A Conversation with Broadcaster Carolyn Tyler

SAG-AFTRA member and broadcaster Carolyn Tyler was a voice in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 30 years. During her career, Tyler covered homelessness, marriage equality, civil rights issues and much more. She was a reporter at the local ABC News station, KGO-TV, and was part of the team that earned the station a Peabody Award for its exclusive on-air coverage in the midst of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Her colleagues at KGO-TV called her 2018 retirement the “end of an era.”

In a conversation with SAG-AFTRA, Tyler shared her thoughts on the responsibilities of broadcasters and journalists in media today.

“What’s happening today is a unique situation in our country, and journalists, whether they want to or not, are on the frontlines to tell those stories.

“If you look at the historic Kerner Report made right before Dr. King’s death [in 1968], it said that the press acted as if Black people weren’t part of the viewership and treated us as if we, quote, ‘don’t give birth, marry, die [or] go to PTA meetings.’ In some areas of the industry, things haven’t really changed: the majority of newsroom employees — news directors, managers and executive producers — are still white. And, that’s a problem that comes to the forefront every time.

“I’ve been Black all my life and a journalist for a certain percentage of my life. The two are inextricably linked, and I always wanted to make sure that there was broad coverage through a different lens. I’ll give an example from ’92. After the Rodney King incident, there were a lot of demonstrations in the streets and violence. But for me, the final straw was hearing a white male reporter live [on TV] calling the demonstrators ‘thugs.’ It showed a lack of understanding of the circumstances of the unrest. I pleaded with the station’s news director to go to Los Angeles and provide coverage, but I was told I couldn’t go. Still, it meant something to me, and I decided to go over their head and explain to the general manager why there was no reason not to send somebody of the same color, culture and history and perhaps socioeconomic background to L.A. He agreed, and I got to go.
“I feel like Black reporters are always in the position of being asked to educate and explain, and that’s very tiring. Trymaine Lee, for MSNBC, said once, ‘It feels like a weight because you are tasked with explaining Black pain to a largely white audience.’ And I feel that that’s true: African Americans or people of color can give perspective to the workings behind demonstrations, but it’s up to [white audiences] to educate themselves to get up to speed.

“I think some journalists go into the field and look at it as a glamour job, [but it’s] a way to shine a light on what’s going on in the world. Be willing to set aside preconceived notions and learn your craft. Open your eyes, learn everything that you can about the world-at-large, and shine a light on the positives and negatives in your community.”