As I was looking up things to do in Catalina Island for this upcoming weekend, I came across a dated news story back in October about an Oarfish discovery on KTLA. I was surprised that the one who made the discovery was a Latina snorkeler or at least had a Latina-sounding name, but its LA, its 2014 (or the video was back in 2013), everyone's all integrated, we've got a black president yada yada yada.
However, you wouldn't know that she made the discovery. That she has accomplished something. You'd just think it's a bunch of white people, yet again, by watching KTLA's video.
http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=69016&siteSection=ktla_localnews&videoId=25257906
In that KTLA video, which has been listed on innumerable aggregate sites from Yahoo to Huffington Post to local news affiliates, no effort seems to made in showing the discovery, or getting her story, just pictures of some screaming white girls and an interview of her co-associate who looks like Freddie Roach's brother.
Meanwhile, the actual institute has its video on Youtube, which to day viewed a paltry 2,600 times, and actually features her in all her glory.
Adding salt to the wound, immediately following this story on KTLA a story about a stabbing by a Latino man. No hesitation in getting a clear visual of him.
Just one little way that media can reinforce racist narratives without necessarily intending to do so (or so I'd assume), which...bugged me a little.
