Situation Definition:
While attending John Eligon’s lecture I became aware of many things that journalists experience that I was not aware of. Because of Eligon’s race I would expect him to report on less controversial stories and stories where he would feel welcomed. This is not the case. Eligon has covered stories from the Michael Brown shooting, to white activism in Vicksburg Mississippi, to Nazi sympathizing parties in Germany.
In all of these situations he had been faced with having to make decisions on what to write and publish and how to not show a bias towards any group of people. He also found it important to write with the purpose of telling the story but also getting a message across to his writers all while writing with a voice that does not put him in any difficult and unethical situations. In both Vicksburg Mississippi and Germany he shows this. The two main issues that I thought about with his work was how he keeps it truthful and how he decides what to write.
Analysis:
In Vicksburg, Mississippi John Eligon wrote about the Jefferson Davis statue being taken down because he was a symbol of oppression and imprisonment of hundred of blacks lives. As an African American journalist he was put in a position where he would have to interview both the people who stood for and against the removal of this statue. One white male that he interviewed was extremely blunt in how he felt about Jefferson Davis. This mans name was Gordon Cotton and when asked on the spelling of his last name he proudly stated, “Cotton like the stuff you pick” which Eligon mentioned in his article. He used this as context to show how people speak are act from other places not to show that this man was a bigot. Gordon Cotton also stated that Jefferson Davis was his hero and even if you rip down the statue you can rip down what it stood for or diminish the admiration he had for his ancestors.
He also interviewed an African American woman named Susie Jones who was on the opposite end of what Gordon Cottons opinion was. She believed that the statue is a reminder of hatred and wrong doing against black people. She also says something extremely profound and explains that it is not fair to build up one cultures history if you have to tear down another’s while doing it. When speaking about this specific story it is clear that John Eligon agreed with Susie Jones opinion but he was able to write the article with a sense of neutrality and focus to what the story was about and what the readers needed to know. According to the Journal of Mass Media Ethics there are seven social influences that can change how a journalist writes. These are individual, small group, organizational, competitive, occupational, extramedia and legal influences (Voakes 1997).
In Germany Eligon was surrounded by Nazi sympathizers and extreme racism. When asking one man about his confederate flag sweatshirt he was met with a statement that would’ve made anyone uncomfortable. This man Stephan said, “(the confederate flag) its not about racism. Yes I’m racist, when I see black people I am filled with hate because I am home and not everyone looks like me”. Throughout the day he was approached with a lot of dirty looks and apparent hate. He was even called out by the main performer for being a black journalist in front of all the attendees. This brings in the issue of individual and small group influences. This is because he has to write about something that affects him in a negative way but was not supposed to report on his feelings he was supposed to report on the events of the festival. He also had to keep in mind his audiences opinions and that is also a big influence to how a story is written.
Conclusion:
John Eligon gave two words of advice when writing in journalism. He says to get as much information that you can because it makes it easier to write and he says to get out of your comfort zone because it makes you more aware. We are all aware of the history of the “white” south and Nazi Germany but he believed that if he never covered these stories he would not be aware of how there are still supporters of these things and how they come together as any group of people do. I also think that John Eligon was an extremely influential speaker and the way he spoke was with genuine care for reporting the news not fabricating stories to make himself sound better or get ahead in his line of work.
References:
Paul S. Voakes (1997) Social influences on journalists’ decision making in ethical situations, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 12:1, 18-35, DOI: 10.1207/s15327728jmme1201_2
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14241277.2010.545363