Every night before I go to bed, my dad and I look to see what story Dann Cuellar will report on. The headline reporter for channel 6 ABC news, Dann always gives the most intense look at the hot issue of the night. After watching so many of his stories, my dad and I refer to him as if we know him personally. No matter what, we always look to see what Dann has to say.
In Media and Minorities, Stephanie Larson discusses the effects of having minority personnel as journalists. She says that “to succeed and advance in predominately white organizations, minority journalists must conform to norms and perspectives” (86). In doing this, the minority can lose touch with its original culture, Larson fears. She explains that to add to this separation between the cultures most “tend to be college educated and middle class. Thus, their familiarity with new immigrants, non-English speakers, and the lower class may be similar to that of white middle-class journalists” (87). By not being able to completely identify with their culture, having minority journalists may not be as profound it may have once seemed.
After reading this and watching Dann Cuellar, I wonder how true this really is. How much did Dann really have to give up in order to become the headlining reporter in the field? I then began to wonder how much of his presentation style affected my interest in watching him. If he would have presented the story differently, in a style I wasn’t used to seeing, would I not enjoy his reporting? My dad and I joke about how he uses the stereotypical reporter voice. Did he do this because that was the only way he felt he could get ahead in the industry?
I believe that Larson presents some very interesting questions. Do we look at a person’s race when they subscribe to the our cultural ideas? Does race even matter as long as the person acts in accordance with what we believe to be the best course of action? Does race supersede all of these questions and continue to dominate our society?
In Media and Minorities, Stephanie Larson discusses the effects of having minority personnel as journalists. She says that “to succeed and advance in predominately white organizations, minority journalists must conform to norms and perspectives” (86). In doing this, the minority can lose touch with its original culture, Larson fears. She explains that to add to this separation between the cultures most “tend to be college educated and middle class. Thus, their familiarity with new immigrants, non-English speakers, and the lower class may be similar to that of white middle-class journalists” (87). By not being able to completely identify with their culture, having minority journalists may not be as profound it may have once seemed.
After reading this and watching Dann Cuellar, I wonder how true this really is. How much did Dann really have to give up in order to become the headlining reporter in the field? I then began to wonder how much of his presentation style affected my interest in watching him. If he would have presented the story differently, in a style I wasn’t used to seeing, would I not enjoy his reporting? My dad and I joke about how he uses the stereotypical reporter voice. Did he do this because that was the only way he felt he could get ahead in the industry?
I believe that Larson presents some very interesting questions. Do we look at a person’s race when they subscribe to the our cultural ideas? Does race even matter as long as the person acts in accordance with what we believe to be the best course of action? Does race supersede all of these questions and continue to dominate our society?
A Sample of Dann's work can be found here:
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