Journalism researchers are listening and reflecting on the negative impacts traditional news outlets have caused in their reporting on Black communities in Canada.
Black journalists Nana aba Duncan, a journalism professor at Carleton University, and Eternity Martis, a journalism professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, are working on the Reporting on Black Communities project.
The early findings of the two-part project were released in late December, outline the impact of harmful news coverage on Black Canadians. Duncan said this first phase was conducted using focus groups of Black news consumers from major Canadian cities.
Duncan said it allowed Martis and herself “to stay grounded in the purpose of their work.”
‘Bad or Best’ stories
Reporting on Black Communities aims to provide Canadian reporters and media professionals with an evidence-based bilingual guide when reporting on Black communities.
“(Black news consumers) perceive a lack of nuance and depth in what is presented about their communities,” Duncan said, recalling conversations with community members. “They wish to be seen in everyday, regular situations.”
Duncan said this “bad or best” approach when reporting on Black communities underpins the lack of diversity in coverage of Black communities in Canada.
Duncan said that approach caused longstanding mistrust between Black communities and media organizations covering them. Black communities only receive media attention “when there’s something exceptional that has happened or something very bad,” she said.
The second phase, scheduled for a mid-February release, will outline results from interviews with non-Black journalists and newsroom leaders to understand their preparedness to report on Black communities.
Brian Daly, a journalism professor at the University of King’s College in Halifax, was part of a committee affiliated with Duncan and Martis’ research tasked with reviewing research materials and surveys.
Daly — who has worked as a Black media professional for almost three decades and served as the former Atlantic director for the Canadian Association of Black Journalists — echoed Duncan and Martis’s research findings on the one-dimensional coverage of the Black community.
“Societal stereotypes that pigeonhole us into certain limited roles, or perhaps overly generalize who we are as people … has caused frustration,” Daly said.
“It has caused anger — it has caused a rupture of trust.”
For Daly, “when done by the book,” contemporary Canadian ethical standards, like humanity, accountability and fairness, can hold powers to account and give a voice to underrepresented communities.
“The problem is that, in many cases, media organizations in Canada don’t follow these principles,” Daly said.
“To me, that is the issue.”
‘An unwelcoming environment’: student perspectives
Some Carleton student journalists are welcoming the report as a vital reminder of the work being done to improve reporting on Black communities.
Joy Keke*, a third-year journalism and law student at Carleton University, said the research findings reflected her own experiences as a Black student journalist.
“I don’t find (the findings) super surprising, because when I started the (journalism) program, there weren’t that many Black journalists in general,” she said.
Newsrooms have generally gotten better at covering Black communities, Keke said, but she continues to notice stereotypes and biases in some reporting — particularly in crime reporting. These biases, Keke said, come from a lack of Black journalists in Canadian newsrooms.
“The factors contributing to that might be an unwelcoming environment,” she said.
Keke said she hopes the research helps transform journalism into a field where Black journalists can feel included, and non-Black journalists listen to Black communities.
“Listen to the community and hire more Black journalists. Make it a little bit more of a welcoming environment,” she said.
“I’d love to see more people who look like me, more of my community, in the field in the future.”
Duncan said the report is a cue for this next generation of reporters to start thinking about what they think they know about Black communities.
“Those questions are actually some of the questions that we have asked non-Black journalists and non-Black newsroom leaders,” Duncan said.
Duncan said some journalists and students are actively thinking of these questions consciously.
Elena Rinne is one of them.
The first-year journalism and humanities student at Carleton University said she was “really happy” to see a report being done on how journalists can best report on Black communities.
“As a white journalist who wants to report in diverse communities, I think it’s really important that I’m aware of where my own biases lie and where my own prejudices are, because unfortunately, they have been built into us since we were kids.”
Rinne said more journalists should be able to “sit with themselves and go over their research and their stories and say, ‘Hey, who did we ask in this situation?’”
It’s only by asking these hard questions, Duncan said, that journalists can confront the negative narratives they’ve been taught about Black communities.
Rinne said, in her experience, she often feels scared to approach a community that she doesn’t have a personal connection to for fear of “saying or doing something wrong.”
“We are going to say things, and we’re going to do things by accident, that have an impact that we never intended,” she said, adding that the intention to educate oneself makes a difference.
“I think it’s really important that people have uncomfortable conversations,” Rinne said. “If you’re not sure, ask, never assume, because assumptions just make everything worse.”
The consequences of not addressing these issues, for Duncan, means Black communities could be dissuaded from consuming news. “If people aren’t seeing themselves well represented, or at least properly represented, then what incentive would they have to read the news?”
A good starting point, but a long journey ahead:
Carleton journalism professor Trish Audette-Longo said she sees Martis’s and Duncan’s research as an important step.
“As someone who teaches, I cannot wait to bring this into a classroom and talk about it with students,” said Audette-Longo, who is also the editor-in-chief of Facts and Frictions, the journal that published the first phase of the Reporting on Black communities project.
“It is such a good starting point for further discussion. I’m really looking forward to that, and I don’t think I’m the only one. It’s something that educators can bring right into the classroom for use.”
Audette-Longo added that this research has value far beyond journalism education.
“When we think about Facts and Frictions, we’re thinking about an audience that includes students, educators, researchers and practitioners. I think this is the kind of work that will benefit all of those folks.”
“I’m really excited to see what the next stage will yield in terms of a final report and more guidance for doing reporting differently,” she said.
While some newsrooms are aware of these systemic issues and taking action, others are staying quiet, Duncan said.
Duncan pointed to CBC Halifax as an example of a newsroom that’s taking action. The newsroom created a community advisory board of Black and African Nova Scotians, tasked with reviewing how the editorial team has fared in its coverage of Black communities.
“Some newsrooms have mechanisms whereby they listen to community members to (understand) what is important to them,” she said.
“They try to reflect that by having their reporters address some of the issues that are talked about and change their reporting habits and strategies.”
But this is not representative of all newsrooms across the country, Duncan said.
“I want people to know that there’s work to do,” Duncan said. “We’re not quite doing it right, and we’re not actually serving these communities as well as we could.”
*Joy Keke has previously contributed to the Charlatan.
Featured photo by Danielle Reid
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