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MODULE 1 HISTORY VS. DIVERSITY

Provide an opportunity to discuss the history of exclusion within our communities and the impact that exclusion has had on the development of our communities. By briefly looking back, each participant should be able to engage in building a new model of inclusion within their work in the media.

The news media has the opportunity to shape the discussion and define the areas of common ground through accurate, unbiased reporting.

The result: All segments of our society will participate in easing real and perceived isolation that has been a historical reality for many groups.

The media's role in the continued conflicts within a community, a state, or a nation have been the focus of studies and suggestions for change for decades. Whether the discussion is related to new immigrants or to ethnic groups that have long been a part of the national landscape, journalists have a role to play in providing residents with a sense of what the shifts in populations or the influence of long standing minority cultures means to the development of the nation as it stands today or as it will be in the future.

Every nation has one or more groups that are not considered part of the mainstream. In England, immigrants from the former British colonies of Africa, the Caribbean, or South Asia have for decades complained of exclusion, stereotyping, and hatred from whites. For most of the former colonies of European nations, there has been a negative reaction when citizens from the colonies have moved to the land with which, because of historical circumstance, they share a language. Immigrants from former colonies have discovered, much to their dismay, that having a language in common does not necessarily mean a welcoming attitude.

In many other countries in Europe, the presence of immigrant populations has brought forth misconceptions and mistrust that are often not understood or addressed until major conflict occurs. Meanwhile, in other nations the divides of culture have existed for hundreds of years without redress.

Reporters, just like the rest of the populace, are often caught off guard, unable to gather the historical perspective to promote community understanding and tolerance. Rather, journalists have been accused of fueling conflicts and hatred, and of exacerbating divisions in communities because we have not been able to provide true historical perspective as we cover the news.

The societal history of exclusion has taken its toll across the world. There is no state that has been left untouched by the conflicts that arise from differences that exist, or that we perceive as existing and making us different from our neighbors.

Today, many members of our community may not know why historical exclusion began; however, all know that exclusion is an integral part of the fabric of community life. Those who are in the minority are or consider themselves to be invisible. Sooner or later, those who are excluded will become frustrated, will demand inclusion, and their demands may engender a reaction that leads to more intolerance, bias, further exclusion, or violent conflict.

The news media have a pivotal role in easing the tension created by historical exclusion. The news media provide an opportunity for all people to participate through the free flow of information, a safe place for debate and, while the debates rage, the opportunity to be included in coverage of the community on matters that are central to day-to-day life. In fact, the first step is the inclusion of all groups in day-to-day coverage of social issues such as health and welfare, community economics, education, and family life. If these issues are seldom covered by the news media, it is important to consider the value of building tolerance for diversity by providing information that points to how various groups are in their expectations regarding the quality of their everyday lives.

It is the coverage of everyday life with an eye to including everyone that provides journalists with the rare opportunity to build a diverse community process without relying on partisanship. Journalists are to be or to become the recorders of life in our communities. They have the opportunity to move throughout the community gathering information, gathering facts that they can knit together into stories of the lives of the people who make up the nation.

Journalists, without being partisan, can create a public space for discussion that leads to common ground within diverse communities.

Example: A newspaper journalist develops a series of stories about economic strife in a major city. The reporter works hard to find sources from various ethnic, racial, or religious groups, older residents, and women who are struggling economically. By carefully choosing the sources to be used, the journalist has taken a step toward creating a common group as readers who have the opportunity to see that they share experiences with people they believed irreconcilably different.

Have you had the experience of working on a story with a person or persons from a different ethnic, religious or racial background? What was the hardest part of the experience? What was the reaction from the person or persons who were your sources?

Were you able to use the information in a story? Was the story specifically about the ethnic or racial group only? Would the story have been more effective if the scope were expanded to discuss the realities of economics across racial or ethnic lines?

Next, the leader should provide a second example that the participants will discuss in small groups of three or four. Each small group should develop a coverage plan to improve the story's inclusiveness.

The seminar leader should then ask each small group to develop at least three conclusions related to diversity gleaned from the discussion in this module. The "Lessons Learned" are recorded and posted on the seminar room walls.

The seminar leader must make it clear to the journalists that this exercise shows that the inclusion process will help journalists in their role as writers of history while providing an opportunity for a balanced, comprehensive, and inclusive view of the community to the news media's consumers.

Based upon the notes, each participant should be able to state one action step that they will use to add a new historical context in their coverage. Each participant should be very specific about the next step. The seminar leader should seek specifics that can be taken home and used by each participant. A form for action steps is available at the end of the manual.