NT-3331

Robert Lipsyte
Old time newspaper men like to describe journalism as comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. But these days it seems as though everyone feels afflicted by journalism. Now, if you don't have a high powered public relations force, or the cloud of advertising you can cancel, what can you do? Welcome to the 11th Hour, I'm Robert Lipsyte. This is a story about a community organization that felt afflicted by the New York Post. If you haven't read about their anti post campaign, well, that might just be part of the affliction.

Robert Lipsyte
The Reverend Calvin Budds also delivers a news update.

Robert Lipsyte
In New York City, more than 60 African American churches have committed themselves to sermons such as this, and congregations are being told to pass up the Post with the same fervor. They were told to vote for David Dinkus. The Post denies the charge of racism and refuses to acknowledge that such a boycott exists. Post busters was born here in the Roy Wilkins Family Center in St. Albans, Queens. The campaign was Oregon Eyes by CEMOTAP, Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People. The Executive Committee is planning the second week of Post Busting activities, a letter writing campaign, and the distribution of posters and buttons.

Betty Dopson
We have 10,000 more buttons that just came off the market. So we're looking to expect you to see that everybody that you know, have one of these on their lapel.

Betty Dobson
We're gonna have people standing at the subways to get people to become posted by purchasing these buttons.

Robert Lipsyte
The Post campaign is the group's first boycott. CEMOTAP has been monitoring print and electronic journalism in New York City for the past three years. Two years ago, they met with New York Newsday, Gary Hoenig, who was an executive at Newsday at that time.

Dr. James McIntosh
You mentioned the ministers, but there's a tremendous support from the community groups that I've met with
Robert Lipsyte
on the CEMOTAP agenda is a letter asking merchants to stop selling the Post.
Dr. James McIntosh
In the merchants letter that we got together, you realize that we asked them to distribute the African American press,
Robert Lipsyte
Dr. James McIntosh, a psychiatrist is co chair of CEMOTAP.

Betty Dopson
There is no attempt on the part of the Post to show the wholeness of black life. This is a very dangerous thing that is happening. It is preparing this society to look upon us as people who contribute nothing. And that's entirely not true. It also prepares individuals to treat you in a very racist manner. For example, look at this cartoon that appeared recently, he chose the mayor of New York City with an axe varied in his head. And this axe indicates it's a budget. This is a very violent cartoon. And I suggest to you that it's only this violence simply because our mayor is an African American.
Robert Lipsyte
The New York Post, with a circulation of about 500,000, ranks third of New York's four daily newspapers. A quarter of its readership is black.
Gary Hoenig
More and more, when we talk about New York City when he talks about the electorate in New York City, you're talking about so called minorities and not a minority anymore. There are a majority, if the posts or any other newspaper is going to succeed again into the next decade and ultimately into the next century. They're gonna have to find a way to get readers among those populations. And I don't think they can afford the kind of boycott we're talking about here.

Robert Lipsyte
Joining me is Betty Dopson and Dr. James McIntosh of CEMOTAP. And Gary Hoenig, editor of News Inc, a trade publication for the newspaper business. You've just seen them all on tape. Now, Jerry Notman, editor of the Post was invited, but declined. He told me that giving CEMOTAP attention would give them undeserved credibility. But he did tell me that he tried to call you, Betty Dobson, and that you didn't return his call. Was this a tactical decision?
Betty Dopson
He called it was a decision that I made. We wrote a letter to Peter Calico back in May of Yes, right. And at that time, we indicated to him we had some concerns about the Posts' coverage in a way it portrayed African Americans. And he had a female call about 30 days later. And she asked for more information on the organization. However, they never granted us an appointment. So for Notman to now be concerned about meeting with us, it seems, you know, a little after the fact

Gary Hoenig
I think tactically, if you're talking about the short term, this is the best possible time. If you look at the Post situation. Remember, this is a failing business that exists at Peter Calico's largest. The only opportunity for the post to really come back as a viable newspaper lies in what happens to the Daily News. If you presume that the news goes on strike. The scenario is can Newsday or the post get enough papers out there and then attract enough readers permanently to be a strong force and overtake the news if it comes back at all? I think that could be hurt substantially by this kind of boycott. And so far as blacks represent a kind of readership that both papers need to pick up if they're going to be viable.
Robert Lipsyte
Now, I can understand why why the Post hasn't been covering the CEMOTAP story. But neither it seems as any other of the four mainstream dailies. Is this. Is this what newspapers do when the story is about themselves?

Robert Lipsyte
And that's long term, CEMOTAP's and let's talk about short term, CEMOTAP met with Newsday, back when Gary Hoenig, was there was that work? Did you get the changes you wanted?
Betty Dopson
We there were changes, I have to say that there changes were made. The changes were made in the areas of photographs. We found that most of Newsday, these photographs were covering African American issues and concerns had dealt with negative depressing situations. We also took great exception to the fact that Newsday featured a number of front page stories where black men were in handcuffs and chains being taken off to jail. And that was one of our meeting points. They promised never to do that again. And at this point, we haven't seen that appear on the front page again. There were some other concerns that we had, and that was the sparse coverage. The fact that most of it was negative just as he as indicated earlier, and also the fair fact that they had no black expression of opinion in terms of a columnist. And of course, we weren't sure of the number of African American reporters. But in meeting with them, we were able to determine that they that they did exist. And since that time, they are writing a little more and their coverage around the African community is a bit more sensitive than than before. So yes, there were changes, just simply by sitting down and being in dialogue with the editors, we saw some changes.

Richard Cohen
The problem is even knowing who to yell at. The media today is such big business. news organizations today are as faceless and anonymous as any major corporation. News consumers don't like what they read or see on television newscasts, maybe madder than hell, but have little idea what to do about it.

Richard Cohen
People may wonder why a news event or a slice of the population is covered the way it is, or not covered at all. People often think that news tilts unfairly toward one political poll or another and always away from those who wield little political power at all. Sometimes, complaints against the press are real and important and necessary. Sometimes they're only imagined. But always the press just doesn't want to hear about it. News people hold every institution and all individuals accountable. They demand complete answers to all questions when they want them. But should the press a most powerful force in the lives of all people be held accountable for anything? No way. First Amendment, hands off The process, not thin skin or a road. It's no skin, so there can be no satisfaction for citizens seeking redress with the press. It's no wonder watchdog groups exist. In the era when consumerism altered the face of business and introduced the notion of corporate responsibility, there exists a desperation to make the press more responsive and responsible. The trouble is often that these groups have an axe to grind on one issue or simply a general point of view held sacred. These watchdog groups become hypersensitive and frequently overreact to reporters stepping on or even near their toes. Accuracy In Media, perhaps the best known anti present vigilante, sees a communist or at least a liberal over every typewriter. They harass news organizations with their conspiracy concoctions, and never addressed the real grievances that ought to be aired. GLAAD, a gay and lesbian activist group sees homophobes in every newsroom. They attack journalists for saying anything critical about them. Ask Andy Rooney about that. There is a climate of defensiveness in the press when these groups swing into action, however legitimate their claims. We may not like the issues they raise, but without them, no issues would be raised at all.

Craig Davidson
Yeah, we got a lot of results. First of all, we did get a meeting eventually. I strongly feel that we got a meeting because we were willing to go down to South Street and demonstrate in front of the Post. We did tone down the AIDS coverage and we have gotten the Post to provide some better coverage of our community? Course in media? Who owns the paper gonna give in time? Who's the editor given time? It goes up and down. But overall, we think we've made some progress.
Robert Lipsyte
You think CEMOTAP will make progress based on what you know about it?
Craig Davidson
I think they will, if they it up, basically all of us are making arguments that a reasonable arguments, you shouldn't rely on stereotypes. You shouldn't have insults against minorities. And if you keep at it, you can eventually convince the media that that's true.
Robert Lipsyte
Yeah. Jeff Cohen, I don't understand why do we need this? I mean, the press is supposed to be the watchdog of democracy. Why do we need watchdogs watching the Watchdogs?

Joel Dreyfuss
Well, as far as I know, the New York Post has one black reporter on its entire newsstaff, and no editors, nobody who has any sane a decision making process. And that has been a battle that we've been fighting for 20 years. And that's the the fact that we used to joke as young black reporters in the media that at once we wrote a story, it was never again touched by Black Hand, that it was handled by people who were at best ignorant. And you know, I don't think that you you don't often find the rabid racist in the newsroom. But you find people who are just not very knowledgeable about these communities, you find people who have no interest in these communities, and therefore they don't think anything that happens is important. The tragedy is that these papers and news organizations are shooting themselves in the foot. I mean, if the post, the PISA here earlier said the post had a 25% black readership well, how far how much can you keep insulting people and then wanting their dollars? There was a piece I wouldn't let the other papers off the hook. There was a piece a couple of weeks ago in the New York Daily News about the high number of young black men in prisons, and it said, you know, I think it was a national figures. 25% of men in a certain group had had some contact with the prison system. The New York Daily News did a story saying the number is even higher in New York, and it says 80% of the inmates in the New York jails are black. Well, the statistics are totally unrelated. They one has nothing to do with the other. And I called and complain to an editor, but nothing happened. And this is where you see, I don't think somebody said, you know, I don't think they're a bunch of rednecks sitting around a table saying let's do this. But I think there's a lot of ignorance and a lot of, again, a lack of diversity. The people who do this are all alike.

Robert Lipsyte
FAIR is an overall media watchdog as a we're GLAAD is what would be called a special interest group. Is that tactic yours?

Craig Davidson
Well, I really object to the to the term of special interest group because sort of going along with what Jeff said, it's special interests are in charge of the media now. They're basically corporate and most of the reporters are white straight men, so that the news is not being reported by the media now, in some objective way. And it's not groups like us coming in and somehow sullying the current objectivity of the media. The point is that there's a particular group with particular values that's in charge of the media, and groups like ours who've been left out. So so the special interest, I think it's a slightly loaded term. What we do is represent the gay and lesbian community, which suffers several disadvantages in the media, like the African American community, we're very subject to stereotypes, and to reporters, not knowing anything about our community, and therefore not covering it. We think that we suffer a little more from the fact that that overt homophobia being called names, is still publicly acceptable. And it's publicly acceptable in the media. So that we face that level of problem to

Robert Lipsyte
I was chatting with Joel Dreyfus, Craig Davis, and Jeff Cohen. Thanks so very much for being with us. That's the 11th hour I'm Robert Lipsyte.
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Funding for the 11th Hour is made possible by grants from the Woodward Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust, the Commonwealth Fund, the Carl C. Icahn Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Jacob Burns Foundation, and the Members of Thirteen.