"Doing Me" & Doing Good Journalism
“What am I doing? What am I doing? Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m doing me. ”
I am a really opinionated woman, but I am also getting my master's degree in journalism. My job is to report unbiased facts from different sources. I'm supposed to tell stories, but from many perspectives, giving no weight to one in particular. And, I'm supposed to back those stories up with data and statistics that speak to a larger narrative. The stories I report on are not about me, I am literally the messenger, so, don't shoot me, especially because I have a lot of opinions.
I was nervous about launching this blog, because it will house my opinions--it's a place for me to get out my thoughts. But, I realized I would have to navigate them with caution, because I wouldn't want a future employer to discredit me because he or she got the feeling I wouldn't be able to do my job unbiasedly.
But to keep it 100, It doesn't really make sense for journalists not to value our own opinions when we talk to other people all day for theirs. So that's why I'm starting this blog. I do not want to "code-switch" here, nor do I want to filter my thoughts because I fear that it'll bite me in the butt later. Everyone has opinions and inherent biases, whether people care to discuss them publicly or publish them is another story.
In everything that I do, I see through the lens of an educated, black woman. I am ready to discuss privilege at any moment, and I want to see better coverage of racial injustices, the prison- industrial complex, sexism, and general unfairness I see in my communities. I don't doubt my ability to report on other things, but this will be a place where I intend to speak freely about issues that matter to me.
Kolloquial is a platform for me to discuss my own experiences, since all day long I am listening to how other people feel about things. I needed a place to tease out all of the things I feel about the current events in which I am so deeply indulged because of my program.
I think that more reporters should cover race, actually everyone should. I'm hoping to create a path in the field wherein I can become a the "go-to" person for sensitivity and doing a better job at reporting in African-American communities.
Keepin' it kolloquial, one post at a time.