How newsrooms have failed black journalists

06/17/20 • 31 min

Since last week, editors at multiple publications have resigned over racism allegations or in response to criticism of their protest coverage. On this week’s show, we spoke with Jason Johnson, a Morgan State University associate professor focused on politics and journalism. He says that the journalism industry, which is more white and male than the population at large, keeps failing to recruit and empower black journalists.

Also: Ongoing discussions about racism have prompted some communities to remove Confederate statues. Will Mississippi become part of the trend and retire its flag, which contains the Confederate emblem?

Previous Episode

Should journalists photograph protesters?

In the journalism industry, coverage choices that have been the standard for decades are being called into question amid sustained protests against police brutality. Newsrooms are reconsidering the merits of everything from photographing activists to the words and headlines used to frame protests.

Meanwhile, dozens of videos have shown police attacking protesters and journalists. What do these incidents say about Americans’ right to protest?

Next Episode

Trump in Tulsa

On Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, President Donald Trump held his first rally in months, an event that was controversial from the beginning. We spoke with Dylan Goforth, editor in chief of the Tulsa-based investigative news site The Frontier, to get some context about what the rally meant to Tulsans and how the city and state responded to criticism that the event would put the public’s health at risk.

Plus: The use of surveillance on protesters and the companies that have cut coronavirus hazard pay.