Media 2070 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 97
EPILOGUE
THE CITY OF ANGELS LOOKS INWARD
As we were preparing to release this essay, The Los Angeles
Times published an editorial in which leaders apologize for
the paper’s long history of racism.1
The editorial states: “On behalf of this institution, we
apologize for The Times’ history of racism. We owe it to
our readers to do better, and we vow to do so.”
It is critical for media institutions locally and nationally,
like The Los Angeles Times, to reconcile the harms they
have caused through racist news coverage, for editorial
positions that have supported white supremacy, for the
racism Black journalists and other journalists of color
have faced in newsrooms, and for the impact of narratives
weaponized to uphold policies that dehumanize Black
people and other communities of color in protecting a
white-racial hierarchy.
It is also critical to address the structural racism that
has resulted in government policies that have allowed
big white owned-and-controlled media — and now tech
companies — to be the dominant players in our media
industry, creating a de-facto media-apartheid system.
The Los Angeles Times apology serves as another reminder
why we are launching Media 2070. It is crucial that
we repair the harm of anti-Black racism in our media
institutions and policies in the struggle to achieve a
multiracial democracy.
1. “Editorial: An Examination of The Times’ Failures on Race, Our Apology and a Path
Forward,” The Los Angeles Times, The Times Editorial Board, Sep. 27, 2020: https://www.
latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-09-27/los-angeles-times-apology-racism
Los Angeles Times newspaper
Image by Flickr user neeravbhatt
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