Ethnic Media Content Analysis

The African-American paper we captured, the weekly Milwaukee Community Journal, provided content that was truly community-based in almost every sense of the term. The content was either about African Americans, about Milwaukee, or both. Its content fit with what we’ve found in previous years in this report. The African-American press, published in English and generally published weekly, is not designed to serve as a substitute for the mainstream media but as a complement.

The front page of the paper presented a look at the mix inside. One story reported that the Police Athletic League facility in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods was being put up for sale because of the PAL’s bankruptcy. Another noted that the national unemployment rate for African-Americans was twice the national average. Another described a lawsuit being filed against the city by individuals claiming their constitutional rights were violated by the Milwaukee police.

The pieces had a definite point of view and were as intent on stirring action as they were on reporting facts. The PAL story gave readers contact information for anyone interested in the bidding process. The lawsuit story didn’t include a comment from the police department, but it not only outlined the lawsuit in detail, it also quoted a letter from a Milwaukee alderman requesting an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.

But the unemployment story may offer the most telling sign of the paper’s point of view. The piece presented opinion as fact. It called the unemployment numbers “another in a series of blows that the American middle class has suffered under the Bush administration” and added that the Bush budget “fails to promote security or to honor our veterans.” It then said, “Democrats will keep fighting for the values that will strengthen the American middle class.”

The paper carried an article about a local church’s “Day of Restoration” designed to bring the community together to discuss its problems. A lengthy piece reported recent parties and events in the community attended by a columnist from the paper — everything from a high school recognizing attendance and its honor roll to a lecture by the singer Patti LaBelle. There was also a lengthy piece on marijuana and mental health.