Report about “The Race Beat”

Write a report of at least 400 words, telling at least three significant lessons about communication or journalism that you have learned or observed while studying “The Race Beat.”

Your report should be about media coverage of the civil rights movement, not about the movement itself. For example, you might want to comment on:

• How journalists did their jobs during this time
• The techniques they used for gathering information and interviewing
• The obstacles they faced
• What differences they made (for better or worse)
• How the movement might have turned out differently if not for news coverage
• How the emergence of TV news influenced the civil rights movement
• The early and changing roles of the black press
• The roles of white Southern editors, both liberal and conservative
• Coverage by The New York Times, the TV networks or another particular part of the media
• Whether Gunnar Myrdal’s theories turned out to be on target
• How the media’s role back then compares with the media’s role now
• How today’s technology is being used to bring awareness to human rights struggles around the world
• What “The Race Beat” tells you about the significance to society of communication and journalism
• What the civil rights news coverage teaches today’s journalists about how to do their jobs

Cite specific examples of people and incidents from the book to back up your conclusions. Don’t use footnotes; just give enough details to make the sources clear.

Make clear what your three (or more) lessons are by putting them in separate, numbered paragraphs.