NAACP joins Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kerry Washington in slamming CBS News for apparent lack of Black journalists on 2020 election team
- The NAACP released a statement Tuesday that criticized CBS News for not including any Black journalists on its recently announced 2020 Election team.
- By not including any Black journalists, the organization wrote, the outlet is compromising its ability "to speak to and address the issues and concerns directly impacting the Black community."
- The organization's statement comes days after prominent media and political personalities including "Scandal" actress Kerry Washington and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted public condemnations.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) released a statement criticizing CBS News for not including any Black journalists on its recently announced 2020 Election team.
By not including any Black journalists, the organization wrote in part, the outlet is compromising its ability "to speak to and address the issues and concerns directly impacting the Black community."
The full statement read:
"CBS News’ decision to not include Black reporters on their 2020 Election news team further proves the voting power and voices of Black America continue to be undervalued. As the voting bloc which will most certainly heavily determine the direction of this country in the upcoming election, it is vital any and all media outlets have a diverse newsroom, including individuals of color in decision making positions to speak to and address the issues and concerns directly impacting the Black community. Representation matters and the media needs our coverage on the issues to drive the discussion."
"Scandal" actress Kerry Washington and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among a flood of Twitter users who criticized CBS over the weekend for announcing their new 2020 election team without seemingly including any Black journalists.
Quoting the same tweet from CBS Associate Producer Ben Mitchell, Ocasio-Cortez and Washington tweeted a day apart, both taking issue that none of the 12 reporters or producers appeared to be Black.
Ocasio-Cortez wrote, "This WH admin has made having a functional understanding of race in America one of the most important core competencies for a political journalist to have, yet @CBSNews hasn't assigned a *single* black journalist to cover the 2020 election."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez added: "Unacceptable in 2019. Try again."
The next day, Washington quoted the same tweet and wrote "Dear @CBSNews, I am encouraged by the diversity you DID include. But when it comes time to discuss the inevitable role that race and racism will play in the election, who will you turn to for a perspective with nuanced & personal understanding of the African American experience?"
CBS News did not yet respond to INSIDER's request for comment.
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