Here we are yet again. We just can’t seem to get it right when reporting on race. On March 18, a 21-year-old white man was arrested and charged with murder after allegedly going on a shooting rampage at three Atlanta-area businesss that left eight people dead, six of whom were Asian women. Although the suspect has not been officially charged with a hate crime, … [Read more...] about Newsrooms owe it to their Asian-American readers to get sourced, break stereotypes
Opinion
Local news outlets should play larger role in helping community members find vaccines
My mother was frustrated. At 78, she was next in line for the COVID-19 vaccine under state guidance in Illinois, but like so many seniors, she was having difficulty navigating the various websites and phone lines to secure an appointment. When she finally got on a waiting list at the local hospital, she found out there were at least 1,000 people in front of her. After … [Read more...] about Local news outlets should play larger role in helping community members find vaccines
What it was like to cover Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan
He always meant what he said, but figuring out what he said, and meant, was the tough part. It was the ongoing theme of covering a powerful figure in Illinois politics who often was a man of few words, unless it suited him to be more verbose or more available. It was always fascinating trying to figure out how he worked. Illinois House … [Read more...] about What it was like to cover Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan
‘Front Page’ to Ferguson: A memoir of half a century of St. Louis journalism
As a rookie reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch five decades ago, I sat directly in front of Ted Link, a Post-Dispatch legend. Link never said a word to me. I never said a word to Link. But I looked up to him as one of those crusty veterans who had made the Post-Dispatch great. One thing about Link unnerved me. Each morning, he walked to his desk, opened the … [Read more...] about ‘Front Page’ to Ferguson: A memoir of half a century of St. Louis journalism
Local news outlets need to report on hate, racism that fueled attack on U.S. Capitol
In the days and weeks since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building and its police officers, it’s becoming clearer just how local this story is, even as the national media outlets have moved to the inauguration and the first days of the Joseph Biden presidency. The people who participated in the insurrection were from our communities. The members of the branch of … [Read more...] about Local news outlets need to report on hate, racism that fueled attack on U.S. Capitol