A Pale Reflection of America

Eight days before Barack Obama is sworn in, the relative paucity of black journalists at the White House is striking. A mostly white press corps at 1600 Pennsylvania would be cause for concern no matter what the color of the Oval Office occupant. But the advent of the Obama administration seems to underscore that racial progress has been uneven in a business that chronicles that very subject. While there are some exceptions, most major news outlets that regularly chronicle the White House do not have a minority reporter on this, Washington's most visible beat. The cable news channels have fared better on this score, but the broadcast networks, which are often grooming future anchors, are another story.