There is a significant difference between African Americans and Latinos, however, with the former choosing Ch. 7 overwhelmingly (71%), with Ch. 5 a distant second (34%), followed by Channels 2, 9, 32, and CLTV. Latinos, on the other hand, mention Ch. 5 most (51%), with Ch. 7 second (42%), followed by Channels 9, 66, 32, 2, and 44.

African American choices parallel recent Nielsen ratings for the 10 p.m. and 9 p.m. news. A look at share, which is the percent of TV sets in use at that time, shows Ch. 7 the winner at 27%, followed by Ch. 5 and Ch. 2 both at 15%, with Ch. 9 at 9% and Ch. 32 7%. With African Americans making up close to 40% of Chicago’s population, they clearly influence the overall ratings with their preferences.

Most respondents say they watch the channels they do because they do a better job of reporting the news. That is particularly true for Ch. 2 and 5. The second most mentioned reason is the personalities. Here, Ch. 7 stands out. About 15% of those watching Ch. 9 and Ch. 32 like the time it is on. And 10% of those watching Ch. 9 mention the lottery and the Bulls. A smattering of responses indicates some watch because the TV is already on that channel, or out of habit, or because someone else in the home prefers that channel.

The overwhelming favorite local news anchor, named almost twice as often as any other, is Diann Burns of Ch. 7 (29%). Walter Jacobson of Ch. 32 is second with 15%, followed by Ch. 2’s Lester Holt, Ch. 7 morning man Hosea Sanders, Warner Saunders of Ch. 5, Robin Robinson of Ch. 32 and Ch. 7’s John Drury. Respondents could name up to four anchors.

Almost half of African Americans have a favorite anchor or anchors, compared with only one-third of Latinos. The African Americans show a strong affinity for the black newscasters. The relative indifference of Latinos may be attributed in part to the lack of Latino anchors.

Burns emerges as the far-and-away favorite of African Americans, mentioned by almost three times as many black viewers (39%) as the closest competitor, Hosea Sanders (14%). Close behind are Lester Holt and Walter Jacobson, followed by Warner Saunders, John Drury and Robin Robinson. Only Jacobson and Drury are white, and both co-anchor with African Americans.

For Latinos, Jacobson was the most mentioned (20%), followed by Robinson and Carol Marin (10% each), then Joan Esposito, Burns and Holt in a three-way tie.

It is difficult to tell to what extent Burns is popular because Ch. 7 is the most watched station, and to what extent the reverse is true. But Ch. 7 viewers are more likely than those watching other channels to say the personalities are one reason they like the channel.

Those who like Diann Burns refer to her as "professional," "articulate" and "pleasant."

Walter Jacobson is viewed as someone who’s honest and straight-forward.

Warner Saunders is seen most as being "part of the community" and making an effort to cover the positive aspects.

Lester Holt is seen as "professional" and having a "nice personality." Hosea Sanders is "lively in the morning" and has "good rapport" with his co-anchor, Leah Hope. John Drury is "sincere" and "has a long commitment, years of trust" and Robin Robinson is "not so stuffy, a little more down-to-earth" than some.

Those surveyed watch local TV news an average of 5.6 days a week, with no significant difference between African Americans and Latinos; 54% watch it every day.

The most popular time is between 9 and 11 p.m., with people watching an average of 4.1 days a week. Second is late afternoon and early evening news (4-7 p.m.), with an average of 3.6 days. Morning news is watched 2.9 days on average, with African Americans significantly more likely to view at that time (3.3 days) than Latinos (2.2 days). Least watched is the noon news, with those surveyed tuning in just 1.3 days a week.

Latinos (38%) are significantly more likely than African Americans (25%) to say TV does better than newspapers at covering their community. But the majority of those surveyed (52%) say TV and newspapers are about the same. Only 19% gave the nod to newspapers.

Respondents read newspapers an average of 3.6 days a week (versus 5.6 days watching TV news). While 30% read every day, 19% don’t read at all. African Americans are more likely to read every day (34% vs. 23%)

Latinos who watch English-language local TV news also tend to watch Spanish-language local newscasts, on Ch. 44 and/or Ch. 66. Although only 26% include Spanish stations among those they watch most often, more than 80% say they tune in to Spanish-language local TV news at least sometimes and 19% watch it everyday. Those surveyed watch an average of 3.1 days a week, less often than the 5.6 days for English-language news.

The main reason for watching Spanish TV is that it covers the Latino neighborhoods and reports more on Latin American countries. Some 30% said it gives more detailed coverage to Latino neighborhoods and culture, and 10% point to international coverage of Mexico, Puerto Rico and other countries they want to follow. Just 10% said they like it because it’s in Spanish. Nearly one-fourth said they think English-language and Spanish-language newscasts are about the same and a few (6%) said they don’t think Spanish stations do as good a job.

The margin of error for these findings is ±5.3% for the total group, ±6.8% for African Americans alone, and ±8.5% for Latinos alone (Latino results are less reliable because the sample is smaller).

African Americans and Latinos in Chicago have expressed some strong views about how local TV news covers their communities.

They say too much negative coverage makes them feel depressed, degraded and angry. Both groups say the emphasis on negative news, crime, gangs and poverty grossly misrepresents their race or ethnic group.

African Americans are more dissatisfied with coverage of their community than Latinos, with only 28% characterizing it as good or excellent. They’re more likely than Latinos to point to excessive negative coverage and more likely to see local TV news as harmful to race relations in the city.

Yet a substantial number in both groups complain local TV news emphasizes the bad news in their communities and both call for more positive stories. Latinos also talk about the scarcity of coverage and apparent lack of interest in Latino neighborhoods and issues. They do have two Spanish-language stations where they can get more detail and more recognition of their culture and community, but bilingual Latinos also look for the mainstream to provide more of that. More than 80% watch the Spanish channels to some degree, but watch it less often than the English-language channels.

Local television news is an established part of African American and Latino lives in Chicago. It’s not just an evening activity, either. People are watching it morning, noon and night. They have favorite stations and favorite anchors. At least some do.

One difference between Latinos and African Americans is that the latter are much more likely to identify newscasters they like. That’s not surprising, because Chicago TV has many black anchors, on all different channels and at all different times. This has not gone unnoticed by the African American public, which gives them a strong vote of confidence. Latinos, on the other hand, have virtually no Latino anchors to follow, so it’s not too surprising only a third are able to name favorite anchors.

Much of the public has gotten used to the idea that "if it bleeds it leads" and that crime is a staple of local TV news — it’s cheap and easy to put on the air and people want it, polls show. But the undercurrent in comments throughout this survey is that entire populations are being misrepresented and stereotyped because crime coverage so overwhelms any other coverage of minority communities.

One complaint of many African Americans (and a few Latinos) is the people reporters choose to interview in the neighborhoods. Too often it is the most uneducated, inarticulate black who is chosen, they say, and this creates an image that does not reflect well on the African American community. Whites are selected differently, they believe. And white-owned and operated stations generally cover white news differently than they do black or Hispanic news, many say. They’re less likely to show a white criminal, less likely to make white suburbs look bad and more likely to tell white success stories and interview sharp, articulate white people.

Despite the complaints, African Americans and Latinos do watch a lot of local TV news, an average of 5.6 days, compared with 3.6 days for reading newspapers. Latinos give TV an edge over newspapers in coverage of their communities, but most in both groups say TV and newspapers do about the same kind of job.

The results of this survey are similar in many ways to the findings of an earlier study of ethnic leaders’ views of the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. In that study (Linton, 1995),

newspapers were rated "good" but coverage of ethnic communities was only "fair." The main complaint of African Americans was too much negative coverage in the papers. Latinos said there was too little coverage, and what existed was negative. Latinos were harder on the newspapers, which is consistent with the findings here, that TV does a better job covering Latinos. Just as most Latinos in this study watch Spanish-language TV, an overwhelming majority of the ethnic leaders read the ethnic press — and for basically the same reasons: coverage of important stories not in the mainstream and international stories.

Don’t leave it to Spanish-language TV to fill their needs. Yes, many Latinos maintain a strong interest in what happens in their home country — they are so close and visit family there often. But they also are a vital part of Chicago, not of a separate city-state, and deserve to be covered adequately by the mainstream media. They vote in Chicago elections, go to Chicago schools and universities, participate in Chicago business, health care, law and other professions, and pray at Chicago houses of worship. To marginalize them in media coverage is unrealistic and insulting.

• Set up a task force to improve coverage. Hiring more Latinos won’t necessarily improve coverage, as the African American experience has shown. TV stations need to take a good hard look at what they can do to stop perpetuating negative stereotypes of both groups and give more coverage to regular news happening in the neighborhoods, news that is positive and news that shows both good and bad.

More familiarity with the neighborhoods and understanding of the culture is essential. More coverage of black and Latino politicians when they’re not in the middle of a scandal or controversy would be more fair. One respondent commented that Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) is rarely asked to comment on national and international issues. Looking beyond the quick, cheap crime story to economic development, schools, social services and business will help even out the impression TV news is projecting of these two "minority" communities that together make up the majority of the Chicago population.

Black viewers cringe when the see such people on TV time and time again. Reporters need to be more sensitive and seek out articulate people to comment on a story, the same as they would with white subjects. It’s to their benefit; the sound bites will be better. Reporters in the downtown area also should be more inclusive when getting comments from the public. Too often mostly whites are interviewed on the streets, when anyone who’s been downtown knows there are people of every hue and national background.

There is much the TV stations can do to reward the loyalty of black and Latino viewers. These three steps could help lead to a stronger partnership between TV and a large but underserved portion of its audience.