Part 1: Situation Definition
I chose to write about John Eligon, a reporter who covers race issues at the New York Times. One thing I took note of was when he stated that he doesn’t necessarily enjoy writing. As a journalist at the New York Times, it boggled my mind how a journalist as successful as he is to not enjoy writing sounded ludicrous to me! However, he explained how he enjoyed other aspects of journalism, such as interviewing people and learning about them.
Eligon spoke of his past experiences within the field of journalism and two ethical issues that I want to speak more about is his idea of how to bring your yourself into the reporting but not make the reporting about yourself (objective reporting) and also how he handled himself in situations where he wasn’t accepted. For example, in his trip to Germany, he went to a Nazi/KKK meeting. One may ask, what’s the point? Eligon stated, “Getting out of my comfort zone makes me more aware”.
Therefore, the two ethical issues I’d like to talk more about are objective reporting, and the effect of race in reporting.
Part 2: Analysis
Eligon spoke of occurrences in his past with police, and folks who weren’t fond of black people. A story that stood out to me was when he was visiting a southern man named Cotton. When Eligon introduced himself, the man introduced himself as “Cotton, just like you used to pick”. Eligon stated how he was taken back by the remark, and ended up including that statement in his article, but by not allowing the remark to affect him he was able to gain interesting information for his story. Eligon stated that he included that comment in the article to allow the reader to make their own judgement about Cotton. He didn’t give his opinion on the matter, but by including the statement he said it allows for his readers to make their own judgement, instead of coming off as biased.
Another instance that interested me was his trip to Germany to cover the Nazi/KKK meeting. While there, he said how he wasn’t comfortable at first, but the large presence of police made him a little more at ease (he also stated how ironic it was to feel at ease with the presence of police). One man caught his eye as he was wearing a confederate flag shirt. After just finishing his piece on Cotton, it was a perfect opportunity to approach the man and gain some insight on him. Eligon explained how asking “why” is important in stories like these. “Asking why leads to the information you want, making writing the piece easier,” said Eligon. In a research article by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen and 4 others, they described the importance of objectivity and how it is similar to a seesaw. It’s similar to a seesaw as how it is important to be objective to a story to make sure that both sides are portrayed equally (Jorgensen, 783).
In my opinion, I think it takes a lot of grit and determination to be able to cover these stories as a black man. Eligon knew the challenge that he faced as black man, speaking with a racist and covering a Nazi/KKK meeting in Germany. Words can’t truly describe how challenging this must’ve been but I don’t think that a white man could have given the same perspective on these stories. With the dilemma in our country and around the globe, I believe that Eligon allowed us to see more into the matter than a white man could. Eligon stated that you have to “put yourself in their shoes” to understand where they are coming from.
The second issue that Eligon spoke about was his work when covering the Ferguson shootings. He arrived a week or so after the shootings and described how his fellow white colleagues were having a hard time gaining information and speaking with people in the area. On the other hand, his black colleagues were saying the exact opposite. They were being welcomed into their homes and gave them all kinds of great information. In my opinion, I think this was an eye opener for his fellow white colleagues, as they were able to feel the struggle of what Eligon and his other colleagues may have to go through on a more regular basis.
In an article by Earl Caldwell, he explains how black journalists united in the 1960’s during the civil war and made a name for themselves. One may ask how this relates to Eligon but I personally believe that this can relate back to how Eligon and the troubles he faced due to his race. A statement that was important to me was the following,”We were like war correspondents operating behind enemy lines. We saw and heard and experienced so much. We had to come together; that’s how we survived.” (Caldwell, 63). I think this is important to note because this statement is relating to how editors only wanted the facts and nothing else. The reporters had much more to give but were denied of that opportunity. While there are still issues today with race in our world, this was a major turning point in Black American journalism history as it allowed black men and women reporters to be able to prosper in their field.
Part 3 Conclusion:
In the end, I thought that John Eligon had some great insight on the world of journalism, as it’s what I want to be when I graduate from Penn State. One thing that I really took away from his lecture was that you have to give a little in order to get something out of it. When covering a difficult subject matter such as the Nazi/KKK meeting in Germany, it takes a lot of courage to put yourself in a situation like that where you know the enemy is looking you straight in the eyes. One thing to remember as well is that the enemy can sometimes provide you with important information in a story, which he was able to do a tremendous job of.
I think that it is important to continue discussing these issues today because they are still relevant. He provided real life examples of some of the hardships he had to face while working in the field and that while it’s going to have some great moments, you have to be prepared for the difficult ones as well. With Neo-Nazi rallies and racism in this country today, I think that it was interesting but also disheartening to hear first hand how these events are. From the police he encountered, to Mr. Cotton, to the Nazi/KKK meetings, there are examples of these people in the world today, which is why these topics are still important to discuss about.
References:
Wahl-Jorgensen, K., Berry, M., Garcia-Blanco, I., Bennett, L., & Cable, J. (2017). Rethinking Balance and Impartiality in journalism? How the BBC Attempted and Failed to Change The Paradigm. Journalism, 18(7), 783
URL: https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1177/1464884916648094
Caldwell, E. (2004). The Black Revolution in Journalism. Quill, 63
URL: http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=15589147&site=ehost-live&scope=site