About Race

Rising above stereotypes and sensationalism, the five-part news series About Race is a refreshing inquiry into racial understanding. An eight-month effort produced exceptional results, both in viewer responses and in community involvement. For example, to date more than 100 area schools have requested copies of the program. The effort commenced with a 13-minute news segment in its first installment, and totaled nearly 60 minutes total in the first week. The station’s diligence was further demonstrated by a successful effort to gain access to a workplace dialogue group willing to openly discuss issues of race. The power of the series rests in its reliance on current genetic research to debunk persistent myths about racial differences. Other elements of the series which later aired as a one-hour prime time news special focused on guidelines for race discussion, race issues in the workplace, diversity curricula in schools and a San Diego housewife’s novel idea for dealing with racial differences. Overseeing this extraordinary undertaking were news director Dan Rosenheim and assistant news director Lisa White. Craig Franklin served as producer and writer on the project, while Pam Moore and Pete Wilson reported with enthusiasm and admirable restraint. Collaborating on the project were long-standing civil journalism partners The San Francisco Chronicle, KQED-FM, KRON’s sister cable channel, Bay TV, and the Web site, SF Gate. For tackling a sensitive issue with facts rather than friction, a Peabody to KRON-TV for a superb and instructive look at America’s persistent, but apparently genetically groundless, social and cultural divide.