The only conclusion to be made from this is either the media
is still a bastian of racism
The media is a bastian of racism, period.

I disagree. If it meant more commercials, they'd swing the other way.
And for the last time people, racism means one believes thou race is
superior. Preferring to look at Betty Nguyen on CNN instead of Joe
Blo-Chu is completely reasonable.

:)
This is the arguement the industry has used for years regarding
lack of African American representation. Their sole stance was that the
general demographics would not support the economics behind casting
African Americans in prominent roles. Obviously that was wrong.
Apparently, if you force feed the general population enough of images
that they're not used to, they'll eventually accept it. Same case can
be made for gay programs and the current growth of Hispanics in the
media. A conclusion can be made that the negative portrayals of Asians
in the media is due to either racism perpetrated by the media or the
media mirroring the general population's racist views toward Asians.
Your conclusion does nothing to excuse the more obvious conclusion
of racism towards the larger group. Predication that there is an over
representation of Asian female characters over Asian male characters in
the media because of commercial interest
does not intersect the general population's uncomfortablity with the
Asian race as much as it sits within the larger predication. If cases
can be made simply by inferring that overrepresentation of one sex of a
certian race over another is acceptable then the media would be filled
with such instances, which it isn't.

Oh yes it is. The news media is replete with women, especially pretty
ones. True, local programming usually has a white guy or two, and few
if any Asian males. But in my area, and judging from Cable, women are
everywhere in the news. I think it's fair to say the predominate.
Catie Couric taking over at CBS only underscores that.

Again, the facts do not substantiate your argument. Your point
that women make up the majority of news anchors is false.

I didn't say "anchors", I said "News media". I also didn't say
"majority". I said "replete".

From what
I've seen, the proportion of female anchors to male anchors is closer
to 50/50 than the unbalanced ratio that you've asserted.

Why are you limiting the discussion to just "anchors"? There are at
least two AM reporters in the field here in the tri-state area (e.g.
Ti-Hua Chang) and what looks like plenty more women, esp minority
women.

The anchor jobs seem to be 50/50 or slightly biased towards women;
however on CNN the female anchors appear to easily outnumber the males.

Anyway, as has been discussed before, AA are 4% of the population, and
that's clustered mostly in Cal and major metro areas. Are you
suggesting that AM are entitled to over-representation in the role of
News Anchor? Or would you be happy with parity (4%?)

This fact only further supports my argument that Asian males are
vastly underrepresented in the media since the ratio of Asian female
anchors to Asian male anchors is about 99/1. For example, there isn't a
single Asian male anchor on any news program in the entire state of New
York, yet there is at least one Asian female anchor on any given news
program. Also, the ratio of nonanchor journalists on tv favor Asian
females to Asian males by a similar degree.

And this equates to racism, per se? How, exactly? And why would AF
anchors not be victims of said racism, too? And how many capable Asian
Male journalists are applying for these high profile news anchor jobs?
1, 100, 1,000? Do you even know? How can you accuse the news media of
"racism" if you don't know that simple question? I've read at least
one interview from an prominent AF anchor that said she just didn't see
many AM in the field when she was coming up.

Let's say it is racism that's the root cause - can you cite at least
one concrete example of a news station or news media company being
successfully sued in court by an AM? I wonder if it's happened - I
mean, why wouldn't it have happened if said racism (which is illegal
hiring practices at best) really occurs? Surely some lawyer somewhere
would take that on.

Katie Couric does not underscore your argument that females make up
the overwhelming majority

Again, where is this "overwhelming majority" coming from? I said
"replete".

of news anchors in the media since she will
be the only female lead of a primary evening news program when she
takes up helm on CBS. The other programs are all male anchored.

Exactly my point - a female breaking into a position routinely
dominated by the old boys club - Dan, Peter, Tom. In fact, if memory
serves, that is one of the reasons what's-her-face claimed she was let
go from CBS when Dan took over.


Sex sells, why Asian males don't seem to intersect with that
fundamental truth I'm not sure. But I know this, media stereotypes do
not automatically equate to "racism" by any stretch.

This assertion is also flawed in the context of my larger argument.

Not really. Racism implies the belief in one race being superior to
another. If one asserts the news media is racist, they should post
concrete evidence of such.

A small number of AM performing the role of news anchors does not
necessarily equate to a massive anti-AM conspiracy across all news
stations in this country, nor does it imply the majority of non Asian
news viewers are racist or white middle aged asiaphiles. What it *may*
say something about is the likes/dislikes of the viewers and the
marketing dollars aligned with them. It's like asking why one hardly
sees any non Spanish speaking white Anglos in the role of news anchor
in Puerto Rico (if the latter race only makes up 4% of the population,
why would you expect any at all?)

Your promigation that the media has a right to choose a preference for
the sex of a certian race to promote their programming while
predominantly ignoring, and in the majority of cases denigating the
opposite sex of that race is as morally and culturally objectionable as
arguing that the media has the right to predomindantly prefer the
casting of a certain race over another while purposely promoting a
racist disregard for the portrayal of the other. If your argument for
preference were to be accepted, then the media would still be stuck in
the 1950's.

The media has a right to choose the combination of talent and looks
that they think will most likely appeal to their viewers. That this is
so often a women should hardly be a surprise. That so few AM seem to
really be interested in knocking down the doors at these places to
become news anchors (as opposed to the occasional SCAA poster who loves
to speak for them, wherever they are) is a surprise - if what you say
about the racism is true. Couple that with a mere 4% of the population
(and no hard data as to the number of AM coming through school and
applying for these anchor jobs) and what we have is a highly
speculative argument on your part with very little in the way of
substantive facts or data to back it up.

Another thing, last time I checked, and I bet even you'll agree with
this, most of the white male anchors seem to be at least middle aged or
older. The exception I've seen tends to be on cable programming and in
the job of weather anchor. If you look at new anchors, or reporters,
from the last 5-10 years, I'm betting you'll see a surprising picture.
Therefore if there truly is racism at play, it doesn't seem constant,
in fact, it seems to be on the decline.

/snipping the rest, I think I've corrected and supplied enough valid
counterargument for you to rethink your original premise/

.