It is usually Republicans who blast the media for what they consider biased or unfair coverage of their policies, but increasingly we are hearing Democrats engaging in the same behavior, apparently frustrated their agenda is not being embraced by some of their fellow Democrats and the public.
Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized reporters for what he regards as their negative coverage of his administration. To be fair, he was just sworn in on Jan. 1, 2022, but there are few signs that the policies he has so far implemented have had much of an effect.
At a news conference, Adams went a step further and blamed the lack of “diversity” in newsrooms as the reason for his negative coverage.
Adams is right about the lack of diversity in a media that regularly promotes racial, ethnic, gender and sexual orientation balance in other areas of American life.
The mayor is wrong, though, when he implies that a Black journalist would – or should – report on him more favorably than a white reporter. Such an assertion demeans the professionalism of journalists of color and suggests because of their race they should support politicians who look like them. This attitude fuels the perception among many news consumers that the media overlook too many faults among Democratic and liberal politicians. All journalists should apply the same standard to all politicians regardless of their race, gender or sexuality. It is why I have opposed professional associations made up solely of Black and Hispanic journalists. Such organizations suggest a different standard for covering the news and that is bad, not only for the profession, but for the individual reporter and opinion writer.