Author: Virginia Martin
A Media Ethics Case With a Tragic Consequence
Cynics may be surprised to learn that media codes of ethics exist and take more than 30 seconds to read. That’s because media wield tremendous power — power customarily used for the public good but sometimes misused to disastrous effect.
The Alabama news website 1819 News published a story Wednesday revealing, against his will, that F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, the mayor of Smiths Station and the pastor of First Baptist Church of Phenix City, posted social media photos of himself dressed as a woman. This included lingerie pictures, and the story also said he offered online encouragement to people considering gender transition. Read more.
Leroy Stover, Bham’s First Black Police Officer, Dies at 90
Leroy Stover, the first Black to serve as a patrolman on the Birmingham Police Department, died Thursday. He was 90.
“Today, our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of former Deputy Chief Leroy Stover,” the police department released via social media. “As the first Black officer to integrate the Birmingham force, his legacy and work at the Birmingham Police Department paved a way for others to follow in his footsteps. We offer our full condolences to the family and know that he would forever be in our hearts and mind.”
Johnnie Johnson, who later became the first Black chief, immediately followed Stover onto the force one day later, in March 1963. They were followed by Bob Boswell and Frank Horn. Read more.
New Book Explores the Meaning of Birmingham
“Learning From Birmingham: A Journey Into History and Home” (University of Alabama Press, 2023) by Julie Buckner Armstrong
Birmingham is a place that requires explanation. The city’s racial past makes it a source of fascination and contempt. If you live in Birmingham, you know that outsiders often come at you with questions, and sometimes attitude. For African American residents, the attitude can come in the form of hillbilly jokes and a lack of respect. It was these type experiences that inspired Birmingham poet Dianne Mills to compose the wonderfully profane “Don’t Say S—t ‘bout Birmingham.”
White residents also experience a lack of respect from outsiders, a sense — sometimes said out loud — that we must be a bit backward or simply not smart enough to realize that we live in a terrible place and should probably leave. White residents can also experience suspicion regarding our racial attitudes. Call it the taint of Bull Connor. But for many of Birmingham’s white sons and daughters, there are no questions an outsider can ask that we have not already asked ourselves. Read more.
Place, Erased: How a Drowned Alabama Town Still Holds Lessons 60 Years Later
Some Southern towns have been erased by environmental disasters — whether natural or man-made. One Alabama town offers lessons on the hidden cost of progress. Read more.
An Alabama Coal Plant Once Again Nabs the Dubious Title of the Nation’s Worst Greenhouse Gas Polluter
In West Jefferson, everything happens in the shadow of Alabama Power.
Fewer than 500 people live in the town of less than one square mile, located just a 20-minute drive northwest of Birmingham. There’s little in the way of excess. Modest homes dot the landscape, with residents waving as cars pass by. There’s a Dollar General, a Baptist church and an elementary school — the staples of a small Southern community. But in this town, a plant looms large. Read more.
O’Quinn Elected President of the Birmingham City Council — Again
The Birmingham City Council in a special called meeting Friday elected Darryl O’Quinn as its president on a 5-3-1 vote after the legality of his initial election, on Tuesday, came under questioning. Read more.
Birmingham-Southern hoped to borrow money. Now the school is on borrowed time
Birmingham-Southern College is running out of money and time. After the state treasurer rejected the school’s $30 million loan application, school officials must now consider their options, including closing the 167-year-old campus on Birmingham’s west side. Read more.
Phillips Academy Teacher Wins Milken Award, Known as the ‘Oscar of Teaching’
A Birmingham teacher was given an award nicknamed the “Oscar of Teaching” during a surprise assembly at John Herbert Phillips Academy on Wednesday.
Korri Cunningham, IB coordinator for the school, was surrounded by cheering students, colleagues and dignitaries when she was surprised with the Milken Educator Award.
She said the award was “beyond anything I could ever imagine.”
“In teaching, the rewards aren’t always seen,” she said. “So to receive something of this magnitude, I can’t even begin to describe it. And it feels so good to really feel appreciated for all the hard work I put into the classroom.” Read more.
JeffCo Commission OKs Eco Dev Funds, Tyson Wants More to Go to Small Black-Owned Businesses
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday authorized its support of Innovation Depot and the Birmingham Business Alliance, but not without Commissioner Sheila Tyson voicing her objection.
“I feel like both of those organizations do not address the businesses in the minority community,” she said. “(They) don’t reach farther out from downtown.” Read more.
In Gaza Hospital Reports, the Crutch of Attribution Failed
Nothing sets up the news media for errors and remorse better than the bad combination of major breaking news and the immediate lack of information about that news. Audiences demand information pronto, and the media have zippo.
This was the case when an explosion occurred Oct. 17 at a Gaza City hospital. The New York Times soon posted this big, online headline: “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say.” The headline went through several versions, including one that added “At Least 500 Dead.” The “Palestinians” in “Palestinians Say” was the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry. Other media around the globe produced similar headlines, including some with no attribution. Read more.
