Journalist Nita Wiggins Tackles Bias in Television Broadcasting

Before Nita Wiggins began teaching journalism in Paris ten years ago, she spent 21 years as a full-time news reporter and sportscaster working for ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox network affiliates in such cities as Dallas, Seattle, and Memphis.

As a woman of color, Wiggins found that her dream of covering professional sports came with a high price—stress and a raft of institutionalized practices she found unacceptable. In her controversial new memoir, Civil Rights Baby: My Story of Race, Sports, and Breaking Barriers in American Journalism (Casa-Express), she details some of the shocking actions that go on behind the scenes in television newsrooms across the country.

This expert commentator on the changing landscapes of politics, race, and women’s employment can talk about the following 12 issues upon which her memoir touches:

The absence of minority executives in TV news, including at CNN which has been accused of racial bias in promotions
Scandalous cronyism and nepotism, as seen in politics, Hollywood, and college admissions.
“Shiny object” reporting instead of contextualized stories.
Disregarding storylines about women.
Missing the story on police intimidation of black drivers.
Reinforcing entrenched ideas instead of reporting on-the-ground realities.
Falling down on editorial oversight, leading to fake news.
Not calling out the non-profit NCAA as a “plantation system.”
Allowing -isms to guide story themes and disqualify job applicants.
Letting a male cameraman shortchange a female colleague with bad video.
Men behaving badly in Fox newsrooms in New York and Dallas.
Promoting Red and Blue politics while suppressing third-party ideas.

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