As discussions surrounding fair and informed journalism continue, it remains clear that many Black Americans are eager to see changes in news coverage that accurately reflect their experiences and perspectives. That perspective became more pronounced with the release of a new report by the Pew Research Center, which sheds light on the perceptions of Black Americans regarding news coverage that often portrays them negatively compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

Based on a comprehensive survey of 4,742 U.S. Black adults conducted from February 22 to March 5, 2023, along with nine online focus groups held between July and August 2022, African Americans have expressed a growing desire for fair and informed reporting. The key findings of the multi-method report provide a nuanced understanding of Black

Americans’ views on news coverage include:

1. Perceptions of Coverage: The report reveals that 63% of Black Americans believe that news coverage about Black people tends to be more negative than that of other racial and ethnic groups. Additionally, more than half of Black adults (57%) feel that news about Black people only covers certain segments of their communities, while 50% think it often lacks essential information. Only 9% believe that the news adequately covers a diverse range of Black experiences and consistently provides the whole story. Worryingly, just 14% of Black Americans are optimistic that fair coverage of Black people will become a reality in their lifetimes, with 38% believing it is unlikely to happen.

2. Steps for Improvement: A significant majority of Black Americans, 76%, emphasize the importance of journalists covering all sides of an issue when reporting on Black people, while 73% stress the necessity of understanding the historical context behind the stories. Roughly half (48%) also call for journalists to advocate for Black people when covering them. Furthermore, 64% of those who have encountered racially insensitive coverage believe that educating all journalists about issues affecting Black Americans would be highly effective in achieving fairer news coverage. A substantial proportion also supports the inclusion of more Black voices as sources (54%), the hiring of more Black individuals as newsroom leaders (53%), and journalists (44%).

3. Newsroom Representation: Many Black Americans believe that Black journalists play a crucial role in reporting race and racial inequality news. Approximately 45% feel that Black journalists excel at covering these issues, with 44% stating that Black journalists better understand them. However, few Black Americans consider the journalist’s race as a key factor in the credibility of a news story, with just 14% believing it is vital for news to come from Black journalists, regardless of the topic.

4. Concerns Across the Black Population: Concerns about negative news coverage are widespread among Black Americans, transcending political affiliations. Both Black Republicans and Black Democrats (including leaners) express similar concerns, with 46% of Republicans and 44% of Democrats agreeing that coverage often stereotypes Black people. This starkly contrasts with the 11% in both groups who believe it does not. Additionally, Black Americans with higher education and income levels tend to hold more negative views regarding the media’s coverage of Black people.

5. The Role of Black Identity: The study reveals that Black Americans’ perceptions of news coverage vary significantly based on their identity. The vast majority (82%) of those who consider being Black highly important to their identity emphasize the importance of journalists understanding the historical context of stories. This number decreases to 55% among those who place less importance on their Black identity.

6. Sources of News and Information: The report also delves into news sources for Black Americans. At least a third of Black Americans report getting news from local news outlets, national news outlets, social media sites, and friends, family, and acquaintances. Notably, 24% state that they often receive news from Black news outlets, with an additional 40% occasionally turning to them.

The margin of sampling error for the survey’s total sample of 4,742 respondents is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

“In 1967, the Kerner Commission – undertaken by President Lyndon Johnson’s administration to investigate the causes behind urban riots – took a harsh view on the news media’s stance toward Black Americans,” the report’s researchers wrote. “The commission’s report cited sensationalist and divisive coverage as well as inaccurate and unfair representations of Black communities, concluding that ‘the journalistic profession has been shockingly backward in seeking out, hiring and promoting’ Black people, and ‘the press has too long basked in a white world looking out of it, if at all, with white men’s eyes and white perspective.’”

The researchers continued: “More than half a century later, there is continued discussion of many of the themes raised in the report. This new study asks Black Americans themselves about their experience with news today, including views around portrayals of Black people in news stories, representation in newsrooms, and where they go and whom they trust for information.”

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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held a roundtable discussion inside the Roosevelt Room of the White House with the Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The event included key figures like Dr. Tony Allen, Chair of the Board of Advisors and Delaware State University President, and Mayor Steve Benjamin, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Biden, humorously recalling their past collaborations, commended Allen’s contributions and emphasized the transformative impact of HBCUs. Allen, highlighting the unprecedented support from the current administration, lauded their $7 billion investment in the Department of Education. He underscored the vital role of HBCUs in enabling low-resourced African American students to ascend to the middle class.

“HBCUs produce 40% of all Black engineers in America, 50% of all Black lawyers, 70% of all Black doctors and dentists, and 80% of all Black judges,” Biden asserted. “And HBCUs are engineers of economic mobility helping to increase the Black middle class. When the middle class does well, everybody does well. The poor have a road up, and the wealthy still do well although they’ve got to start paying their taxes. That’s why it’s critical we invest in these universities.”

During the meeting, Allen revealed a list of recommendations, all centered on four crucial tenets set by President Biden and Vice President Harris:

1. Infrastructure Investment: This encompasses physical and technological infrastructure, aiming to align the quality of living and learning spaces with the top-tier education that HBCUs offer.

2. Research Capacity Building: Dr. Allen emphasized the unique expertise across diverse disciplines in HBCUs, with numerous institutions poised to attain R1 status.

3. Connected Pathways: The President and Vice President’s advocacy for industry collaboration ensures that HBCU students have genuine opportunities from matriculation to graduate studies.

4. HBCU Preservation and Growth: Given their pivotal role in African American students’ upward mobility, preserving and expanding HBCUs remains paramount.
Biden, resonating with Dr. Allen’s sentiments, spotlighted the substantial impact of HBCUs on various professional domains, such as engineering, law, medicine, and judiciary. He stressed that investing in these institutions is not only an investment in the Black community but a step towards fortifying the nation’s overall prosperity.

Addressing misconceptions about funding cuts, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to historic investments in HBCUs, including research allocations and significant increases in Pell Grants. He emphasized the necessity of advanced facilities, particularly laboratories, to bolster competitiveness in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Biden also touched on the urgency of supporting HBCU students through increased Pell Grants, reiterating their vital role in enhancing access to higher education. He said he’s worked for bipartisan support in helping HBCUs. “Just a few months ago, the Speaker of the House and I agreed to spending levels for the government. We were up right to the very edge, almost reneged on our debt, and — that we could fund essential priorities and still cut the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade,” Biden noted.

“Now, a small group of extreme House Republicans, they don’t want to live up to that deal, and everyone in America could be faced with paying the price for that. They’re changing it. We made a deal. We shook hands. We said, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ and now they’re reneging on the deal, which is not much of a surprise these days. And the Black community, in particular, is going to suffer if that occurs. For example, a shutdown is going to risk nutrition assistance to nearly 7 million moms and children, and it’s going to disproportionately affect Black families.”

Harris, the first HBCU graduate to ascend to vice president, expressed her deep appreciation for the work of the Board. She underscored HBCUs’ role in cultivating academic excellence and their potential to drive innovation across critical fields, from public health to artificial intelligence.

Harris emphasized the need for diverse perspectives in shaping decisions about emerging technologies, highlighting the importance of HBCU graduates in these discussions. The vice president also stressed the relevance of HBCU voices in media, ensuring comprehensive representation in storytelling.

“I strongly believe — based on experience and knowledge about what our country needs, in terms of its strength and growth and development — that our HBCUs are extraordinary centers of academic excellence and must continue to be supported, not only because of the historical role that they have played in building and helping to contribute to America’s leadership and global leadership, but also because, as the President has said: As we look forward, we know that our HBCUs are also pipelines for very extraordinary young people to enter the fields of work that we require to cure disease, to create that which we have not imagined, to supply us with the innovative approaches that will allow us to continue to work on the strength, prosperity, and security of our nation,” Harris said.

Mayor Benjamin echoed the sentiments, acknowledging the significant challenges HBCUs face, including smaller endowments, infrastructure needs, and a predominantly Pell Grant-eligible student population. He praised the administration’s dedication to addressing these issues.

Biden and Harris both highlighted the profound impact HBCUs have on the nation, emphasizing their role as engines of progress for all American, with the president noting that most HBCUs are land-grant universities.

“Land-grant universities used to be robustly supported by their state legislative bodies. They would support, in some cases, up to 60 percent of the land-grant budget for that university,” Biden stated. “From 1987 to 2000, land-grant universities have lost — Black and white — more than $13 billion in investments from the state — from the states and government to help them. And that has exacerbated the problem — particularly for Black land-grant universities, HBCUs. Everybody does better in the whole United States when the potential of HBCUs is realized. Everybody. I make no apologies for the kind of effort we’re expending on HBCUs.”

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