Culture Shock

By Stefanie Toth
st135906@ohio.edu

When is reporting on race appropriate in journalism? Essentially, everything boils down to race and/or culture. But, when is it OK to mention a subject’s race, nationality or culture in a story?

Is it newsworthy to chastise Michael Jackson for his personal problems because his appearance has changed?

How important is a detailed description of a bank robbery suspect?

Where does reporting on the KKK or other racial groups fall? Is it better to report their protests or is it fueling racial tensions?

I am confident that many journalists think either too much or too little about culture and race relations in this society. Culture does not only mean music but nationality and pride for one’s ancestry. It also involves a deep understanding of so many different facets of the world.

As a journalist, one is supposed to research a story before producing it. So, making sure one knows the demographics of the area and the background of all sources for the project is important. Journalists often ignore these things and just try to report the facts, but in the end it’s far deeper than getting a statistic.

A good news story will show an understanding of history and a penchant for finding the one angle that will bring an accurate, balanced and fair story to the masses, not just the facts.



This video is part one of a National Press Club panel discussing race and the media.