Indiana University School of Journalism

Photo by Sarah Hutchins

From left, Kahlil Muhammad, an assistant professor of American History, joined journalism doctoral student Lanier Holt and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies Amy Reynolds on the panel.

Related Read CNN's coverage and analysis of the September protests. Read the New York Times' "Navigator" for up-to-date stories, analyses and blogs about the Jena Six. IU students, faculty, alumni win Indy SPJ awards (April 29) Panel on women in news set for Monday (April 19) Panel discusses media coverage of LGBT community (April 17)

The need for race-related education and conversation were overarching themes during the panel discussion, “Journalism and the Jena Six,” hosted by the IU Society of Professional Journalists Thursday night.

Graduate student Ben Weller, chapter vice president of programming, said the group wanted to open a conversation about media coverage and the Jena Six case. In September, 20,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Jena, La., to protest the treatment of six local black teens who had been accused of beating a white student.

The Jena Six were charged second-degree murder and conspiracy. White students later hung nooses on high school property, according to reports, and one of the demonstrators’ demands was that those students should be charged with hate crimes.

To address this topic, SPJ organizers invited researchers in a variety of disciplines, from journalism to African American studies to sociology to form a panel. After a brief YouTube presentation recapping the Jena Six case, panelists talked about ways the media could improve coverage of racial issues.

“Take some black study courses and take part in activities different than what you’re used to,” said Valerie Grim, an associate professor and chair of the African American and African Diaspora Studies department. “The context of the event is important. People find escapes and say things like, well other times in history there were some people who were hung. Journalists end up trivializing the issue.”

‘This issue of racism existed before the press even existed. This had been going on for a long time. People found out about Jena because of the media. The fact that it was covered made a difference.’ —Lanier Holt, journalism Ph.D. student

Rashawn Ray, a doctoral student in sociology who researches social psychology, race, class and gender, added that journalists need to educate the public and that it is not enough to just report events.

“Go ahead and go for the eventful story but add something to the discussion,” Ray said. “Add a historical perspective.”

Several panelists, such as Khalil G. Muhammud, an assistant professor of American History and an adjunct assistant professor in both African American and African Diaspora Studies and American Studies, faulted “an unresolved problem with issues of our past.”

While Jena, La. is a small, Southern town, problems with racism exist in both the North and the South, some said.

“I have noticed how much the media narrows things,” said Lanier Holt, a doctoral student in the School of Journalism whose concentrations are media effects, specifically minorities in the media and political communication. “This is not just a Southern issue. Yes, the South is known for this. However, in terms of race, there is no innocence. It happens everywhere. Maybe it happens more in the South, but even then sometimes it is not published.”

According to Ray, many people believe that the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s resulted in racial equality and that Americans now live in a “colorblind era.”

“Jena 6 is only a microcosm of a bigger issue,” Ray said. “We are said to live in an equal society where everyone has equal opportunities. As journalists, we need to revisit this idea. Racial attitudes have not changed in 30 years. It’s the same; it’s just how we see race. We say we’re colorblind and we say we don’t see race. Of course you see race. Hopefully, you just don’t treat people differently.”

The panelists agreed that journalists should educate themselves and their readers. Ray said that this knowledge is pivotal, citing that people do not know that many states do not include the hanging of a noose as a hate crime.

Photo by Sarah Hutchins

Rashawn Ray, a doctoral student in sociology, advised journalists to cover the event, but also to bring a historical perspective. At right is Valerie Grim, chair of the African American and African Diaspora Studies department.

“Journalists did this story a disservice,” Grim said. “If you don’t grow up with these symbols, you don’t know what it means to see a noose. Symbols can be read as a sign of cultural war. (The Jena Six) read that symbol exactly right. (The white students) were saying, I want to put you on a road to extinction.”

Grim echoed other panelists when she said journalists simplified the Jena Six story and did not capture some the deeper issues. Before mainstream press began covering the story, only a local radio personality talked about the problems in Jena. Holt said that while reporters eventually trickled into Jena and started covering the issues, race-related news coverage was both good and bad.

“Let’s be real,” Holt said. “This issue of racism existed before the press even existed. This had been going on for a long time. People found out about Jena because of the media. The fact that it was covered made a difference. Yet at the same time people say racism doesn’t exist, and that has something to do with us.”

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