We are in the midst of a racial reckoning in our country that is more visible in some places than others, but in all places it is long overdue, including in our newsrooms. The mostly peaceful protests that have swept the nation following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police feel like a turning point for equality and justice, and we have responsibility to … [Read more...] about Media outlets covering racial unrest in America need to include an examination of their own newsrooms
Opinion
Newspapers are ‘essential business,’ but readers still don’t want to pay
In 2015, Jason Velásquez, a farmer, tax assessor and one-time marketing director for a Shakespeare theater company, started an online news site because he believed--and still does--in the importance of local news. When he founded The Greylock Glass in January of that year, the two main papers in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts had just folded, including one established … [Read more...] about Newspapers are ‘essential business,’ but readers still don’t want to pay
Photographers documenting unrest need to examine their motivation
With the Black Lives Matter movement spreading across the country, the majority of images seen in mainstream media are from white and non-Black (read here on why capitalization matters) photographers. Where I live on Oʻahu, most local coverage has come from non-Black people of color and white people. Yet there are a multitude of highly talented Black photographers across the … [Read more...] about Photographers documenting unrest need to examine their motivation
The arrest of CNN journalists is also about race
The arrest of CNN journalist Omar Jimenez on live television isn’t just about the First Amendment. It’s also about race. Journalists of color with The National Association of Black Journalists and The National Association of Hispanic Journalists clearly saw it that way with swift condemnations on social media. "#NABJ condemns the arrest of Black reporter … [Read more...] about The arrest of CNN journalists is also about race
Clarence Thomas ‘documentary’ was no documentary
Clarence Thomas is not evil as many of his critics say nor the hero his backers worship. He’s not the legal incompetent his detractors ridicule. Nor is he the legal visionary many conservatives describe. He’s not the Uncle Tom of racist caricatures drawn by some liberal cartoonists. But his vision of equality couldn’t be more at odds with that of the first black justice … [Read more...] about Clarence Thomas ‘documentary’ was no documentary
