Negative Views of Race in the Media
Racial stereotypes and racial profiling share the same basic concept of a misrepresentation or negative view of a certain person based solely on their race. This misrepresentation of race in media can lead to a sense of justified racism. As Stephen Balkaran said "The media have divided the working class and stereotyped young African-American males as gangsters or drug dealers. As a result of such treatment, the media have crushed youths' prospects for future employment and advancement. The media have focused on the negative aspects of the black community (e.g. engaging in drug use, criminal activity, welfare abuse) while maintaining the cycle of poverty that the elite wants." By continuing to use these types of characters as normal or average we are supporting the downward spiral in which the minorities are unequal subhuman beings. There are no universally accepted codes or rules that journalists or news stations use when producing stories or content. The media have devoted too much time and space to "enumerating the wounded" and not enough time describing the background problems of African-Americans. What is not a crisis is not usually reported and what is not or cannot be made visual is often not televised. The news media respond quickly to the conflicts and controversies of racial stories, while for the most part, they disregard the problems that "seep beneath the surface until they erupt in the hot steam that is the 'live' news story."
Move Toward Media Equality
Although there are more negative views of African Americans within the media, people are starting to step forward and not only point out the injustice but begin a movement toward equality and reform. Below are videos of The Trya Banks show about the topic of race and how it is perceived by because of how the media has shaped our values and beliefs.
Even if women of different races such as African American, Asian, or Latino are shown in advertising they tend to have "white features". Examples would be an African American women who is biracial so she has lighter skin or as the Asian woman below has blonde hair. We are slowly moving toward a more equal representation of races in the media, however we continue to use an average looking white man or women in advertising.