Lawrenzo Howell

Dr. McLaughlin
Writing and Rhetoric 13300
4/10/15
TED Talk Proposal
Topic: My topic is the influence that television news has on the augmentation of racism. TV
news does this by showing an improper, extensive amount of negative footage involving African
Americans, which strengthens the racial stereotypes Americans have of African Americans today.
This leads to a skewed perception of African Americans which thus results in racial
discrimination.
Central Purpose: The purpose of this talk will be to enlighten the audience about a very big
sociological issue in America: racism. Many believe that racism is something that no longer
exists. This is false, however, and I want to discuss one of the sources of media that aids in the
continuation of racism: TV news. TV news is not something that appears to be racially biased.
But by taking a deeper look at the content that TV news broadcasts, I will show that it is in fact
racially biased. This bias is what supports racial stereotypes about African Americans. I believe
that by educating my audience on this issue, they will be more inclined to not believe everything
that TV news shows, and not rely on TV news as their source for race relations
Major Points: 1. Show the discrepancies between what television news broadcasts and the truth.
2. Show how these discrepancies have led to negative racial stereotyping. 3. Examine some of

the most common stereotypes. 4. Show how these stereotypes have led to racial discrimination.
5. Propose a couple of solutions that TV news can do to prevent this.
Evidence and Examples: In order to convey a strong argument, I will use a lot of statistical
data. One being a study by that Rob Entman that found that news over represents Black
perpetrators, under represents Black victims, and over represents White victims (Entman 21).
Another study in Los Angeles found that Blacks represented 21 percent of those individuals
arrested for crime but were 37 percent of the perpetrators featured in crime news stories aired on
Los Angeles news stations (Dixon 271). These will show the discrepancies between what TV
news shows and the reality. I will also use statistics and examples that show the impact these
false representations have on Whites perceptions of the Black Community. One statistic that
shows that Whites believe that they are more likely to be victimized by a member of a minority
group; on the contrary, evidence shows that they are actually three times more likely to be
victimized by another White person (Klein&Naccarato 1611). I will also use contemporary and
personal examples.
Storytelling: I will keep storytelling to a minimum. I will give an example of how I was once
racially profiled and kicked out of a department store for doing absolutely nothing. (1:30 min)
Images: I plan on using pictures of myself, as well as pictures of people that fit racial
stereotypes. I will also use images of statistical data so my audience can not only hear the
discrepancies, but actually see it.
Timeline:
1. Intro (1 minute)
2. Discuss Problem (1:30 minutes)

3. Discuss impact of the problem as well as how the problem leads to consequence ( 1:30
minutes)
4. Discuss resulting stereotypes ( 4 minutes)
5. Discuss solutions (1:30)
6. Wrap up (30 seconds)