DOHA, Qatar — In one sense, one couldn’t ask for more diversity at the daily press briefings at the United States Central Command at Doha, Qatar. One moment, I was sitting between journalists from Japan and Finland. A few minutes later, I was talking to colleagues from France, England, Germany, Holland, Mexico, Korea, Canada, or from one of 30 countries represented here. But when Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, An African-American, looked into the audience to call on reporters last week, there was only who shared his racial heritage — me.

That’s not a tribute to me or my news organization —it’s an indictment of the American news media.

It is true that a handful of African-Americans were embedded with troops in Iraq. Byron Pitts of CBS, Keith B. Richburg of the “Washington Post,” Ron Harris of the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” and Ron Allen of NBC are a few of the African-Americans reporting from the war zone for major news organizations. But it is equally true that in Doha, where the daily briefings would be televised, often live, to billions of people around the world, there was not one Black reporter representing a major U.S. news outlet. Think about it: More than 700 journalists were issued press credentials at CENTCOM, as it is called, and not one of them African-American.

Critics might say that this is not a “Black” story, whatever that is. This is not a “Black” war, yet when the military commanders wanted to find the best person to effectively communicate their message, they turned to West Point graduate Vince Brooks. They didn’t select him because he is Black — they selected him because, as he demonstrates every day, he is excellent at what he does.

Black journalists working for White-owned news outlets do not want to be limited to covering only stories about people of color. I know because I worked for White-owned publications for most of my 33 years in the business. I was excited when I had an opportunity to write a story that was of importance to African-Americans.

However, I also enjoyed other assignments as well, such as covering the White House and flying on Air Force One, the political campaigns of Bill Clinton and Al Gore, major espionage trials that resulted from American soldiers and CIA agents delivering top-secrets to Soviet agents and, during the Vietnam era, traveling to Canada to write a series on amnesty.

There are dozens of Black journalists who could cover any aspect of the war on Iraq as well as, if not better, than White reporters. Not because they are Black but, like Brooks, because they are the best at what they do.

What could Black journalist contribute that others can’t?

Plenty. One trait that many bring is a certain sensitivity and eye for stories that others might miss. For example, within two days of being in Doha, I realized there was another story that had not been written. It was the story of the other soldiers in the command who had excelled. To top enlisted person in the Army is the sergeant major. In Doha, the person who holds this position for the entire command is an African-American.

Did you ever wonder who was responsible for setting up the media center and that dazzling display of technology that Gen. Brooks uses? An African-American. And the Lord knows that we all need prayer, especially during this period. The chaplain for the command? An African-American.

To me, this was a story waiting to be written. And I wrote it. How many other similar stories are being missed because no U.S. news organization saw fit to send a Black reporter to cover the command center?

The American media has failed on at least two levels. One, it has failed to promote or retain many accomplished top-level Black journalists, first-class people such as Joe Davidson, formerly of the “Wall Street Journal,” Nat Sheppard of the “Chicago Tribune,” Linda S. Wallace, formerly of the “Philadelphia Inquirer,” Reggie Stuart of the Knight Ridder News Service, and the list goes on and on.

It has also failed to do a good jobs at the other end, hiring.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE), in its annual newsroom census, reported that minorities accounted for 12.53 percent of newsroom staffs in 2003, far behind the 31.1 percent of minorities in the U.S. population. While ASNE’s numbers show a .04 percent increase in the number of African-American journalists nationwide, the percent of minority managers declined, falling to 19 percent from 20 percent in 2002. The organizations goal was to have minority journalists make up 15.6 percent of newsrooms in 2003.

Editors also are doing a poor job of placing minorities in internships, the pipeline for permanent, full-time reporting jobs. Minorities in internships dropped to 30.6 percent in 2003 from 31.1 percent last year.

At this rate, the nation stands to miss out in the future on many more important stories.