3447

is there context to that? Is she making a statement about the issues minority reporters face in getting 1 on 1 access with white mayors? Is this a temporary thing or a full time shift?

Thanks for the photo of the mayor, Mary Ann, but maybe you coulda linked to an actual news story where this is discussed in greater detail?

3448

There’s no news story about it, just that tweet, based on a couple of complaints from local news reporters. Here’s what the Mayor’s Twitter account says:

I’m not sure there’s any outrage to be had here. Seems like a reasonable policy enacted for reasonable reasons.

3449

Yup. But regressives gonna regress.

3450

It’s literally reverse discrimination, is it not?

3451

I want to be clear about my tone here: no snark, no attempt a “gotcha!” or anything like that, just an actual question. Sorry for the preamble but I really dislike how easily meaning and tone can be misinterpreted over text.

My question is: how do you view Affirmative Action with regards to reverse racism? Because this seems similar to me. Minority reporters are significantly under-represented and so an effort is going to be made to “prioritize” them. Which seems different than what tweet Timex posted was saying. I’m not seeing this as reverse racism in the same way that I don’t view AA from that perspective either, but it is a perspective so was just curious.

3452

Thanks for doing the reporters job better than the reporter. Appreciate the info, Matt.

3453

I was considering raising that point as well. I don’t have enough context to evaluate this mayor’s decision, but my (limited) understanding is that localized ‘reverse discrimination’ in service of a larger equality is something that has been considered pretty legit by pretty significant swaths of policy makers for a while.

3454

Another way to see it is: the pool of reporters at Chicago City Hall is overwhelmingly white in a city that is only 1/2 white, so some discrimination seems to pretty clearly be at work there. The mayor is simply trying to correct that imbalance. Would it be discriminatory if the mayor privileged reporters who live in Chicago over those who live in Minneapolis?

If someone shoves their way to the front of the line, is it reverse discrimination to insist that they go to the back?

3455

She was literally denying interviews to reporters, explicitly on the basis of their race.

That’s obviously bad. We should not pretend that it’s not.

From a Latino reporter in the area:

She could certainly do her best to make sure that POC reporters were represented, perhaps even disproportionately represented… but she cannot simply say that no white people can interview her. Aside from the obvious racism of such a stance, it’s problematic for the reason that Pratt mentions, that elected officials do not get to dictate that type of thing to the press.

3456

Prioritizing isn’t the same as denying. Unless you believe all opportunities should be held by whites and any time a non-white gets in ahead of a white person then it’s a denial of a rightfully white opportunity.

3458

From current reporting, it appears that she is literally denying interviews to anyone who is white.

This is such a lazy, mindless response.
“Hey, there are some racists, so I can excuse literally any degree of racism that I want.”

GTFO with that bullshit.

3459

I mean, they totally do in practice. Politicians decide who they’re going to give interviews to every day.

3460

What reporting? The tweet?

3461

Exactly. It’s one thing to cherry pick who will attend a large press conference or similar where many reporters will attend. That’s not cool. But granting one-on-one interviews is very much up to the individual being interviewed.

3462

Well, there are limits to this. In the past, when politicians attempted to take strong control over the press that covers them, we (rightly) criticized those actions. For instance, when DeSantis held some kind of bullshit, and only allowed Fox to cover the event.

And certainly, politicians can grant interviews to people.

Hey, maybe I’m the only one here who thinks it is distasteful to make such a determination based solely on the race of the person conducting the interview.

But I’m amazed that you guys don’t see the problem there. But hey, I guess that’s just where we’re at these days.

3463

If this were a permanent policy I’d have more of an issue with it, but another part of the reason I’m relaxed about it is that I don’t think one-on-one on-the-record interviews with politicians are a particularly important means of covering political news.

3464

No, the exact sentiment expressed by #alllivesmatter is that there is no existing asymmetry that needs correction and any race-based consideration at all is necessarily racist, i.e. “all lives matter, not just black lives”, which gleefully undermines the point that black lives are the ones being victimized. It’s racist to have a white press pool reporting on a City Hall for a city that is only half-white.

There is no current reporting. There are some white reporters being denied interviews and complaining about it on twitter. And now it’s not a story about the Mayor’s office but about the butthurtness of white people, like it always fucking is. “That black mayor is racist against whites. #allreportersderserveaccess”

3465

I’m amazed at your inability to see things through anything but a very narrow black and white (no pun intended) lens.

3466

To me, I wouldn’t have a problem with it if Lightfoot decided to simply grant MORE interviews to reporters who were from minority groups. But the idea that she would not grant ANY of these 1 on 1 interviews to white reporters is bad.

No, it was a mindless, thoughtless response.
All lives matter is a specific attempt to minimize the statement that black lives matter. That’s the goal.

This is not, at all, analogous to pointing out the racism of fully denying a person access on the basis of their race.

Objectively false. The tweet I posted was from a Latino reporter who was actually granted an interview, and was confirming Lightfoot’s policy here (and explaining that they withdrew their request for an interview in solidarity with their other reporters).

3467

Isn’t that what is going on, at least according to the mayor? Her words are that she is prioritizing POC due to their underrepresentation. You’ve only linked to a reporter’s tweet. Is there actual reporting on a policy that white reporters won’t be granted one on one interviews?