Journalism and American Democracy

I looked at two minority newspapers—the Indianapolis Recorder, an African-American newspaper, and EXTRA, a bilingual Hispanic newspaper based in Chicago. Both contained an interesting variety of stories from different news topics, but it was also apparent that both operate off smaller budgets than most newspapers, as the amount of articles was small compared to mainstream papers, and the design and layout of the websites were very simple. However, these papers report on important issues with great fervor from unique perspectives.

Both of these newspapers contain stories from genres such as sports, entertainment, and community events, but both also carry a healthy dose of stories on politics and public policy, and they display concern for needs of underprivileged citizens facing financial difficulties or discrimination. EXTRA published an article describing an online guide that provides information on what health care benefits the new Affordable Care Act will bring to citizens. The article notes that Latinos often face additional challenges regarding health care, such as a language barrier and a lack of insurance benefits from their jobs, and it emphasizes that the online guide is available in Spanish as well as English. EXTRA’s informative article on health care coverage has a clear aim of providing important information to Latinos who may have trouble acquiring the health care they need.

An article published by the Indianapolis Recorder addressing the significance of President Obama’s reelection for African Americans contains some explicit comments and quotes reflecting concerns about racial inequality and discrimination in America. The article mentions that an effigy of Obama in a noose had been hung from a tree in Lebanon, Indiana, and seemed to take an angle that Obama’s reelection was an expression of America’s rejection of racial prejudice. It states that Obama’s reelection “indicates that the country is not turning its back on the racial progress made when he was entrusted with the presidency in 2008.” The director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is quoted as saying, “In many ways, Obama’s reelection can be seen as resilience on the part of the African-American community.” This angle on the presidential election shows that this newspaper is interested in increasing awareness of racial discrimination and fighting to prevent its negative effects. Another quote in the article demonstrates the intense feelings many African Americans have about race relations and politics. A professor of African American Studies at IUPUI, in addressing Obama’s difficulties promoting social and economic improvement for African Americans, states, “We are in a war. The same war we’ve been in for the past 40 years. We are dealing with white supremacy.” This type of perspective on a presidential election would likely not be found often in a mainstream newspaper, and its presence encourages questioning of whether ideals of equality and social justice are being fully extended in America. This article provides insightful evidence of how the Indianapolis Recorder and other minority newspapers view power structures in America along racial lines and aim to encourage minority citizens to make their voices heard in the public sphere.

Prior to doing this bit of online research, I was unaware of the large number of minority newspapers across America, and it was interesting to see how these papers’ articles promoted the interests of their readers with bold candor. Most journalism aims to present only the facts surrounding a story with little editorial perspective, but these news sources openly present stories based on the interests of the populations they represent. These newspapers play an important role in American democracy by communicating the opinions and interests of minority groups that may not be printed in most mainstream papers.

In analyzing coverage of the presidential election across Indiana media, I looked at articles from three papers: the Indianapolis Star, the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, and the Evansville Courier & Press. One trend that I immediately noticed across all three papers’ websites was that they seemed to pay more attention to the state and local election results and aftermath than those of the presidential race. None of the three websites had a story related to the presidential election placed very prominently on their “news” or “politics” page, and I had to do a bit of searching to find their coverage of the presidential election. Most of the featured political stories on these three websites discussed the results and significance of state and local races, and most of the stories on the presidential race were picked up from other newspapers or media sources with a more national base. This smaller amount of reporting and coverage on the presidential race is probably largely due to only having the access and resources needed to directly cover local races. It may also, however, reflect the Republican leaning of the state, and knowledge that many readers will not want to read lengthy pieces touting or analyzing President Obama’s victory. Because Indiana was won decisively by Governor Romney on Tuesday, there may not be great demand for extensive coverage on a national decision that did not reflect the state’s popular opinions. The coverage of state and local elections, on the other hand, are guaranteed to deliver favorable news and analysis to at least a considerable portion of readers.

It was also interesting considering the angles by which some of the stories discussed the presidential election. One story in the Indianapolis Star focused mostly on how Romney won Indiana decidedly and how Obama was unable to generate enthusiasm in the state as he did in 2008. The story quotes a professor from Indiana University in Bloomington as saying there was “a lot less excitement” for Obama in this election than the last. The article also mentions that Obama did not visit Indiana once this election cycle, as his campaign likely sensed that chances of victory were very low. A story on the website of the Journal Gazette, originally from Bloomberg News and titled “A nation divided?”, focused on how Obama gained the votes of a large majority of minority and women voters, while Romney gained a significant majority of votes from white and male voters. This article seems to portray a narrative where there is a widening ideological gap between different segments of the American population. This narrative, along with the perspective that shows Obama failed to generate much support in Indiana, draws attention to the fact that neither candidate was able to develop a wide, diverse base of support across the country, and presents the idea that despite Obama’s victory, the nation is not necessarily united behind him. It seems that there might be a subtle yet intentional negative backdrop given to coverage of the presidential election results in these Indiana papers.