THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 7, 1995 TAG: 9509070447
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CHARLISE LYLES
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
About 28.1 lines per life. That's how much newsprint the recent killings of four black men in Portsmouth were worth in Virginian-Pilot pages.
The measure for a white Virginia Beach teenage girl: 200 lines plus color photos.
In Kankakee, Ill., last week, reporters and cameras followed police all over town in search of a white child's killer. The killing of a black child went virtually unnoticed.
The police chief himself felt compelled to speak out: ``The disease of racism has brought about the cancer of indifference,'' William Doster wrote in the local newspaper.
Some Pilot staffers see a definite disparity in news coverage of white victims, particularly women, vs. black men. Wildly uneven coverage suggests that society values the lives of whites more than those of African Americans.
Reporter Toni Whitt called the public editor - just like you do when you get fed up with me.
``I certainly hope we're not ignoring the Portsmouth murders because the victims are black or because we have an indifferent attitude toward human life in the city of Portsmouth,'' Whitt said.
Her comments upset members of the crime team who wrote the stories.
``She implied there was a racial problem,'' said Dick Bayer, crime team leader. ``The reporters didn't feel that was a fair thing to say.''
Whitt said that was not her intention.
Computer messages lit up. The newsroom was abuzz. Some ugly insults were exchanged. Feelings got hurt.
This from journalists. The people charged with reporting the racist ways of public officials, politicos and the likes of LA/O.J. detective Mark Furhman. The liberal media that often pat themselves on the back for being on the cutting edge of overcoming.
Yet, we squirm when asked to examine our own racial attitudes as they affect our coverage of the news.
Me included.
More than a few times, I've cowered at broaching certain race matters for fear of raising discomfort levels.
Maybe the current outcry over coverage is an entree for honest dialogue at the Pilot.
There's talk of diversity training for reporters and editors.
And so far, two editions of the Pilot's weekly in-house newsletter have focused on the murder coverage issue.
Also, Whitt has been assigned to talk with Portsmouth residents about crime. Why is there so little community outcry?
As part of her research, Whitt found that between 1993 and 1994, not one of 36 murders in Portsmouth made the MetroNews front.
Almost all the victims were black men. Three were white.
I don't know about you, but here's the message I'm getting: When certain people in a certain city of a certain race lose their lives at the hands of a killer it's just not news.
So, yeah. These news pages are part of the problem.
What can we do about it?
This dialogue that has begun, albeit rough, painful, angry and laced with other issues, is good.
Some are uneasy about it, others downright uncomfortable, feeling the way we journalists are paid to make others feel.
But if we have the guts to continue, openly and honestly, we just might be able to deliver a more fair reflection of the world to your doorstep each day. by CNB