{"id":15066,"date":"2013-10-30T16:36:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T21:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/media-take-sides-on-redskins-name\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:27:49","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:27:49","slug":"media-take-sides-on-redskins-name","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2013\/10\/30\/media-take-sides-on-redskins-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Media take sides on \u2018Redskins\u2019 name"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FT_13.10.29_redskins\"<\/figure>\n\n

At least 76 news outlets and journalists have publicly stated their opposition to the Washington Redskins name or moved to restrict or ban its use, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

The decades-long battle over a term that critics regard as a racial slur re-emerged earlier this year after D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray<\/a> raised the issue and a group of Native Americans argued before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that the team<\/a>\u00a0 should lose its trademark protection because the name is disparaging. Team owner Dan Snyder responded in May, telling USA Today<\/a>, \u201cWe\u2019ll never change the name of the team. It\u2019s that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

NFL executives are meeting today with the Oneida Indian Nation to address the controversy over whether to change the name.<\/p>\n\n

A month after Snyder\u2019s statement, two sports journalists, Tim Graham<\/a> of The Buffalo News and John Smallwood<\/a> of the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote pieces indicating they would stop using the Redskins name in their reporting. Since then, a number of media outlets and personalities have weighed in\u2014from The Washington Post editorial board<\/a> to veteran NBC sportscaster Bob Costas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Those who have publicly endorsed a name change represent a small fraction of the media universe and some of its members, such as sportswriter Rick Reilly<\/a>, have defended the name. According to a June Washington Post poll<\/a>, 66% of D.C. area residents don\u2019t believe the name should be changed.\u00a0 One notable D.C. resident, President Barack Obama<\/a>, said he\u2019d \u00a0\u201cthink about changing\u201d the name during an October 5 interview with the Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n

The ongoing media debate over how to describe the Washington football team harkens back to other cases in which journalists and news outlets have changed practices or policies because of concerns that language was offensive or inappropriate. Earlier this year, several news organizations announced a ban<\/a> on the term \u201cillegal immigrant\u201d because it lacked precision and too broadly labeled a large group.<\/p>\n\n

To determine how many media organizations and journalists have spoken out against the name, we culled from a number of sources, including the Oneida Indian Nation’s\u00a0list. \u00a0While our list does not represent a complete census, it does provide a sense of the growing ranks of those opposing the name.<\/p>\n\n

Here\u2019s how the roster breaks down:<\/p>\n\n