A BALTIMORE TELEVISION station reported on Black Friday events and accidentally put "Black Holiday Shoppers" in the lower-third (rather than labeling them as "Black Friday Shoppers").Does the newscast have a responsibility to apologize to their audience?
In the age of the Internet, when information is old news in a matter of moments, do the media have to have every fact immediately correct? Or, as a society, have we just accepted that what we learn from the media may or may not be true?
Is that a problem?
How would you handle the Black Friday mistake - or better yet, this incredible story?
5 comments:
I think that it is still the media’s job to get the information correct, but I do not think they need to apologize for saying “black holiday shoppers.” I feel that our society tip toes around the issue of race and feels that they need to be politically correct at all times. I do not think people would be that offended by what the caption said. I think if they really felt the need to say anything about the “incident” they should make a joke about it. It wasn’t done on purpose and they shouldn’t have to apologize for it.
I don't believe that it was a big deal that "black friday" and "black holiday" was mixed up. I don't think it was meant to be taken the wrong way, or as a racial slur towards blacks, because every race shops on this day. If it was a more obscene or vulgar mistake, then I believe they should have to apologize. I do believe the media's job is to broadcast correct information, but no one is perfect and minor mistakes can be made. In the end, it is up to society to believe what they want.
It was just a lexical slip-up. I never detected any racial undertones in coverage of Black Friday (and I watched quite a bit, it's entertaining), it was just an awkwardly-worded phrase.
<> (Scott S.D. Weiss)
In a world that is NO PLACE FOR HATE, where no one knows their fate, the leaves fall of the tress in the fall, when Obama was elected we all saw: We all live in a diverse world... We all live in different ways... People come in different colors... But we try to be equally the same, but we try to be equally the same. In this Black Friday manner, all humans focus on one factor: the nefarios discounted prices when they arrive extremely non-tardy to the stores. The shopping day seems to have the reference of "Black Friday" since businesses that are in the "black" make success in their business transactions (in the "red" states that your business is struggling to make decent profit). "Black Friday" is not a national holiday- it is the day after Thanksgiving for the annual opening for Christmas/ gift purchasing. The news station intended to deem "Black Friday" as a holiday (which is a tradition, not a national holiday), meaning that the comment could have been viewed as " That is a holiday for that race only... You son of a DARNEY PARKER!"
-Scott Samuel David Weiss
Temple Class of 2015, Journalism
12/02/2011,5:47 AM
I do not think the newscast would need to apologize for this. It was an innocent, honest mistake. There wasn't any intention for it to be a racial slur, or for it to seem derogatory. If it was done purposely, then I think an apology would be rightfully expected. Everyone makes mistakes, including the media. Society needs to accept that.
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