After a CBS News political producer announced the network's slate of reporters for the 2020 presidential race, Twitter was quick to point out the lack of Black reporters on the team. 

CBS News producer Ben Mitchell released the names of a 12-member team on Saturday who will be covering the 2020 presidential campaign. Although there was a mixture of people, some of Asian, Hispanic and Middle Eastern descent, the lack of Black reporters ignited a Twitter firestorm. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) spearheaded the backlash attributing the nation's racial insensitivity to the Trump administration.

“This WH admin has made having a functional understanding of race in America one of the most important core competencies for a political journalist to have, yet [CBS News] hasn’t assigned a *single* Black journalist to cover the 2020 election,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet.

But the true bone of contention was the agency's lack of foresight. Black women and men have played an instrumental role in the past two election cycles. Most notably, Black women were vital in electing Doug Jones in Alabama special U.S. senatorial race.

News reports are claiming Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) will enter the race as front-runners. Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) are relying on Black voters to gain the nomination, The Washington Post reports. Knowing this, having Black reporters seem vital to covering their campaigns, users stated. 

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Alexandria-ocasio-cortezDiversity in the newsroom