REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE POLICY INSTITUTE Sunday Morning Apartheid: A Diversity Study of the Sunday Morning Talk Shows by Stephanie J. Jones oncerned about the paucity of African Americans in the media venues that help to shape public opinion and influence policy, the CNational Urban League Policy Institute, the research, policy and advocacy arm of the National Urban League, last year undertook an in- depth study of the guest lineups of the Sunday morning political talk shows. In July 2005, the Institute released its preliminary findings, cover- ing the five major cable and broadcast network Sunday morning talk shows for the period between January 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. Among other things, the study concluded that 60 percent of the Sunday morning talk shows featured no black guests at all, either as interview subjects or roundtable participants and that 78 percent of the broadcasts contained no interviews with a black guest. The National Urban League thereafter commissioned a more extensive follow-up study, covering the period from January 2004 through December 31, 2005. The findings of that study are detailed in this report. 1 Although the preliminary report was widely-publicized —with the hope that networks would take it upon themselves to present a more diverse palette—the full two-year follow-up study showed no significant progress since publication of the initial study. Indeed, in some areas there has even been retrenchment. For example, despite the extensive coverage of the preliminary report, the percentage of broadcasts with no black guests increased from 60 per- cent to 61 percent and the percentage of programs with no interviews with black guests went up from 78 percent to 80 percent. 189 REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE POLICY INSTITUTE In 1958, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote: “It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday morn- ing.”2 Today, nearly 50 years after Dr. King’s incisive observation about America’s churches, we are facing another form of Sunday Morning Apartheid—the Sunday morning network political talk shows. Sunday morning talk shows are more than a mere source of news; they are a crucial staple in the public discussion, understanding and interpreta- tion of politics and government and other public policy issues in the United States. Each Sunday, these programs signal what is considered important news and determine who are the newsmakers. Their selection and presen- tation of guests determine who are the experts on a topic and what voices and views will be considered authoritative. Sunday morning talk shows frame the perception and coverage of issues that have a substantial impact on the American public. Yet, with few exceptions, these programs consis- tently lack any African-American participation in the discussion of impor- tant issues—from the war in Iraq to judicial nominations to the economy to national security to foreign policy—and leave the impression that interest in and analysis of these topics are “for Whites only.” The exclusion of African-American voices is not unique to Sunday morning talk shows; with few exceptions, the television news outlets reg- ularly fail to adequately include African Americans, other minorities and women in the vast majority of their news programming.3 The depth and breadth of the Sunday morning genre’s influence was illustrated in December 2002 when Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott sug- gested during Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday celebration that the nation would have been better off if the segregationist had been elected president in 1948. Only two major news outlets, the Washington Post and ABC World News This Morning, briefly mentioned these remarks. However, the following Sunday, the Meet the Press roundtable discussion took up the incident. The next day, virtually every major newspaper and television network reported the story. Within a week, the story had esca- lated to the point where Sen. Lott was forced to resign his leadership posi- tion. By month’s end, hundreds of stories had been published or broad- cast about this incident.4 While the extent of the influence of the Meet the 190 The State of Black America 2006 Press program cannot be accurately measured, there can be no doubt that its coverage put this story on the national media’s radar screen,” assuring that it would expand into a major news story. As this example attests, the Sunday morning talk shows, which are watched by approximately 10 million viewers each week, have a signifi- cant impact upon the development of political and policy issues, public impressions and understanding of the news and political and policy events in Washington and across the nation. According to a recent study, 66 percent of African Americans rely upon the mainstream media for information about politics and the U.S. government.5 Yet, when they turn to the main staple of news and analysis of issues of importance to them— the Sunday morning talk shows—politicians, journalists, opinion-makers, and viewers of all races are presented with a virtually all-white tableau: • Ronald Reagan’s death in June 2004 prompted the Sunday morning shows to devote their entire programs to his legacy. Of the nearly three dozen guests who appeared on talk shows that Sunday, only three were African-American—Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and Fox-TV commenta- tor Juan Williams. On two of the five shows, the legacy of Reagan, a president who had an enormous effect on the black community, was assessed by all-white lineups. • Throughout the second half of 2005, every Sunday morning talk show provided extensive coverage and discussion of the controversy over the use of the Senate filibuster, the death of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the impending retirement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to succeed them on the Supreme Court. These nominations were of great importance to African Americans, who were active and vocal in the speaking out about these issues.6 Yet, not one Sunday morning talk show featured an interview with an African American about these topics.7 Only one program—Fox News Sunday—included a black par- ticipant in its roundtable to discuss Supreme Court nominations and he was a regular commentator on the program. 191 REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE POLICY INSTITUTE • In September 2005, Sen. Barack Obama made his first Sunday talk show appearance since becoming a Senator eight months earlier; he was interviewed on This Week with George Stephanopoulos about race and poverty in the aftermath of Katrina. Sen. Obama’s interview was followed by a roundtable discussion between columnists George Will and Fareed Zakaria, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, in which George Will, unchallenged, dismissed Sen. Obama’s com- ments as being out of hand. The value of diverse voices in the Sunday morning talk show political discussions was illustrated last fall after former Secretary of Education William Bennett claimed that “you could abort every Black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” Although the comments provoked a firestorm of controversy, the only Sunday morning roundtable to discuss these comments was the only Roundtable to feature a black participant: Fox News Sunday. During the lively colloquy, Fox commenta- tor Juan Williams vigorously challenged the attempts to defend and down- play Bennett’s remarks as misconstrued, irrelevant and inoffensive: CHRIS WALLACE: Brit, is this much ado about something or about nothing? BRIT HUME: Well, I think it's much ado, that's for sure. My sense is that it's much ado about not very much. It's not entire- ly clear to me what exactly his—the point he was making was if somebody argues is false—if somebody can help me with that, I might be able to comment better. What was false? MARA LIASSON: False was saying that blacks are responsible for the crime rate. HUME: Well, as a matter of fact, is it not the case that the per- capita crime rate among African Americans in this country is higher than other groups? If that's true, then it seems to me 192 The State of Black America 2006 that's the point he was making. The only thing I would think would be problematic about that is if it carries a suggestion that every black baby in the country is going to grow up and participate in crime at that same rate. That's an arguable point, it seems to me, at best. LIASSON: I think the linking of race and crime in such a sweep- ing way is what caused the controversy. And everybody, from the White House on down, has separated themselves from those comments. HUME: Right. But what is false here? LIASSON: The linking of African-American babies and their later maturation as criminals. HUME: I see. ... JUAN WILLIAMS: You know, Brit, it really speaks to a deeply racist mindset to imagine America somehow as better off if we didn't have those black people around and all those racial issues and all these—you know, so many of these blacks end up in jail, as if they're criminals because they're black. HUME: Juan, he didn't say that. WILLIAMS: He certainly said it to me. That's what... HUME: Excuse me. WILLIAMS: ... I heard, Brit. HUME: Excuse me. What he said was not that we should do that, but he said it would be morally reprehensible, impossible thing to do. 193 REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE POLICY INSTITUTE WILLIAMS: Right. Well, Brit... HUME: He condemned that as an action.