Fewer Than Half of Black Americans Say News Outlets Cover Issues Important To Them, Study Shows
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Bias in news coverage has long been a frustration of Black people, but in new research, it turns out less than 50 percent of Black Americans say that the coverage presented on news outlets are important to them.
According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, four out of 10 Black Americans believe that their issues are not prioritized in news coverage in comparison to other ethnic groups. Asians came in at 38 percent and Hispanics at 37 percent. 54 percent of White Americans say the news outlets cover the issues that they consider important.
The study also revealed that more than half of Black Americans consider health care and medicine (66 percent), crime (58 percent), economy and jobs (57 percent), and education and schools (54 percent).
Per the report, Black Americans are interested in issues such as “cost of living, housing, poverty, employment and wages, the racial wealth gap, financial literacy, and “local economic conditions and opportunities.”
The data collected in the study comes from a larger Center study of Black Americans’ experiences with news, in which many were highly critical of how the media portrays Black people.
One of the key factors of the study is the access that Black Americans have to quality news coverage. About 24 percent say it’s neither easy nor difficult while 14 percent say it’s very or somewhat difficult.
The Pew study could also be insightful in understanding why Black Americans are not as enthusiastic about the Biden-Harris ticket as they were in the last presidential cycle.
According to GenForward of the University of Chicago, seventeen percent of the Black voters surveyed said they would vote for Donald Trump. The former president received just 8 percent of the Black vote in 2020
Another poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College showed that 22 percent of Black voters in crucial swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, said they would vote for Trump.
In conclusion, Black Americans shared in the study that they would like to see “more encouraging news stories” that highlight “the good that a community does” and news that showcase “Black or African Americans in a positive light.”
