Reporting on Race

This week, President Biden outlined his commitment to addressing racial equity and righting historical wrongs. But Black journalists have been trying to sound the alarm on the consequences of racism and extremism for years. In predominantly white newsrooms, their calls were often met with skepticism and dismissiveness, and as a result, we’ve all paid the price. 

Journalist Farai Chideya has covered every presidential election since 1996. Her resume includes stints at CNN, ABC News, and FiveThirtyEight. She knows first-hand what it’s like to try to tell stories of racial animus, only to be silenced by white gatekeepers. In addition to being a journalist, Farai is also a media analyst. As a fellow with Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, she studied the lack of diversity in American newsrooms.

Farai recently started her own newsroom, serving as creator and host of Our Body Politic, a politics podcast about women of color. It’s produced in collaboration with public radio stations KCRW, KPCC, and KQED. She joins Trymaine Lee to discuss the ways in which institutionalized bias in mainstream media led to inadequate coverage of race under Trump, and the lessons journalists need to keep in mind during the Biden administration. 

Further Reading and Listening:

• Listen to Farai Chideya’s podcast Our Body Politic
• Biden signs executive actions on racial equity
• Into America: Into Please Stop Talking to Me About Race