Sports and race

By Martenzie Johnson

There are many examples of media organizations and advertisers presenting stereotypical images of minorities.  Popeye’s and Progressive Insurance presented black women like this and this while KFC thought it was original to portray Asian men as karate experts.

Dr. Scott Brooks explained that the best way to combat these misrepresentations in the media—specifically in the news—is to have more diversity at the decision-making tables across the nation. 

Brooks is an associate professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Missouri and specializes in the interaction between sports and race in contemporary America.

Though the above examples are extreme—and solely advertisements—they represent the problems in American newsrooms.  As Brooks pointed out when explaining “conventionalized images,” we come to expect certain images and stories when we open our newspapers and turn on our televisions:

1.       White athletes are smart and hardworking

2.       Black athletes are naturally gifted/athletic

3.       Asian athletes are timid and respectful

Race, as Brooks said, becomes—or is—monolithic when every group is presented as having specific characteristics.  This is problematic on many levels.

But it is most problematic when these media messages start to affect the athlete.  When a black kid from Philadelphia believes he is only destined to run fast and not think, because the media says so, that is what he or she will do.

As a master’s student at the University of Missouri I hope to study these possible effects.  I want to research what stereotypical images/representations can do to an athlete’s performance.

As Brooks stated in his talk, “sports tell a story.”  The key though is what story the writer can, and will, tell.

The conundrum of ethics in politics, sports and journalism

By Erica A. Hernandez

How do you set a standard for a topic that cannot be standardized? This dilemma, otherwise known has ethics, has been discussed so many times that my SJI classmates and I have lost count.

The question surrounding the topic of ethics has been: is there a place for politics in journalism and if yes, then to what extent?

Greg Bowers, sports editor of the Columbia Missourian, made the statement during his ethics discussion that sports and politics are more alike than not.

Having interned with ABC News at the 2012 Republican National Convention, I have some experience in political journalism. Politics fascinate me but I am not a politically charged person. Even before my experience at the RNC, I knew I that I had to be more of an observer of politics than a participator. No party affiliation for me when I signed up for my voter’s registration card in high school. This was the first step in separating my beliefs from my work and it’s an important step for any journalists regardless of what they cover.

The same principles that apply to journalists who cover politics, apply to journalists who cover sports. Wearing a jersey for the team you cover is like endorsing the candidate you voted for. It just shouldn’t be done. Food is another place where lines can be crossed. How much is common courtesy and how much is bribery? The final say on this comes down to your employer’s policy.

Bowers did a good job in leading this discussion where the lines are so blurred. There is no index card he can hand us that will serve us as an ethics rule book for every situation we may find ourselves in the rest of our careers. The resolution we did reach from our ethics discussion was that perception matters just as much as reality. Being perceived as biased by your peers, boss and especially readers, is just as much as an offense as actually reporting and writing with a bias.

Headed out West

by Caitlin Swieca

It’s been a long, immerse and mentally enriching week, but the SJI’s Class of 2013 will come to an end tonight. In a few days, we’ll be scattered around the country, hitting the ground running at our internships.

I’ll be leaving Columbia tomorrow and starting at the Denver Post on Monday morning. The reality of moving to Denver is just sinking in, and it makes me excited and nervous at the same time.

Not only will I be in an unfamiliar newsroom, I’ll be in a city I’ve never even visited in a region of the country completely unfamiliar to my family and me. Last year, I interned at the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago. Although I wasn’t familiar with all the suburban areas they covered – my GPS was working overtime all summer – I knew all the teams and had been following the storylines for years.

But SJI has given me a greater level of confidence going into this summer. My head is in a journalistic mindset and full of ideas for how to maximize my ten weeks in Denver and my last year in college. 

We heard from several SJI alumni today, and hearing their stories and views was comforting and exciting. One speaker, Shannon Owens of the Orlando Sentinel  really stressed how important it is to go out and find your own stories.

I asked her for advice on how to do this in a town we’re completely unfamiliar with, as many of us will be this summer. She suggested getting in touch with governing bodies of local leagues, learn the history of local sports so you’re not starting from scratch, and talking to other reporters to get ideas.

Most of all, she said, it’s important to settle in and be happy in your personal life, because personal life does affect your work. I think that’s a good piece of advice for all of us going forward.

While the industry can be cutthroat and there’s an emphasis on competing with others and constantly moving up the ladder, it’s important to find a balance where you both enjoy your personal life and create a healthy environment to get the most out of your time at work.

I’m very thankful for the opportunities SJI has given me in terms of expertise and networking, both with some of my very talented peers and some experienced professionals. The first opportunity will start in a few days, and I’m ready to take full advantage of it.  

Lee always in motion

By Al Montano

From time to time I tend to see a blur; I'm not really sure what it is, it just passes by every once in a while. 

Is their a ghost at SJI?

Both Leon Carter and Sandra Rosenbush have been in the room with us in our boot camp from the get-go teaching us about what is takes to make it in the sports business.

Even David Squires, assistant managing editor at the Sporting News, and Malcolm Moran, director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University, spent a few days with us and lecturing us. 

Today is the last day of SJI and I think I've discovered who the ghost of SJI is. 

We've been attending classes all week long at the Columbia Missourian news room and have had the privilege of listening to a lot of inspiring stories from some of the best journalists in the country.

From Bryan Burwell, Scott Brooks and Gerry Ahern to Stephen A. Smith, Greg Bowers and Arnie Robbins. 

However, their was one person who would miss class from time to time, Greg Lee.

Lee, who besides being a part of the Sports Journalism Institute along with Mr. Carter and Ms. Rosenbush, is the president of the National Association of Black Journalists and executive sports editor at the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

This guy was busy 24/7, it was crazy how many times he would run in and out of the news room talking on the phone. 

I later realized that Lee had been juggling all three of jobs at the same time. Lee is also the only SJI graduate to be a part of the organization part of the program. 

I find it inspiring that Lee has not only done his normal job, but he also carried his job duties as president and and organizer. 

He is the future of SJI.

He knows how to have fun but takes care of business when he has too.

I will never forget the times when he would jam out to artists like Michael Jackson in the red Dodge and dance to the music. 

Discovering the impact of voice

By Alex Riggins

Before I came to Missouri for the start of my time with the Sports Journalism Institute, co-founder and co-director Sandy Rosenbush told me in an email that since Day One, the program has been about “getting women and minority students ready to contribute their voices to our industry, and in turn helping the industry through the diversity of their thoughts and ideas.”

It required the visit of a sociologist to our class for me to better understand the meaning of her statement.

On Thursday, we had the privilege of hearing from Scott Brooks, an associate professor of sociology at University of Missouri. Brooks studies the sociology of sports, with a special emphasis on race and ethnicity in sports. He is the author of a book titled ‘Black Men Can’t Shoot.’

The book in part addresses the issue of black athletes and the way they are perceived as compared to their white counterparts. During his visit to our class, he spoke about similar issues regarding sports journalism, and the way that minority journalists are perceived compared to the white males that currently dominate the industry.   

But more importantly, he talked about the need for minority journalists to not just be in the newsroom, but to actually add our voices to the newsroom. He told us about the conventions of sports media, and that instead of running from them or avoiding them, we as minorities need to expose them, highlight them and ask questions so that we can add our voice and change the perceptions and change the conventions.  

What he told the class was almost word for word what Rosenbush had told me in that email. He added this point – if minorities are just contributing to the conventions, then what’s the point of having minorities in the newsroom?

What we can bring is a different viewpoint. Sports writing is a form of cultural writing, and Brooks said that marginalized people often make for the best cultural writers because of their unique perspective from the outside looking in.

There is so much more that can be said on the topic, such as the need for people like Leon Carter and Greg Lee, who are not just contributing their voices but are making decisions in the industry.

I’m grateful to Scott Brooks for speaking to our class and finally helping me realize what it was that Sandy has been telling me since before SJI began. This program is not just about adding minorities to the newsroom; this program is about adding minority voices to the newsroom.   

I go forward now with a new purpose and a clear objective: to add my unique voice to the sports journalism industry

An Ethical Dilemma

By Chris Trevino

I wouldn’t take the sandwich.

Sports editor Greg Bowers posed us this question: “If my mom (a source) offered you a sandwich, would you take it?”

I said no.

As a journalism graduate, I have been involved in many discussions on journalism ethics, both formal and informal, with teachers and fellow journalists. And Thursday’s lecture on ethical dilemmas was easily my favorite one.

The lecture revolved around the example of accepting things, namely food from a source or from a team we are covering in the press box. Now it seems silly to believe accepting a slice of pizza or a few cookies could persuade someone to write favorably for a team.

And of course we would all say that these generous acts would not sway our coverage of a team or person, but Bowers made an all important retort to that: “Do people think that?”

The perception that our audience has on us is all-important. Our stories could be 100 percent correct, but if my audience perceives me not to be credible because they think I’m influenced then my accuracy is pointless.

Now why did I say no. Well I will admit I have accepted food that was provided to by a team I was covering and it was only once. While I didn’t think of it much a few days after it, I still had it in the back of my mind. I just didn’t feel right.

But I’m still young and I know as I grow older I will be tested more by obstacles out there, which will give me an opportunity to develop a more comprehensive view of ethics. 

Pass the spaghetti—and let the debate begin

By Rhiannon Walker

The problem with ethics is that there is no black and white answer. The good thing about journalism ethics is that, well, there are no black and white answers.

While it is wildly frustrating to not have a set way to handle every situation that is thrown my way, I’m also happy that I don’t have to be robotic and only have one way of handling an issue.

Greg Bowers asked us if we would accept a glass of lemonade from his mother if we were sitting down to interview her. Most of my classmates said they had no issue with this.

He then asked us if we would accept a sandwich from her. Fewer people raised their hands for that.

Would we accept a plate of spaghetti? Even fewer hands went up.

The problem is that while none of us wanted to be rude to his mother or disregard her hospitality, we also didn’t want to compromise our ethics. After all, it’s not the intention of the person taking the food, but the perception of people watching the interaction.

Accepting the food won’t change how I cover Bowers’ mother. But whether I’m a fair reporter or not isn’t decided by me. It’s decided by those reading my work, and maybe watching me accept that plate of food.

I don’t care about whether people like what I have to say, but I do care about whether my work and my actions are regarded as ethical.  

So what’s the answer here? It’s difficult to say with certainty. But I do know that I learn something new whenever I find myself in a debate about ethics.