I thought this would be of interest on multiple levels. Ü A national survey of more than 19,000 adults by Mendelsohn revealed some dramatic differences in how consumers perceive media, based on their ethnic background. Certain brands did well across the board: the Discovery Channel and People took the top spot among every group--except African-Americans. The WeatherChannel.com swept the top ranking in Web site category. Among the findings: Mendelsohn found that BET is the highest-rated cable network among African-Americans, while four of the top five magazines are Ebony, Jet, Essence and O. African-Americans also placed the Lifetime Channel and Lifetime Movie Network in their top 10 cable channels--the only group to do so. However, African-Americans gave high rankings to news channels like FoxNews, CNN and the Weather Channel, and gave the No. 2 cable spot to the Discovery Channel, paralleling other groups to some degree. Asian-Americans also favor general news and entertainment cable channels, including CNN, Fox News, ESPN, ESPN 2 and the ubiquitous Discovery Channel. But there were some differences in cable viewing: the Food Network and Disney Channel both made the Asian-American top 10--as opposed to other groups. Among print properties, Asian-Americans gave general news titles like USA Today, Time, and Newsweek some of the highest ratings. Finally, among Hispanics, general news cable channels also rank highest--with CNN and Fox News leading the way, and Animal Planet also making a strong showing. Hispanics' favorite print publications resemble those of white consumers: People, AARP the Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Reader's Digest, USA Today and National Geographic topping the list. Lillie M. Fears, Ph.D. wrote: > Good afternoon, MAC members, > > It appears the article written by Berea Willingham that I sent > everybody last week and the subsequent discussion about a teaching > panel on this topic has really ignited a healthy discussion over the > past few days. That's great! > > Anyway, one of our members, Lillian Dunlap, of Poynter Institute, sent > the following related information today and asked me to share it with > MAC Members. Below are excerpts from her note to me in which she > announces the annual Poynter Divesity Across the Curriculum Seminar. > > Thanks again, Lillian! > > -- Lillie M. Fears, Ph.D. > Associate Professor of Journalism > Arkansas State University > & Head, Minorities & Communications Division of AEJMC > POB 2733 > State University, AR 72467 > 870.972.3210 > 870.972-3321 (FAX) > > > ------ Forwarded Message > From: Lillian Dunlap <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 14:10:48 -0400 > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Lillian Dunlap calling > > Lillie, > > When I saw your name attached to the essay at the bottom of the page, > I had to write and tell you the rest of the story. ........ > Breea Willingham, the author of the essay, says that she based the > essay on one she submitted to Poynter for the Diversity Across the > Curriculum Seminar this summer. The seminar is scheduled again for > May 20-25, 2007. I'll again be one of the seminar leaders along with > Keith Woods and others. I'd like you to consider applying as a > participant and encouraging others in MAC Division to think about > spending the week in St Petersburg. I would love to see you here. > Here's the seminar description > http://poynter.org/seminar/seminar_view.asp?int_seminarID=4073 : > > > Seminar Description: > If tomorrow's journalists are to report and write about a dynamic, > increasingly diverse society, they'll need guidance in the classroom. > Whatever the course, there's a place for teaching diversity across the > journalism curriculum. > > You'll learn: > > * How to define diversity so that students see the ways it > connects to journalism's core values > * To teach diversity modules that reinforce the universal skills > journalists need to succeed > * Strategic ways to include elements of diversity in the syllabus > throughout the course > * New ways of framing journalism's approach to matters of race, > ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and other diversity concerns > > > > ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ > > Dear MAC Member: > > My university diversity officer sent me the article below. I thought > some of you might be interested in reading it. --- Lillie Fears > > > Current News > Perspectives: Improving Race Relations One Journalism Class At A Time > By Breea C. Willingham Sep 28, 2006, 06:56 > > > I was standing in line in the Dollar Tree store recently when a > blonde-haired little girl who looked to be about 5 years old flashed a > toothless smile at me. 3Hello,2 she said. 3You have a black face. How > did you get that black face?2 > > I9m usually quick with a comeback, but the girl caught me off guard. > After pausing for a few minutes I simply replied, 3I was born with it > just like you were born with your white face.2 > > 3Oh,2 the little girl said, and went about her business. > > Imagine that little girl in my classroom 13 years from now. I > recognize that little girl in a few of my students. > > I9m an African-American faculty member on a predominantly White campus > in a town where less than 5 percent of the population is minority. > > Many of my students are from White suburban communities or small > towns, where diversity is not an issue because there is none. For many > of them, their first experiences with minorities and discussions about > race happen in my classroom. > > Getting my students to talk about race is challenging, at best, on > most days. > > And on the days when my students write papers where they call Black people > 3coloreds2 or say the majority of crimes in the United States are > committed by Black men, that goal seems more frustrating than attainable. > > The biggest challenge for me is figuring out how to use those > frustrations as learning tools and examples of precisely why diversity > is needed across the curriculum. Just as newsrooms across the nation > celebrate Time Out for Diversity and Accuracy once a year, journalism > educators need to be reminded why they have to bring these issues to > the classroom. > > I9ve always been passionate about issues dealing with race, ethnicity > and diversity, and how they relate to the media. I covered these > matters as a reporter for the Times Union in Albany, and I work hard > to incorporate them into my courses. > > For instance, during an exercise in my 3Women, Minorities and the > Media2 class I drew four columns on the blackboard and labeled each > one African-American, Asian American, American Indian or Hispanic. I > then asked the students to call out stereotypes for each group. > > The students had no problem calling out stereotypes such as 3lazy,2 > 3like to eat fried chicken2 and 3can9t speak English well.2 But when I > drew a fifth column for White people and asked for the stereotypes, > the students were hard pressed to find any. I repeated the exercise > asking for positive attributes for each group; the lists for the > minorities were considerably shorter. > > At the end I asked my students why it was so easy for them to point > out the negatives and not the positives. They all blamed the media for > portraying negative images of minorities. > > I try to teach my students that before they can even begin to report > on and write about race-related issues, they have to be willing to > talk about them first and confront their prejudices. > > Teaching that lesson isn9t always easy, and I even became discouraged > when I read course evaluations from last fall semester where some > students criticized me for talking about diversity too much in class. > > But then I read one student9s paper in the spring semester. 3Because > of this class I feel better prepared to deal with many social issues > and situations, especially race, on a day-to-day basis,2 the student > wrote. I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction knowing I at least > reached one. > > My efforts so far have taught me that adding diversity to the > curriculum is more than just adding a new course to the roster, and > simply having a 3Women, Minorities and the Media2 course is not enough. > > I9m learning it9s more about changing the way students think about and > look at diversity issues, and challenging their biases. Professors > also need to learn before they can deal with these issues as an > educator; they need to acknowledge and challenge their own biases. > > Although I have my moments when I feel like I want to give up trying > to teach diversity to the next generation of journalists, my passion > for the issue won9t let me. > > And on the days when I feel my efforts are in vain, I remember the > advice a colleague recently gave me: 3You9re the only education some > of these students will ever get on race issues. I don9t know if that9s > more frustrating than consoling, but I see it as a legitimate chance > for you to make a difference in some of their lives and in the world > around you. Yeah, it seems small-scale, but if the world9s gonna > change, it9s going to be one person at a time. At least you9re doing > some good things to try to initiate that change. Keep at it.2 > > And so I do. > > Breea C. Willingham spent 10 years as a reporter for papers in the > Carolinas and New York State. She is now a journalism professor at St. > Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y. > > > ) Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com > > All the best, > Lillian > > Lillian R Dunlap, Ph.D. > > Vice President > > Stinsights, Inc. > > 727-432-1602 > > [log in to unmask] > > www.stinsights.com > > > > > ------ End of Forwarded Message