October 19, 2006
Queens, New York -
The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic
Development at St. John's University School of Law ("The
Ronald H. Brown Center”) issued a comprehensive
report entitled: Rethinking the Discourse on Race: A Symposium
on How the Lack of Media Affects Social Justice and Policy.
The Report examines the lack of diversity in print and broadcast
media in front –of –the –camera, behind-the-camera, and in actual
media content. The Report gives examples of how the coverage of
racial minorities that does exist reinforces stereotypes and
distorts images of these groups. Some of these stereotypes and
distortions arise from structural, economic and cultural issues in
media reporting. These media absences, distortions and stereotypes
shape the discourse at the nexus of race and public policy. This
Report will be published in an upcoming issue of the St. John’s
Journal of Legal Commentary.
Professor
Leonard M. Baynes, the Director of The Ronald H. Brown Center,
plans to testify and submit the Rethinking the Discourse on Race
Report at a Town Hall Meeting at Hunter College on Thursday,
October 19, 2006 during which Federal Communications Commissioners
Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps plan to take testimony to be
used in the upcoming Media Ownership Proceedings. In
addition, Professor Baynes is working with several other media
scholars on a joint letter that they also plan to submit to the FCC
advising them on what future studies the FCC should conduct before
they loosen the current FCC cross ownership and national ownership
rules.
> FCC
Hearing Testimony
> FCC
Studies Letter
For more information, please contact Leonard M. Baynes,
Professor of Law and Director of The Ronald H. Brown Center for
Civil Rights and Economic Development at (718) 990-6600 or baynesl@stjohns.edu.