Journalists covering Presidential debates are asked to Disclose Race

Journalists applying to the Commission on Presidential Debates for credentials to cover the presidential debates are being asked to provide their racial data, a move that has some upset. In addition to requesting that applicants provide their name, Social Security or passport number, gender, address and country and date of birth, the online application asks respondents to describe their race using one of the following: American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, black, not of Hispanic origin, Hispanic, white, not of Hispanic origin. A drop-down list gives respondents the option of not providing the information. Kelly McBride, who teaches ethics at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, questioned how knowing someone's race would help identify a security risk. "If they're worried about terrorists gaining access to the presidential candidates by posing as journalists, that's a legitimate concern, and they need to take legitimate steps to address that," McBride said. "(But) asking people's race, I can't imagine how that would help them address that because a terrorist could be white, a terrorist could be black, a terrorist could be Asian." [more ]