(NewsNation) — A majority of Black Americans polled by Pew Research see a number of problems with how they are covered in the news — and most don’t think that will change, at least in the near future.
The Pew Research Center surveyed 4,742 Black Americans from Feb. 22 through March 5 of this year. Of those, almost two-thirds, or 63%, said news about Black people is often more negative than when it’s about other racial and ethnics groups. In comparison, only 28% said it is equal.
More than half (57%) said the news only covers certain segments of Black communities and that coverage is often missing important information in stories. Four in 10 said they see racist news extremely or fairly often, while 41% say they sometimes see this in the press.
Pew found that these criticisms are shared widely within the Black population, “regardless of age, gender and even party affiliation.”
“(News about Black people) is not accurate. They overemphasize the bad, and not some of the good things that are happening in the community,” one 55-year-old woman who took part in a focus group said. “If they do talk about the good things, it’s just a blurb and they want to focus on the one thing (that) was just terrible.”
For those who said they see racially problematic news coverage of Black people, 51% say this is because of outlets pushing agendas, 45% say it’s because journalists are not informed and 41% say it’s because of racist views among people at these news outlets.
Others (37%) attributed these issues to the speed of the news cycle and a lack of Black staff at the news outlet (36%).
Even as few, 14%, of Black Americans say they are highly confident they will be covered fairly in their lifetimes, those asked told Pew that there are ways journalists can improve their coverage.
Over 70% said coverage of all sides of an issue is extremely or very important and that journalists should understand the history of the issues in a story they are covering.
Seeing journalists personally engaging with the people they cover is of high importance to 59% of Black Americans polled, and 48% said the same about having journalists advocate for them.
Educating all journalists about issues impacting Black communities could make coverage fairer, according to those surveyed, with 64% saying it is an “extremely” or “very effective” way of making coverage fairer.
Other things that could make a difference to Black Americans include having more Black people as sources, as well as hiring more Black people as newsroom leaders and as journalists, survey takers said.