NBC NEWS PROGRAM NOW INCLUDES BLACK INTERNS

By Robert "Rob" Redding Jr.

Publisher

June 05, 2007, 5:20 a.m. - NBC News this week said it has added four blacks to its unpaid summer internship program at "NBC Nightly News."

"We are expecting seven [interns], of which four are diverse," NBC spokeswoman Barbara Levin told a journalism education organization.

Three are black and one is Asian, according to the Maynard Institute.

The network is working directly with the National Association of Black Journalists to locate these students. (See: NABJ Names 2007 Internship Class).

The announcement comes after 'NBC Nightly News' Managing Editor and Anchor Brian Williams had to apologize in August for not having any black interns at his network.

What's more, NBC has had a string of embarrassments as it relates to the color of its newsroom and its coverage of race.

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In November of last year, Williams ignored racist remarks made by his own network's "Seinfeld" sitcom star Michael Richards.

In 2004, Redding News Review exclusively reported that Williams said newsroom diversity is not a priority.

"We have bigger problems," he said. "There are no black members of the U.S. Senate. We should keep some perspective on this. Nevertheless, I am constantly interested to hear of examples in our coverage where viewers think we got it wrong in one way or another because of a skewed viewpoint."  

He has since apologized, but his network still refuses to divulge how many blacks actually work at its headquarters. (See the story).

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