A journalist's role in diverse news coverage

Juliana Colant

jc079419@ohio.edu

A journalist's job is to tell stories and adequately inform the public. In order to successfully do so, they must create and report diverse content. By boxing themselves into a streamlined subject matter, journalists are missing the mark. Diverse content raises the voices of those ignored or unheard and educates the public in a way that expands their perspective. However, diverse content must be appropriately reported and with respect. 

Without even noticing, journalists can incorporate their own bias into the stories they write. Journalists can infer assumptions about certain groups and twist the framing of a story to fit their own bias. As a result, the public is misinformed and that misinformation will pass on to others. 

I believe Indira A.R. Lakshmanan best summed up this message in a Poynter article.

"We have to think harder about bias in our word choice and the framing of stories, and the effect that has on public perception," said Lakshmanan. "Careless coverage can both feed misleading stereotypes and distort history."

The article talks about how journalists may choose specific wording depending on the person committing the crime. For example, a person who is Muslim hurts innocent victims and the community. It is automatically assumed as an act of terrorism. Whereas, on the other hand, if the attacker were white and not Muslim, it would be considered in the news as just a disturbed loner and the whole thing was a freak incident. 

The photo below shows a headline from The Washington Post. It portrays a massacring gunman as someone normal and unproblematic beforehand. It is dismissive of a heavy subject. 

Photo courtesy of poynter.org

If diverse news coverage is conducted fairly and considerate, then its message is even more powerful. Journalism is all about giving a voice to the voiceless. 

As writer Edmund Lee's father was quoted in an article by The New York Times, "What they did was wrong," he said firmly. "That's not how we should be treated. I want you to remember this and whenever something like this happens, you have to say something. Don't ever keep quiet. You have to fight."

I could not have said it better myself. A journalist's job is when something worth reporting happens, something must be said. Journalists must use their platform to speak up, not stay quiet and put up a fight against injustice. 

Diverse news coverage is crucial to maintaining the foundation of journalistic practices. In the society we live in today it is more important than ever to prioritize diverse news coverage.