Zerlina Maxwell looks at this New York Observer list of “media power couples” and asks, “Really, guys? You would think a list this large could stand to be a little more diverse, right?”
I think the “power couples” feature is dumb, because it makes me feel like high school never ends. Not my high school mind you, but the John Hughes version of high school that seems to be the template for American adulthood in media-friendly professions. Maybe next publications can start “class clown” and “most likely to replace David Brooks on the New York Times op-ed page” features, and reporters and media types can walk around the newsroom getting their friends to sign them.
The absence of people of color on such lists doesn’t bother me, because I think the lists are dumb. To the extent this matters at all, it’s because it reflects the relative lack of diversity in the media as a whole. That’s a genuine problem that skews coverage and by extension American understanding of policy politics and culture. I could care less about whether or not people of color are included in the new media circle jerk of the week.
