Teaching

CRAIG NEWMARK GRAUDATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AT CUNY

JOURNALISM 76008.4 — “Reporting on Race”

***SYLLABUS DISPLAYED BELOW WILL BE UPDATED FOR FALL 2023***

Office hours: Thursdays, 5:00pm-7pm ET | Schedule Here
Class time: Wednesdays, 5:30pm-8:20pm ET

Email: aaron.morrison@journalism.cuny.edu

For decades, media in the U.S. have failed to consistently make race and equity central elements in coverage of criminal justice, education, the economy, government and entertainment. Following the recent reckoning on systemic racism on American soil and around the world, this course offers students tools to begin repairing the harm caused by generations of flat, mainstream coverage of BIPOC communities. This course will also tackle the major hurdles and pain points to nuanced coverage of race and ethnicity in the U.S. Students will develop strategies for sophisticated storytelling with racial inclusivity baked in.

The goal is to begin developing expertise that facilitates authoritative writing about race and race-related subjects. And because people in diverse societies exist at the intersection of race and other marginalized identities, students will learn how to account for the particulars of those experiences in their reporting and writing.

As a class, students will choose a beat and, from scratch, build a manual for reporting on race with vital historical context, sensitivity to stereotypes and anti-BIPOC bias, and an eye toward equity. At the end of the term, the students will exchange their individual chapters of the manual for use on the job, in other classes and as a touchstone of our time together.

MANUAL: “Arts, Culture, & Entertainment,” “Business and the Economy,” “Crime & the Criminal Legal System” (up to 2 students), “Education,” “Environment,” “Government & Politics,” “Health & Science,” and “Immigration”

---EXAMPLES OF MANUALS: SALDEF Style Guide, Stop AAPI Hate Content Guidelines

INDIVIDUAL STORY ASSIGNMENT: Each student will choose a racial or ethnic group in the U.S., pitch, report and write about how that group has been covered in the media. The final piece*, no more than 1,200 words in length, will have insightful interviews and important historical detail and context. The story should reveal how members of that group and other advocates would prefer to be covered. Successful stories will be publishable or suitable for air in any professional journalism outlet.

---EXAMPLES OF RACE IN MEDIA STORIES: Anti-Asian bias rose after media, officials used 'China virus,' report shows (NBC News); Racial Bias in Crime Reporting (WNYC)

*We will discuss in class the scope and required elements for assignments, including an option for video or audio.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of Reporting on Race, students should be able to:

Identify trustworthy sources, advocacy groups and other organizations that inform coverage of race or race-related topic;
Understand and follow the influential Associated Press style on race-related coverage;
Assess other guides and resources on nuanced, accurate and empathetic coverage of racial or ethnic minority groups in the U.S.;
Recognize common stereotypes, traps and tropes used in mainstream and niche media outlets;
Request/gather race and race-related data and records through public databases, FOIA requests and other means;
Understand how to safely cover protests and civil unrest sparked by racial injustice or related flashpoints;
Plan for race/civil rights anniversary coverage that goes beyond spot news events and profiles; and
Write compellingly about race and ethnicity to inform and reveal something new for the reader.

DO NOT MISS DEADLINES

Assignments and project drafts received after the deadline or due date will be marked down—five points for each day past the original deadline. Procrastination that results in thinly-sourced assignments and drafts will affect grades.

A NOTE ON PLAGIARISM

It is a serious ethical violation to take any material created by another person and represent it as your own original work. Any such plagiarism will result in serious disciplinary action, including possible dismissal from the CUNY J School. Plagiarism may involve copying text without attributing the source, or lifting photographs, videos, or other materials and attempting to pass them off as your own. Student work may be analyzed electronically for plagiarized content. Please ask the instructor if you have any questions about how to distinguish between acceptable presentation of research and plagiarism.

DIVERSITY

Diversity is part of everything we do as journalists. In reporting, we must make sure to find diverse voices, and learn to engage with those who are different from us, especially those from marginalized communities, in a way that shows respect and builds trust. To truly build your beat, you will become immersed in people’s lives. You’ll be asking them for intimate details, in some cases about things that might be difficult for them to discuss. We will talk about ways to do these kinds of interviews, but I’d like you to at all times consider the role that empathy plays in doing this work, to listen, and to think about diversity as it pertains to the sources you choose and in terms of your own biases.

ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVITY

My goal is to facilitate a learning experience that is inclusive, and that meets the needs of our school’s diverse student body. If you have any concerns regarding the readings, assignments, remote learning or other requirements of this course, please let me know so we can discuss potential accommodations. If you have already discussed necessary accommodations with student affairs, please schedule a meeting with me so we can develop an implementation plan for this class.

PLEASE READ/WATCH BEFORE THE FIRST CLASS

The Race Beat (Chapter 1); “How the White Press Wrote Off Black America” (NYT); “The problem of ‘casting calls’ for sources” (CJR); Soldiers Without Swords (Film)

Tentative Weekly Schedule

Week 1, Aug. 25

“So You Want to Report About Race”

Class Definitions
The importance of the AP Style Guide on Race
Other race-related style guides
Discuss the readings and the film

READ BEFORE THE NEXT CLASS: The Kerner Commission Report, Chapter 15, “The News Media and the Disorders”; “The Google search that launched Dylann Roof's journey from casual racist to mass murderer” (Mic); “Analysis: A race war evident long before the Capitol siege” (AP)

Week 2, Sept. 1

“What The Hell Happened In Summer 2020?”

Quiz on AP Style Guide on Race
Tips on covering protests, civil unrest
Discussion: Trauma and reporting on racial injustice
Resources for dealing with reporting trauma
Guest Speaker: TBA
Choose your Manual topic (1st draft due Sept. 22)

(No class on Sept. 8 and Sept. 15)

READ BEFORE THE NEXT CLASS: “Before the Law” (New Yorker)

Week 3, Sept. 22

“Can There Be Justice In A Racist System?”

Race News Quiz
Tracking police misconduct in communities of color
Discussion: Race and the criminal legal system
Guest Speaker: TBA
DUE: 1st draft of your Manual

READ BEFORE THE NEXT CLASS: “There Is No Debate Over Critical Race Theory” (The Atlantic)

Week 4, Sept. 29

“The Hysteria Over Critical Race Theory”

Race News Quiz
Discussion: Hidden race histories infrequently taught in public schools
Guest Speaker: TBA
Pitch your racial/ethnic group for final story assignment (1st draft due Oct. 27)

Week 5, Oct. 6

“Black People Can Be Immigrants, Too”

Race News Quiz
Guest Speaker(s): TBA
Class assignment: Collect demographics for a state, a state legislature and representation in Congress
Discussion: The Manual drafts

READ BEFORE NEXT CLASS: The Color of Law, “If San Francisco, then Everywhere?” chapter

Week 6, Oct. 13

“A Government of The People, For The People”

Race News Quiz
Discussion: Demographics and representation
Class assignment: What should representation in your state be? What could be the reasons why the elected officials aren’t representative of the population?
DUE: 2nd draft of your Manual section

Week 7, Oct. 20

“Racism In Arts, Culture, Sports & Entertainment”

Race News Quiz
Guest Speaker: TBA
Class assignment: Request race data for use in future class.

Week 8, Oct. 27

“Let’s Actually Learn the Difference Between Racism & Systemic Racism”

Race News Quiz
Class assignment: Find two polls that reveal viewpoints along racial lines for use in future class
DUE: 1st draft of your final writing assignment

Week 9, Nov. 3

“Objectivity By Whose Standard?”

Race News Quiz
Discussion: Race & Public Opinion Polling
Discussion: Issues or challenges with your final stories

Week 10, Nov. 10

“Going Beyond the Tuskegee Experiment”

Race News Quiz
Discussion: Racism and racial stereotypes in sports coverage; health disparities, COVID and public health
Guest Speaker: TBA

Week 11, Nov. 17

“Race Data and How To Find It”

Race News Quiz
The U.S. Census Bureau
Discuss: Pitfalls of racial data/measures in the U.S.
DUE: 2nd draft of Final Writing Assignment

READ BEFORE THE NEXT CLASS: “Michael Brown Spent Last Weeks Grappling With Problems and Promise” (NYT); “An Ill-Chosen Phrase, ‘No Angel,’ Brings a Storm of Protest” (NYT Opinion)

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