MEDIA “WATCHDOGS” SNIFF OUT BIAS

Is there a hidden bias in the media that leads to white males getting more positive attention than other Dallasites? Are minorities featured in crime stories out of proportion to their numbers-while women are relegated to advertisements?

Such alleged stereotyping prompted the Greater Dallas Community Relations Commission to create a “media watchdog” subcommittee last October to sniff out “racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism,” and other evils in local television, newspapers, and radio.

“The only thing that North Dallas residents know about blacks is what they see on television,” says Roger Kallenberg, one of the commission’s five paid staff members. “So we will be looking for racial put-downs and stereotypes.”

However, Kallenberg says he’s not sure what the group will do when they find a blatant injustice. ’’Our mission wasn’t exactly clear,” he says. “We’re making this up as we go along.”

The Greater Dallas Community Relations Commission was formed more than twenty years ago as a United Way agency when race riots were occurring all over the country. Since then, volunteers-including such civic leaders as Sid Stahl, Dave Fox, Charles Terrell, and Trini Garza-have investigated everything from police reform to bicycle clubs.

The watchdog group is just one of the commission’s weapons against the isms. Another subcommittee will help groups learn to use the media effectively and another will create a minority resource book “so that all experts won’t be white males,” Kallenberg says.

The watchdogs will submit their findings to the commission in the fall and try to educate the public. Early results show subtle prejudice, says Liz Wally, a volunteer who is scrutinizing photographs in the first four sections of The Dallas Morning News and Dallas Times Herald. “I’m including not just a breakdown by sex and ethnicity, but also whether it’s positive or negative in nature, For instance, [City Council member] Diane Ragsdale is often pictured in a negative posturing position,” she says, “and white females are always cooking.”

In the meantime, according to Kallenberg, the watchdogs are attracting attention themselves. “Mostly,” he says, “from members of the media.”