Category: BirminghamWatch
Memoir Explores ‘Being Black but Growing Up White’ After the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
“Dear Denise” follows Lisa McNair’s life in a series of letters to the sister she never met. Lisa recounts her experience growing up in the first generation of African Americans after legal segregation. Read more.
The Story of ‘the Colony’: How a Small, Black Community Thrived, Survived in Cullman County
The Colony, Cullman County’s only Black community, has a rich history of resilience and self-made success. Its current residents are working to continue it. Read more.
Tattletales: News Media Love to Call Each Other Out
Sunday marked the final broadcast of CNN’s 30-year-old news media criticism show called “Reliable Sources.” The reasons for the cancellation aren’t clear, but the network’s new CEO has said he wants to cut back on opinion, re-emphasize straight reporting and, notably, attract conservative viewers who have turned off CNN.
Good luck with that last part, fella.
There’s still plenty of press criticism out there from politicians and other partisans, but less and less from professional reporters who are designated to do so. In addition to losing “Reliable Sources,” the job of “public editor” – a newsroom reporter given the authority and independence to listen to audience complaints and write about their own organization’s failings – has almost disappeared. Read more.
Sick and Tired of All the Bad News? You’re Not Alone
“I can’t even.”
That was a common remark on social media in the wake of discovery that a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, left a 2-year-old boy orphaned. He was found wandering in the street. “Are Mommy and Daddy coming soon?” he later asked his grandfather.
I can’t even.
Of course, what’s the unspoken part of that sentence?
“I can’t even comprehend something so awful.”
“I can’t even imagine what life will be like for him.”
“I can’t even believe we live in a society where that could happen.”
All of the above.
And for some people: “I can’t even bring myself to read the news these days.”
It’s bad out there: COVID, the Ukraine war, mass killings, political insanity, add your own. Many people decide they just don’t want to read or watch it anymore. They engage in “news avoidance.” Read more.
Emotions of Abortion Debate Put Newswriters in a Language Jungle
I don’t know how journalists writing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs abortion decision manage to meet their deadlines. They have to stop practically every other sentence to think and avoid words and phrases that are loaded like landmines.
I can’t think of any other issue in which the language has become so politicized. Journalists writing news stories seek truthful characterizations while steering clear of perceived partisanship. This may be impossible here. Read more.
Foundations, Individuals Support Public Service Journalism
Policing the Truth: Yes, the Cops May Be Lying
Whenever a large-scale crime of violence grabs national media attention, it’s gut wrenching to watch those interviews with grieving families and witnesses. It’s only natural to think, “Leave those poor people alone.”
But reporters have reasons for doing it. Here’s one: To try to figure out if the police are lying to everyone.
We are seeing this now with the mass murders at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Interviews and social media videos have shown that early law enforcement accounts of quick confrontation and bravery by officers were bogus. Read more.
Regional Edward R. Murrow Honors Awarded to WBHM, Gulf States Newsroom
WBHM 90.3 FM and the Gulf States Newsroom won 13 of the 18 regional Edward R. Murrow awards for 2022, including Overall Excellence for WBHM for the second year in a row. Read more.
Crenshaw Named Communicator of Achievement, Received Awards for 7 Stories
BirminghamWatch contributor Solomon Crenshaw Jr. has been named Communicator of Achievement of Alabama Media Professionals.
That distinction puts Crenshaw in the running for the national Communicator of the Achievement of the National Federation of Press Women, the parent organization of AMP.
Additionally, seven of Crenshaw’s works from 2021 were recognized in AMP’s communications contest. Read more.
D.C. Dinner of Journos, Pols and Celebs Was Black Tie and a Black Eye
The news media that cover the White House have a really great plan for combating the common public perception that they are elitist and out of touch with the rest of the world.
They hosted a black-tie dinner in Washington to schmooze and hobnob with government leaders and politicians. Really.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner returned Saturday night after a two-year absence because of the pandemic. The gala event featuring Beltway journalists, leading political figures and celebrities presents such a terrible picture.
The message to media consumers (and haters) says this: The D.C. press and politicians are quite cozy, actually, and what we see 364 days a year is just a game they play to fulfill prescribed roles and maintain access. It makes one wonder if the independent and sometimes adversarial relationship that’s needed to produce accountability journalism truly exists in untempered form. Read more.
