A few weeks ago, R.J. Reynolds attempted to spark an increase in cigarette sales. Well aware of dwindling revenues and never forgetting the power of a good marketing campaign, Reynolds targeted black smokers.

Reynolds named the cigarette Uptown and researched "typical black smoking habits," a phrase it coined for media broadcasts.

Reynolds' advertisements depicted black people in urban settings. Philadelphia was scheduled as the first market city. After much publicity and controversy, the cigarette was not released.

This campaign is the most recent example of the media's exploitation of black people.

Mediated information saturates our minds. Whether riding in a car with the radio blaring or scanning a newspaper before a meal, people are pawns of the media.

None of our thoughts or opinions are totally our own.

A couple of centuries ago, our government declared: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereon; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . ." This adoption of the First Amendment was the birth of free speech.

Pursuing a career in the media has taught me to love the First Amendment. Consequently I do not really oppose the media depicting black people in degrading or stereotyped roles.

Instead I advocate responsible and conscious consumption of mediated information.

The responsible viewing I advocate includes: analyzing the ideas depicted in our media, self-assessing one's relationship to the media and recognizing the origins of the information from which individuals form opinions.

This public consciousness would result in a more conscious media, possibly leading to the demise of media practices that belittle and exploit black people.

Becoming alert and aware of the ideas will lead to questions. Some aspects of the media, which were once only absorbed and never second-guessed, may now raise skepticism.

Is it possible that The Jeffersons, a show I watched nearly religiously, is filled with stereotypes?

Louise, the show's leading female character is really a modern-day portrayal of a mammy. Mammies -- fiercely independent, cantankerous, and usually overweight black females -- made their entertainment debut shortly after the turn of this century.

This stereotype was revived in the 1970s. In The Jeffersons, Louise's domineering character directly contrasted with her husband's, who almost always obeyed her. Her actions parallel the stereotype created long ago.

The most important and probably the most difficult step to becoming a responsible and conscious viewer is self-assessment.

Self-assessment would require the viewer to evaluate his or her opinion of ideas presented in the media and compare that evaluation with personal actions and opinions. Viewers would ask themselves, "How do I relate to the views presented on the screen?"

During the 1970s -- the decade when blacks made thousands of prime time viewers laugh -- many living rooms turned into one of Chicago's most jovial black ghettos.

Jimmie "Dyn-o-mite" Walker helped us to believe that life in the ghetto was a Good Times as he walked around nearly always jobless, poor, yet grinning. He reminded us exactly how happy he was by constantly saying "dynomite."

A responsible viewer would question whether or not this scene was realistic. "Are black people in the ghetto as happy as portrayed on this television show?"

The last aspect of responsible viewing entails utilizing many different forms of the media. A conscious viewer would consider the source of the information which seems to have the most effect and locate other sources which address the subject.

Freeman Godsen and Charles Correll, also known as Amos 'n Andy, became popular a few decades ago. They were first a radio act, but later moved to television where they appeared in "black face."

The comedy duo depicted black people as unthinking and barely capable of speaking English. Godsen and Correll conducted one of the first stereotyped, degrading shows on television, and probably one of the first to create negative television images of black people for their audiences.

Although these type of images were created long ago, responsible viewing audiences will help to remove them from media practices. It is natural for many people not to question what they see, read or hear, but it is necessary.

Thanks to the First Amendment, U.S. media are less restricted than those in many other nations. However, freedom of the press is an added responsibility for viewers, ensuring that black people and other minorities are depicted in a less degrading way.