Now that #SPJ2020 is wrapping up, I'm going to go back and watch "Beyond the Protests: Inclusive Newsrooms/Inclusive Coverage," featuring my friend and hero @Optimus_Mo. I'll be "live"-tweeting even though it happened yesterday lol. Follow along if you want! https://twitter.com/tuckwoodstock/status/1305166676493623297

The moderator for this panel is Robert Hernandez ( @webjournalist).

"I'm going to be blunt: when these topics of diversity come up, a lot of people bounce, leaving behind people who we would call 'the choir.' And we may be preaching to the choir today." Already love this.

Robert Hernandez: "We're going to speak bluntly and it's likely going to be uncomfortable. Getting uncomfortable is part of the learning process. It's a good thing."

Yes! I say this at the beginning of all of my ( http://sylveon.co ) trainings as well.

From @webjournalist: "Racism is not a disagreement. It's not something to be debated. It's not about being objective in both sides. We [in this panel] are agreeing on the framework on the base that racism or any bias against a group of people is wrong."

"Let's also state that white privilege is real. But let's also acknowledge that we all come from different types of privilege. The fact that we're in this industry means that you have certain privileges." - Robert Hernandez

"We are speaking on behalf of ourselves. We're not the spokespersons of our diverse communities that we are a part of. However, we are speaking as professional journalists, working journalists that believe in holding our industry to a higher standard." I'm emotional already?!

"This diverse group is invited to the panel about diversity. This diverse group is a lot more than journalists of color. So when you introduce yourself, please tell me what session you should be a part of because of your expertise in your field, not just because you're a [POC]."

Uh, @webjournalist is so cool and good, what the heck. (He also asked for pronouns. Eyeball emojis at every other #SPJ2020 session that did not.)

An accessibility note: because I'm watching this later, I can turn on auto-generated captions on YouTube and pause as needed. This is making it WAY easier for me to listen and to share what I'm learning.

Morgan is here! "[I would talk about] how we stand alongside the people we report, and not so much speak for them. I see a lot of white journalists who want to be white saviors."

Hernandez says that this panel is going to talk about what newsrooms can do now to improve inclusion in the newsrooms BESIDES hiring a more diverse staff. Because that one is a given.

Had to pause but I'm back, maybe! @kimbui talks about how there's plenty of diversity in journalism schools — the biggest issues is women and BIPOC folks (and especially women of color) dropping out somewhere along the way due to discrimination. Retention is key.

"People have to know when to step aside. If you see people that are coming up and are better than you, that's what you should be aiming for. And you should know when it's time to let them shine."
@kimbui

Robert points out that multiple folks in the panel have quit their jobs due to "cultural issues" in the newsroom.

"I'm lucky to be in a place where not only am I getting mentorship, but they're also putting me in positions to succeed and trying to find a way to elevate and improve on my talent. The more you can cultivate the talent you have, the better your orgs will be." @msantiagophotos

Morgan! "One of the things I wonder about is what type of environment we're placing these Black and brown and queer and Indigenous reporters in. Because often, we step into these rooms and we're confronted with this white supremacist idea of objectivity" (1/8)

(2/8) "And when we try say, hey, the people who created this grew up in a white supremacist society and based their ideas on on the white cis heteronormative capitalist patriarchal point of view, and so we have in this industry this idea of white journalistic institutions..."

(3/8) "...that if we challenge that power, if we point out power bias, that somehow we are not being objective. But the idea of objectivity, I don't think it exists in the way that people want it to exist."

(4/8) "I don't think objectivity is, you have to remove any type of moral standing from your reporting. And that's what I have seen. So we get into these rooms and they won't listen to us. And there's a difference between patronizing listening and actual listening..."

(5/8) "Because when you really listen and you understand the problem, then you have to address it. So part of this inability to "hear" what we're saying, I think it's this inertia, this unwillingness to look within themselves, to understand what they've been taught..."

(6/8) "...and to remove what society has taught them. Because once you know what society has taught you, you can actively work to combat that. And I do not see that in these white journalistic institutions."

(7/8) "When we [do] reporting that brings a more complete and accurate picture, they're like, 'Wait a minute, you're being an advocate.' Why would you call me an advocate for pointing out the truth when I don't call you an advocate for upholding the white supremacist status quo."

(8/8) "And so I wonder if we are doing what we need to to shake the tables of power in our newsrooms. And that means we have to open up the conversation and get uncomfortable. I have never grown when I was comfortable."

MORGAN MOTHERF-ING GIVENS, EVERYONE. Bless @Optimus_Mo.

Robert Hernandez: "I think something we need to embrace is that the frame of white supremacy is not just Nazis burning tiki torches. White supremacy is a framework. Supremacy is a framework."

@ABecenti, Navajo Times: When I started reporting on COVID, I was documenting what we were doing as a people to try to decrease the numbers and stay safe. But major media outlet stories all seemed to sound the same. They all seemed to discuss what was wrong with our community..."

"...We needed water and electricity. These issues we already knew about for year and years, and it took a pandemic to put a highlight on it for the world to see." Arlyssa talking about how mainstream media fails to adequately cover the Navajo nation.

"I declined to moderate this panel at first. I wanted to ensure that it wasn't just a one-off session of diverse people." - Robert Hernandez

Morgan: "I tweeted once that there was a white supremacist fascist in the White House. Now, having the historical contextualization that I have, learning all that I know, there are similar patterns. This moment that we are in didn't just appear out of the ether."

"What I see is white journalists are like 'Oh my god, what's happening, the sky is falling.'" And I'm like, 'How did you not see this happening? Every time the has been Black advancement, there has been white supremacist nationalist backlash." @Optimus_Mo

"So when President Obama won, I said this is about to get nasty because this man has taken what white supremacy believes to belong to it. And it did. So what we had was Black and brown and queer journalists who were like, 'Yo, hey, danger, warning signs...'"

"...We're seeing the gathering of violence around the identity of whiteness. And we've seen this before, and we were ignored, and we were told you can't call that racist, you can't name white supremacy for what it is." (This quote is all Morgan Givens, of course.)

"...Why? Because if you name it for what it is in our society, you have to look inside your institutions and be like, 'How are we upholding these same white supremacist ideals?' So when I see white journalists who lack this history... they report in a vacuum."

I have to stop quoting every single word Morgan says but I hope #SPJ2020 is going to release a transcript of this so we can, like, wallpaper newsrooms with it.

"It irks me when i see the same questions being asked by white journalists every time this happens. Why are you trying to debate what we know? But if you don't know our history, then you don't know that we know. So we report the same thing over and over."

"If you knew the history of the way the media failed in reporting on fascist uprisings and authoritarian regimes, you would see the same mistakes being made in our media today. There are some things that you waste your time debating." @Optimus_Mo

Broadly, Morgan is making the point that when reporters haven't learned Black history, Indigenous history, queer history, it's difficult for them to report from a place of historical context, which leads to them reporting the same 101-level content over and over again.

I want to chime in to say that I see this constantly in trans reporting. Cis people don't know about trans people, so every article they write is "this is what transitioning is!"

Broadly speaking, trans reporters are the ones who move past the 101 to tell interesting stories.

"Someone put a comment in the chat that said, 'Why don't we say white bias instead of white supremacy?'

We can't keep inventing new words to make us feel more comfortable with this uncomfortable topic."

- @webjournalist

I hope y'all are reading and sharing this thread because it's a really really good panel and I'm spending a ridiculous amount of time transcribing chunks of it, haha.

@msantiagophotos: "The police trapped us on a bridge [at a protest] and within 3 minutes, they started shooting pepper bullets and tear gas. At some point, protesters were throwing stuff back at police because they were being attacked." (1/2)

(2/2) "The following day, it was reported that I think 8 police officers were injured. But the article never mentioned how many protesters and journalists were injured as well. I think it was more than 100 protesters."

Robert Hernandez: "That's what we're seeing right now. 'Well, we can't trust the activists because they have an agenda. But we can trust the police.' But you all know this. If a source gives you a bad information over and over again, you stop trusting that source."

"Our job is not to coddle power. Our job is to check it. Our job is to hold power to account. And if we rely on these police narratives, who do these narratives serve? Are we serving the people or the powerful institutions?" @Optimus_Mo talking about power bias

Morgan (an ex-cop): "I have seen [police] change use-of-force reports before they're released. I have seen lieutenants say 'Oh no, don't release it in that way because it doesn't sound good, it makes you look too bad.'"

"We have lost sight of the fact that these uprisings are in direct response to violence from the state. The police function for the police. This is state-sanctioned violence. We have to call it what it is." @Optimus_Mo

OK, had to take a break but I'm back!

@kimbui re: the protests: "I think there are a lot of great journalists on the ground doing the work and reporting accurately and fairly and representatively. It's often the editors who are like, 'We have to include the other side. We gotta talk to the cops about that.'"

"if you had asked 5 years ago, should we name protesters who are arrested and run their mugshots, I think a majority of people would say yes.

I confronted that this summer and was like, "No! These people were called looters by the cops, we don't know what was going on." (1/3)

(2/3) "We weren't there to see this. Why should we run their mugshots, why should we name them, when we aren't even sure they committed a crime. Police say that, sure, but we didn't see that with our own eyes." @kimbui

(3/3) "In an age when we have fewer staff than ever, we become reliant on things that are easy, like police reports. The tweets and the police reports do not tell the full facts. If you weren't there, you have to [make that clear to the audience." @kimbui

"If police are saying things are being thrown at them with force, we're going to say what those things are. Oh, someone threw a water bottle, and then police charged? That is clear-cut. Don't use police jargon when reporting." -Kim Bui

Kim: "I started wearing makeup and 'grown-up clothes' because one editor told me I looked so young, I must be an intern, and why would I ever think that I could be an editor? I had been working for 7 years already. Why should it matter how young I look to be able to lead?"

"I think lots of editors in newsrooms think this movement we're in is a young person thing, and that young people are really entitled in some way. They're trying to avoid the fact that they've been ignoring their own white supremacist ideas for their whole careers." @kimbui

Kim says that there's a lot of emphasis on listening right now, but it's important for editors and senior reporters to take a step beyond that and actually do something.

Robert: editors need to prove their credibility and earn reporters' trust before they can help w/ inequity.

Michael Santiago says that his colleague was pulled from BLM protest coverage for "bias" when she compared the destruction from the protests to destruction after a country music concert. When Michael spoke up to defend her, he was also pulled from BLM coverage.

@msantiagophotos: "When I take off my press badge, I am a Black man in this country. There are a lot of times I'd jog around with my press badge even when I'm not working, just in case I get pulled over. How many of our white counterparts can say that they do that?"

Michael: "These protesters are protesting for my life as well."

Robert Hernandez paraphrases Doc Rivers to say "it's amazing that we keeping loving the journalism industry, and the industry doesn't love us back."

Hernandez: "One thing I'm noticing is that instead of talking about it internally, having another committee and maybe a session at a conference people are now going public and shaming their employers" for systemic racism at their institutions.

Kim Bui: "My advice to young people is to pick your battles and find your allies. If you're going to call someone out, you can't do it alone, because then you just look disgruntled. And make sure it's worth it. Know what you're risking."

Andddd that's it! Thanks for following along on my belated recap of this panel. Don't forget to follow @Optimus_Mo @kimbui @webjournalist @ABecenti @msantiagophotos