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The Simpsons is widely considered to be one of the most popular, witty, and urbane animated cartoons of recent years and to accuse The Simpsons of racism or bad taste is to misunderstand the very nature of the show and the comedy it uses. Through its use of hyper-irony and the cult of knowingness, The Simpsons hammers home Lawson and Martheson's point that there is no arena of certainty, moral agenda or ultimate truth.

Media reports of a hostage-taking incident in a 'Good Guys' electronics store in Sacramento, California, by Asian youths reveal stereotypes associated with Asian Americans. The media portrayed the four young Asian hostage-takers as unemployed gangsters, aspiring to fame before returning to Thailand. Asian gangs usually committed crimes in their own community, but were now branching out to target other community. Asian communities experienced difficulties in communicating with the police due to the lack of Asian officers in the police departments. The media reports were based on prejudice and misconceptions.

Studies and surveys of black and white journalists, aimed to understand their attitudes on racism and the influence they have in the newsroom, reveal that while blacks believe that whites control the newsroom and they fail to understand the black community, whites feel that blacks are receiving special consideration. This rift between different races in journalism has resulted in news reporters losing their objectivity. Journalists do not communicate freely with each other and conventional journalism is still steeped in giving priority to whites.

The importance of citizen dialogue is highlighted in combination with media consumption for engagement. The alternative to forums such as citizen juries, study circles, and deliberative polls is suggested.

Prime-time television shows have not been effective in building a positive image of Blacks in the US despite the large number of black performers, directors and managers. Only a handful of shows have exerted an effort to present an image of Blacks different from the singers, dancers and servant roles that are most often given to Blacks. Notable among these shows are 'Frank's Place' and 'Equal Justice' for their realistic depiction of Blacks from the Black perspective. Television programmers should reorient their policies given the growing importance of Blacks as consumers.