Race and Media Quarterly Meetings

These community meetings, held since 2000, were an outcome of the Mayor's Task Force on Race Relations. The purposes of the meetings are to:

• Build sustaining relationships between the media and the communities of color.
• Reflect the face of the community in all our stories making sure people of color are seen and heard in non-race related coverage.
• Relieve tensions and talk openly about media criticisms like, "The newspapers just don't tell my story."
• Discuss important issues of perspective, inclusion and role in the city's future for all area residents.
• Increase collaborative relationships between communities of color and the media, to accommodate growth and change as diversity expands across Dane County.
• Help communities of color understand the dynamics and pressures of the print, Internet and broadcast media.

The Fall, 2006 quarterly meeting will focus on the question of when is race relevant in news stories.