Journalists Juan González, a co-presenter of the news program Democracy Now!, and Joe Torres, a consultant for the group Free Press, presented their new book “News For All People” on Oct. 21 at the First Congregational Church of Oakland.
The two are taking their book on tour to more than 15 U.S. cities, to spread the history of journalism of underrepresented populations.
“I’d like to tell you why I began writing this book over 10 years ago,” González said. “For almost 35 years I’ve worked in corporate media and for the last 15 years I’ve had the honor of working with the most important journalist of our time [Amy Goodman], and it has always impressed me how the media of ethnic communities and the corporate press work independently, without every seeing each other.”
Widespread misinformation in the U.S. drove González to ask himself about the roots of a terribly complex system.
“Today, there are 1,400 daily newspapers, 1,700 television stations, 12,000 radio stations, 17,000 magazines and hundreds of [TV] channels, yet a majority of Americans remain misinformed about the news,” he said.
Both authors sought to understand the system on their own terms given that, as Torres explained, “When others tell our story for us they often tell it wrong.”
They explored how racially marginalized groups were able to get published during times of oppression, and through their research, discovered that these groups have always had a role in the media.
“Race has not been a marginal theme,” Torres said, explaining that the media has been used to control Native Americans since the 1800s. “In the alternative press there have always been points of racial blindness, but the people of color have always been the ones to oppose imperialism and slavery.”
Gonzalez and Torres also examined how new technologies have historically brought the promise of liberating the people, educating and destablizing the social order. However, they are generally co-opted by financial interests.
The authors ended their presentation by declaring that their book is meant to unearth the saga of the “other” American journalism, and to collect and preserve, for future generations, the accomplishments of the editors and journalists of color who fought the worst racism.
The book is currently on sale at www.amazon.com and will be in bookstores soon.