Are we a bunch of 'incognizant racists?'

I recently read a book called, White News: Why Local News Program Don’t Cover People of Color by Don Heider. In the context of two local, state-coverage news stations – one in Albuquerque, N.M. and the other in Honolulu ¬– Heider explains that news programs often fall into a cycle of “incognizant racism” when covering non-white races and ethnicities. That is to say, they are not openly racist, but still perpetuate stereotypes, sometimes without even realizing it. For his study Heider goes to the local news stations were he observes and interviews many different levels and races of newsroom employees and non-white viewers and community members. In Honolulu, Heider observes coverage of native Hawiians, Samoans and Asian-Americans, and in Albuquerque, he does the same for mostly Native Americans, but also Hispanics.
Heider finds is that the coverage of these “people of color” is almost always in the contexts of crime and ethnic festivals. Heider also finds that when coverage of important issues to these ethnicities does occur, it is usually from the points of view of the most eccentric and vocal activists.
Geography, Heider says, also isolates the coverage of ethnicities because, though their communities are within reasonable distances from the news outlets, they are often perceived as being far away, due to their isolation and exclusively ethnic populations. The perceptions that crimes occur unchecked in a lot of those areas add to the problem..
History – and reporters’ lack of knowledge of it – join into Heider’s theory. When covering ethnic communities, such as Indian reservations, reporters often know nothing about the history, culture or customs of the people they are covering. How can they portray anything essential to a culture, if they know nothing about its historical context or overall significance?
Heider writes that research and building relationships with these communities are the first steps toward solving this issue.
Another of Heider’s observations is that decision-makers are almost all white, if not male. All of the news, no matter how diverse the writing staff or anchor desk might be, funnels through less than a handful of people with their own agendas.
I have been taking a look around, and I have seen relatively few people darker than I (not counting my legs). How many do see?
How do Heider’s scenarios play out in coverage of ethnic groups in our state?
If you get a chance, the book is a good read. It has a lot to offer, even if you consider yourself culturally aware. A lot of us know it’s happening, Heider tells the how and why. And because of the places Heider chooses to observe, it a refreshing break from the same-old black/white, Latino/white examples. But it’s also clear to how it applies to any people of color.
It’s also only about a hundred pages long. I read it in a day, and I’m a slug.

Heider, Don. White News: Why Local Programs Don’t Cover People of Color. Lawrence
Erlbaum and Associates, Inc., 2000.