Cable news filled with white men.
By on May 7th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Cable news filled with white men.
Media Matters “analyzed the race/ethnicity and gender of the hosts and guests on the major prime-time cable-news programs” for the weeknights surrounding the Imus controversy. They found that “cable news remains an overwhelmingly white and male preserve.” For all three weeks, MSNBC was the worst offender, as “93 percent of the guests on the network were white the week prior to the controversy, 70 percent were white during the controversy, and 82 percent were white in the post-controversy week.”
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Thats because white is always right!
May 7th, 2007 at 4:10 pmWell duh. White men are the ones with the money and everybody knows that money makes you both smart and entertaining.
NOT!
May 7th, 2007 at 4:11 pmWow, that means 11% of the guests permanently switched to another race! Amazing!
May 7th, 2007 at 4:15 pmJuan Williams, for example.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:18 pmIsn’t this ever going to change? Everytime the US takes a tiny step forward it takes two huge steps back.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:18 pmPat Buchanan makes up 50% of the guests on msnbc.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:22 pmThey needed a study? Jeebus, all they needed to do was turn on the damn tv.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:23 pmOlbermann should be ashamed of himself he was at the top each week. However, if you look at OReilly he has many more females than anybody else.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:29 pmNO blacks available to BLOVIATE and PONTIFICATE? Well I guess we had just better sit in our sofa’s and watch the sh*t storm know as the BUSH administration play itself out.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:30 pmf you look at OReilly he has many more females than anybody else.
That’s because he gets to phone them. You know, get out the falafil, or whatever the hell he uses, & have some quick phone sex.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:47 pmGives a whole new meaning to ‘Bill’, eh?
Should anyone honestly be surprised by this? The racial makeup of the guests on many cable news programs is not a priority or a thought, because if it were, you would see more diversity. If MSNBC or CNN or Faux News should happen to take notice of this study, they’ll be good boys and girls for the short-term, but in the long-term, this honestly won’t matter and it will be back to business as usual
May 7th, 2007 at 4:49 pmNot only is TV news and punitry dominated by white men, it’s dominated by a certain kind of white man: Irish Catholic.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:52 pmThat’s because he gets to phone them. You know, get out the falafil, or whatever the hell he uses, & have some quick phone sex.
Gives a whole new meaning to ‘Bill’, eh?
Comment by Zimzone
I don’t think any phone sex occured on the air during this study.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:57 pmHmm…
According to the 2000 census, America is 75% white, 12.5% Hispanic, 12.3% black, 3.7% Asian.
So where’s the outrage?
May 7th, 2007 at 4:58 pm“For all three weeks, MSNBC was the worst offender, as “93 percent of the guests on the network were white”
Hah, guilty of the offense of being white.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:59 pmLOL This also is an indicator of who is watchng this stuff/sh*t. The rest of us are working. We get our news from internet, network news, and/or newspapers. BOR loves to tout the demise of newspapers, especially papers he considers LIBERAL. You never hear him speak of falling circulation at conservative papers. I wonder why he cares at all about falling newspaper circulation. It is almost the “they are failing so I must be better than them” syndrome. (although the papers are not failing.)
Maybe BOR, HANNITY, PAT BUCH’, and all the other TROLL PUNDITS can make it a point to diversify their guest list with persons of color who DO NOT share their point of view. I will have found the cure for cancer when that happens.
May 7th, 2007 at 5:06 pmMaybe BOR, HANNITY, PAT BUCH’, and all the other TROLL PUNDITS can make it a point to diversify their guest list with persons of color who DO NOT share their point of view. I will have found the cure for cancer when that happens.
Comment by Texas Juice
Why didn’t you list Olbermann, as he was the worst offender?
May 7th, 2007 at 5:17 pmHey Betty, 5 out of the 9 Supreme Court justices are Catholics and 4 out of those 5 are conservative, fundamentalist catholics who, by definition, owe more allegiance to the Pope than to the people of the United States. Where’s your outrage?
May 7th, 2007 at 5:21 pmJohn M., at least once or twice a night, Keith Olberman brings Joe Scarborough on. Keith pimps Joe’s show towards the end of his.
May 7th, 2007 at 5:24 pmJohn M., at least once or twice a night, Keith Olberman brings Joe Scarborough on. Keith pimps Joe’s show towards the end of his.
Comment by Bluedog49
What’s your point?
May 7th, 2007 at 5:35 pmThe issue is not whether you are ‘white, black or any other race’…the issue remains is whether a journalist or the television. station itself ‘can be bought’ or not.
Remember..Clolin powell,Condi Rice are not white….
MSNBC also uses African Americans GOP pundits who are daily flattering GOP candidates and the party..they are always talking how great Bush is…
So, it is not race..
It is the message
But also there should be a fair representations of all segments of our society,so all can be heard…
May 7th, 2007 at 5:37 pmOne could also look at it this way: Of the 108 total Supreme Court Justices, only 11 (10.2%) have been Catholic, while 24.5% of Americans according to the 2000 census are Catholic.
May 7th, 2007 at 5:46 pmWell then where are all the great unwashed libs in the media stepping down from their posts as anchors and pundits and giving us blacks hand or a “leg” up… affirmative action please :)
Someone please give Al Sharpton a TV show please he is a great representative and well qualified (yawn).
May 7th, 2007 at 6:05 pmhello, hello, knock, knock….
what is the percentage of white people in America versus any other group?
left wing morons, always thinking in terms of colors. how truly sad.
thinkprogress.or, I am Latino and I don’t need you to defend me or stand up for me.
I wonder if you guys were outraged when left wingers called Dr. Rice Aunt Jemima, or when left wingers called Powell a traitor to his race.
I take it you would called Martin Luther Kings dad a traitor to his race since he campaigned for Nixon when Nixon ran against Kennedy.
Liberals ant their pathetic, ridiculous and moronic white guilt.
May 7th, 2007 at 6:08 pmIt should also be pointed out that on cable TV, despite its claim for diversity, there is not one genuine progressive to be found on the corporate airwaves. Keith Olbermann has said that he does not consider himself to be liberal, which is backed up by the fact that he almost never has had anyone on Countdown who can be said to represent the antiwar movement. I have written to Olbermann repeatedly but my entreaties seem to have fallen upon deaf ears. Why has Olbermann, who has not hesitated to criticize the Bush administration, not had on his program such people as Howard Zinn or Ralph Nader or Anthony Arnove [who wrote the book Iraq-The Logic of Withdrawal, which should be a must read for anyone out there who thinks that he or she is a liberal] or Jeremy Scahill or Cindy Sheehan or Lt. Watada or Kevin Zeese or George McGovern or Dennis Kucinich or Mike Gravel [whom Olbermann smeared by comparing Gravel to Zell Miller] or Michael Parenti or Alexander Cockburn or Kenneth J. Campbell [who wrote A Tale of Two Quagmires-Iraq, Vietnam, and the Hard Lessons of War] or Peter Laufer [who wrote Mission Rejected-U.S. Soldiers Who Say NO to Iraq] or David Cortright [ who wrote the classic book Soldiers In Revolt-GI Resistance During the Vietnam War] or the members of the IVAW [Iraq Veterans Against the War]? Why are these voices not heard on the network and cable news shows? Where is the outrage at not seeing and hearing voices on the corporately owned airwaves who are advocating an immediate withdrawal from that quagmire in Iraq?
The last person who dared to call himself a liberal was Phil Donahue and he ended up getting canned because he dared to challenge the need for the U.S. to go to war in the buildup to the Iraq War in the months leading up to the invasion. Before the Iraq War, there were about three or four lonely voices who were invited to be heard on the network and cable television shows. Sadly, it appears that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
May 7th, 2007 at 6:09 pmwhen will the left demand that the white left winger media monguls on cable news step down, that they lead by example and step down and give their positions in the cable news networks to Asians, Latinos, Blacks, etc….
I thought you liberals were great a race relations. Why doesn’t Olberman, Chris Matthews, Wolfbitz, etc lead by example and step down and give their jobs to Asians, Black and Latinos….
where is the left outrage? oh wait, these are Liberals, libearls don’t judge their kind with the same rules that they judge conservatives.
my bad children of the left, i forgot that most of you are pathetic hypocrites.
May 7th, 2007 at 6:12 pmTake Olbermann off and put Sharpton in his place. I’m all for affirmative action!
May 7th, 2007 at 6:22 pmJohn, the historical makeup of the Supreme court is interesting, but irrelevant. What is relevant is that less than 10% of catholics call themselves conservative catholics. Scalia is a member of Opus Dei, by the way. So, a demographic which makes up roughly 2% of the population controls roughly 45% of our highest court. I find that a little strange, especially since, as I posted, a conservative catholic, by definition, owes more allegiance to the Pope than the American people. And, remember, the Pope is the leader of a foreign government. I’m just sayin….
May 7th, 2007 at 6:27 pmErroll: “there is not one genuine progressive to be found on the corporate airwaves.”
So true. Remember, in a year in which he had the highest grossing documentary of all time coming off the heals of an Oscar as well as a bestseller at #1 on the NYT list for weeks, Michael Moore couldn’t even get on Larry King. He was nowhere to be found on all of network or cable television.
May 7th, 2007 at 6:30 pmComment by Patrick1 — May 7, 2007 @ 6:22 pm
Facts and honest vetting of the actions of the failed GOP and Dubya Bush are very difficult for you kind to accept…right?
May 7th, 2007 at 6:42 pmThis is stupid. What’s the point in pointing out race? Things happen in the news, you want to discus the issue with the top people involved in the subject. Do you put an expert in X subject to the side for the guy that is not as good an expert? “Sorry, your opinion doesn’t matter because we have already had a white guy on this subject talk.”
May 7th, 2007 at 6:42 pm“This is stupid. What’s the point in pointing out race?” said the white guy.
May 7th, 2007 at 6:47 pmOne of the reasons I don’t bother to buy cable…
May 7th, 2007 at 6:51 pmOne could also look at it this way: Of the 108 total Supreme Court Justices, only 11 (10.2%) have been Catholic, while 24.5% of Americans according to the 2000 census are Catholic.
Comment by John M — May 7, 2007 @ 5:46 pm
Right, but that would be stupid. of 108 and eight supreme court justices, only 2 have been black, or .018%, where’s your arugment now, troll? When you’re done with that, explain why only .018% of the supremes have been women while you’re at it.
May 7th, 2007 at 8:00 pmMichael Moore couldn’t even get on Larry King.
Comment by Bluedog49 — May 7, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
He’s white and slimey. He wouldn’t help with the lack of minorities and would pollute the airwaves.
May 7th, 2007 at 8:07 pm#35
Your comment is bereft of intelligence. “would pollute the airwaves”-why, because Michael Moore dared to criticize the Bush administration and its needless reason to invade Iraq, thereby causing the deaths of over 4000 Americans [counting civilian contractors] and over 655,000 innocent Iraqis?
May 7th, 2007 at 8:21 pm#32…
Wow, not racist at all. Assumptions leave you open to big falls.
May 7th, 2007 at 10:15 pmAlso #32, would it be racist to have a headline that said
“Major Sports Teams filled with black men”?
Personally, I find BOTH offensive. jesus christ
May 7th, 2007 at 10:16 pm#34
Why don’t you ask Clinton why he nominated white man Steven Breyer instead of a minority?
Want to know why Bush II did it? Because the Dimocrats insisted on blocking all worthy minority candidates to the appeals courts in his first term.
May 7th, 2007 at 10:48 pmI love the idiots who bash on Supreme Court fundamentalist catholics, when 4 of them deviate from the Catholic church’s position on the death penalty.
May 7th, 2007 at 10:49 pm“Want to know why Bush II did it? Because the Dimocrats insisted on blocking all worthy minority candidates to the appeals courts in his first term.”
Hehe, Dems did it!!!!! Shut up m12 or say something intelligent.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:41 pmWould U presume BET might be where U find the most of them?
Olbermann has that beautiful black lady announcer fill in for him when he’s away. She has charm, intelligence, fairness, and skill. Would we think this to be a qualification?
Raise your hand! How many of you are just sitting out there looking for a racial issue to jump on?
Main objective regarding race: This is Republican’s big PR through Rove: Divide and cause trouble between US citizens by whatever means available. You’ve all been duped! Again!
May 7th, 2007 at 11:42 pmI’m shocked!
May 7th, 2007 at 11:48 pmThat the headline didn’t incude the adjective “Pasty” White Men.
Well, Nota, check out the percentages of minorities in the US and compare it to the percentages of minorities in cable news. YOU have been duped. You believe that every issue has NOTHING racial in it.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:50 pm#41
In light of facts, resort to ad hominem insults.
Yup, liberal.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:08 amA serious question though. Why are liberals so threatened by black/hispanic/female conservatives?
May 8th, 2007 at 12:11 am#45 ad hominim attacks? Dimocrats block…blah, blah, blah. Shut up or say something intelligent.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:22 amIn light of facts, resort to ad hominem insults.
Yup, liberal.
Comment by m12
You don’t seem to understand the meaning of “in light of.” Or are you actually admitting that JPark insulted you after taking into account the facts?
May 8th, 2007 at 2:28 amYup, another neo-CON troll who can’t write English well
It’s not that they’re “white men.” It’s that they’re pretty faces without any credibility, curiosity, or depth who jealously guard their status as a White House invitee for Bush’s soirees. Dont’cha just love those caviar canapes? And didn’t Bush look dashing in tails? Cozy enabling bastards all.
But if you called them “empty suits” instead of “white men,” you’d've cover Katie Couric too. C’mon, Media Matters, your deliberate exclusion of the pioneer pretty face female teleprompter reader posing as a journalist exposes your sexist underpinnings. Is that why you were careful to restrict your penetrating analysis to cable?
Bottom line: who cares when the product they’re delivering is nothing but a pile of steaming crapola — propaganda and lies designed to manipulate the underinformed. Stay on point, Media Matters.
May 8th, 2007 at 9:29 amI have steadfastly watched Keith Obermann on Countdown for the past several years and am coming to the realization that not only does he not have any anti-war people on his show, he does not ever have any people of color as guests on his show. I have had to take my head out of the sand, like an ostrich, to come to this realization. I am going to switch over to PBS News, where they have a diversity of guests that reflect America. Even Lou Dobbs, whom I watch also, has a diversity of guests.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:08 pmWhy should I be surprised?
May 8th, 2007 at 11:31 pm