Diversity Meets Journalism

Now the Congressional Black Caucus is applying pressure to help the network decide on its next move.

Anyone who tunes into this tele-drama is going to get a quick tutorial on diversity, money, politics and power. Let me tell you what this ruckus is really about.

In a word: protection. Many media companies support the NABJ -- and similar groups that profess to represent Hispanic, Asian and Native-American journalists -- by sponsoring their conferences. You can believe one of two things: that the companies do this because they care about diversity; or that this is a quid pro quo whereby they help sponsor the conferences with the expectation that -- the next time they're accused of not doing enough for diversity -- the organizations will at least stay quiet or perhaps even come to the media companies' defense.

It's an old trick in corporate America. Tobacco companies and soft drink manufacturers gave millions to racial and ethnic advocacy groups. And, we don't hear much from those groups about efforts to hook minority teenagers on cigarettes or child obesity in minority communities.

We don't know if it was protection that CNN was after from the NABJ. But if Butler is telling the truth, it doesn't look good that a network executive scolded the organization and threatened to pull the plug on funding -- all in one phone call.

This breakup is for the best. CNN should not support the NABJ's convention. It should also not give a dime to the other organizations that claim to represent journalists of color. These groups should never have accepted money from media companies to begin with, since it compromised their ability to be industry watchdogs.

All this talk about diversity, and what this flap really provides is something more important: clarity.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.