After all the adversity that Black people have to face on a daily basis, we also have to worry about how we are viewed in the media. This has been brought to my attention along with the other injustices that are constantly happening in the U.S. I chose to analyze a piece of media coverage that occurred months back, which was Beyonce’s 2016 Super Bowl performance of her song “Formation” . I chose this particular event because I wanted to show how even as a successful person, if you are black you will still be viewed in a negative light accompanied by a slew of stereotypical labels.

Beyoncé released a hit sensation a day before her halftime performance alongside of the band Coldplay. The song “Formation” is a bold stance that talks about black pride, police brutality, and silences negative talk of the singer and her child Blue Ivy. Due to the celebration of black pride, the conservative and white media outlets from all over chimed in to give their opinions on what they thought of Beyoncé’s performance and the song. Where there is appreciation of black lives there is also always going to be a group of prejudice closed minded people that will try to call it “racist” or “anti white”. Although Beyoncé created a song that is pro-black that does not mean she is anti-white or anti any other race for that matter. However, many people are too closed minded to realize this fact. As a result,white conservative journalists have bashed both the artist and disrespected the movement she has helped propel for Black people through an art form.

The first piece of coverage I found on the song was a very positive approach to the song. New York Times did a accurate review: “On Saturday afternoon, Beyoncé released "Formation," her first new song since 2014, on Tidal and YouTube in advance of her Sunday appearance at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The song's subject is familiar Beyoncé self-affirmation, and the video is among the most politically direct work she's done in her career, with implicit commentary on police brutality, Hurricane Katrina and black financial power.” (The New York Times, 2/6/16) The information was clear, precise, and to the point. All meeting the appropriate criteria for proper media coverage. This was a successful and the best way to cover an event in the media. But other journalists complaining and voicing their unwanted , and often a racist opinion about black people and even black entertainers is completely unprofessional. Which many of these other journalists have done already.

For instance, Rudy Giuliani referred to Beyoncé's performance as “Outrageous" and was just a "Platform To Attack" Police Officers. Fox News' Fox & Friends’ Anna Kooiman lamented that Beyoncé gave "a salute to the Black Lives Matter movement" in her performance after she "got a police escort there." Giuliani concluded that he wanted to see "decent wholesome entertainment" rather than Beyoncé's "platform to attack" police.” Giuliani was completely out of line and unprofessional for reporting news in a manner such as this. It is clear that Beyoncé’s song is in no way an attack on the police. All she literally said was “stop killing us” and people are trying to get offended and turn it something it completely is not. It's as simple as a journalist going onto the Internet to actually look up the lyrics of the song to really dig deep and find out exactly what she’s talking about, it's not that hard. But no instead, these kind of journalists just watch and judge before trying to imagine the life that a person of color has to endure everyday. This shows lack of integrity and willingness to research and finding out the truth about news.

Laura Ingraham Show of The Laura Ingraham Shoe claimed the women were dressing "like prostitutes" in Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance and in the video for her song "Formation," which is the cause of the loss of what she called "family hour" at the Super Bowl. Beyonce's dancers form of dress was the least of this woman's problems. Kids are now exposed more and more to women dressing less and less. For god’s sakes the cheerleaders at the football games are never dressed conservatively and half of the Super Bowl commercials will probably include half or fully naked women. Clearly sex sells in this country of America but people only want to pick and choose when it's an issue. It's “whoreish” when a black woman shows skin.

Along with Beyoncé and her dancers being accused of dressing like “prostitutes”, there was also a reporter who tried to use the weak comparison of a hypothetical situation where he asked if a white band came out in hoods and white sheets than would it be acceptable. The answer is of course not. it is also inaccurate and irrelevant to compare the Black Panthers which was the inspiration for Beyoncé and her dancers’ wardrobe to the KKK which a terrorist group. It's actually disrespectful to compare these two groups together. Although the black panthers were forceful in their approach it was only because the life they were born into forced the, to be that way. But the black panthers were all about promoting and uplifting the lack people after all the years of oppression that was faced against us. Journalists are supposed to be the ones to understand all of the real social issues going on with all people, but seeing how so many journalists have handled this coverage it shows that they do not.

I quoted New York Times review first because I felt it properly explained Beyonce's goal and vision of this song, performance and video. Jenna Wortham from New York Times was on point and right on time with the interpretation for the purpose of the song. Wortham states, “She wants us to know — more than ever — that she’s still grounded, she’s paying attention and still a little hood. I think she wants us to know that even though she’s headlining a mainstream event like the Super Bowl, she has opinions and isn’t afraid to share them, nor is she afraid to do it on a national and global scale.” (Wortham, 2016). Beyoncé is a woman who knows how to use her own power and draw people close to it. In doing that she brings serious problems that need awareness to the forefront to catch all of our attention. Where one part of media tries to tear down, judge, and humiliate Blacks in media, there are also plenty of journalists who truly and sincerely care about the well being and representation of Black people.

Researching the different ways of how the media covers events can be very interesting, especially when it is regarding race. More and more I noticed reporters trying record their own personal opinions and feelings down about the Beyonce's song, but there weren't many journalists trying to research, discover, or really get down to the bottom of why the artist felt it was necessary at this time to mention those types of issues in her song.. With news coverage you never know what you will get especially in this day and age. In a time where news coverage and personal biased can get mixed, it is a journalist job to get the real facts and report it for what it really is.We are much more than white America’s prejudice stereotypes.