We can do it better

Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Llorente discusses the nuances of reporting on race and ethnicity.

by Lena-Nsomeka Gomes

Elizabeth Llorente, senior reporter for The Record in Bergen, New Jersey was recently honored with the Career Achievement Award from the Letís Do It Better Workshop on Race and Ethnicity at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Llorente was honored for her more than 10 years of reporting on the nationís changing demographics. Her series, ìDiverse and Divided,î documented the racial tensions and political struggles between Hispanic immigrants and African Americans in Patterson, N.J. Llorente spoke with News Watch about the nuances of reporting on race and ethnicity. What are some of the major barriers journalists faceóespecially journalists of colorówhen writing about race and ethnicity?
Well it depends on what they look like. For example, I know that some of the African American reporters that I have worked with have spoken about feelings of being unwelcome, especially when theyíre covering white areas. And there are also other reporters who feel different because they stand out from the time they walk into a room. People make assumptions about them. I have been told that itís hard to tell what my race is. Is this positive or negative? Maybe it helps when Iím doing a story about tension and whites are part of the tension. Sometimes, I suspect, they open up more because they donít know that I am Hispanic. Perhaps, they would not have been as candid had they known. However, itís not necessarily easier to cover stories in your own ethnic community or communities similar to yours. If you criticize people and they didnít like it, they are usually less forgiving. They take it personal and see you as a traitoróespecially when the stories involve a politically charged group. Do you think journalists of color are resistant to writing about race and ethnicity because they donít want to be typecast, so to speak?
There are people who believe that and I donít blame them. Sometimes thatís all the papers will let them do, and the papers donít value their work. In that regard, itís a thankless job. When you come back with a great story, they donít see the skill and the talent it took to report and write that story. They think, of course, you wrote well because youíre one of them. They automatically assume it was easy for you to get the story. They may even question your objectivity. But, when Rick Bragg went to the South to write about the life he knew, no one said, of course itís easy for him because heís from the South. No, they said, wow heís a great writer. Do you think stories about race and ethnicity still face being calendared for special events or has there been more sustained coverage and focus?
Itís gotten much better. Stories used to be covered for Black History Month or Cinco de Mayo, but now beats have been created around race and ethnicity. Beat reporters have to write all year. Reporters are interested in writing about race and ethnicity. They want to cover these issues. Now the next level journalism needs to go to is to spread the responsibility of covering race and ethnicity among all reporters, in all sections of the paper, business section, education, transportation, and municipal. Coverage has to be more comprehensive. It cannot be reserved for certain reporters, because race and ethnicity is such a huge area. How do stories about immigration differ from other stories about race and ethnicity?
If youíre writing about second or third generation Cubans, youíre writing about Americansóa minority group that has some stake here. With immigrants, youíre writing about people who are newer, who donít necessarily feel American. They are still transitioning into this national culture. They are rebuilding their identities. For example, they may not have a sense of (their) civil rights here or of American racism. What skills do journalists have to master in order to report fairly and accurately on immigrant communities?
First of all, you need to have a completely open mind. This is especially important when youíre covering immigrant communities. So many of us think that we know the immigrant groups, but many of us only know the stereotypes. Too often we set out to write stories that end up marginalizing people in harmful ways because the stories tend to exacerbate those stereotypes. Or we ignore the stories that do not conform to the stereotypes. For example, if weíre going to write about Hispanic communities, instead of looking for Hispanics in the suburbs, we tend to go where we can most readily find them, in Miami, Spanish Harlem, and in the Barrio. We keep telling the same stories and giving it the same frame, because itís an easy thing to do when youíre on a deadline. The result is an ok story. But immigration stories are diverse. They are not only in enclaves, but also in places we never thought about finding them in, such as in once exclusively white suburbs and rural America. Perhaps Hispanics in the barrio is a valuable story, but that is no longer the Hispanic story. It is a Hispanic story. Okay, once you find (immigrant communities) how do you communicate with them?
Itís tough. Not knowing the language can be difficult. But the key is to start out with the attitude of not settling for less. Start out speaking with the leaders, but only as a vehicle to reach the other people who are not always in the papers. Too many of us stop with the leaders and thatís not enough. Ask them to introduce you or ask them if you can use their name to open up a few doors for you to speak with others in the community. However, covering immigrant communities doesnít mean encountering a language barrier. Many people have a basic knowledge of English. You can still conduct an interview with someone who only speaks survival English. But, you will also run into a lot of people who donít speak English, If you make the effort, if youíre patient, if you speak slower and are conscious of the words your use, if you make sure they understand what you are asking them, if you tune in, youíll make the connection. Finally, if language is a barrier and youíre not comfortable, find someone who is bilingual to help you interpret. How can journalists write balanced stories if they operate from the stereotypes?
Ask the person youíre interviewing to break down those stereotypes. You can tell the person that there is a particular stereotype and ask them if it is true or not. Journalists have the unique role and power to help break the stereotypes down. What does receiving the Career Achievement Award mean to you?
I was hoping that it would mean that I could retire and go sailing and write my novels from a log cabin. After I checked my retirement savings, I realized, that ainít gonna happen for a long time. Itís nice to get awards, but when you get one its usually for a certain story or project. This is like a wonderful embrace that says, you know, you hit the ball out of the park again and again. You set a standard in this business. At a career level, you have done great work. Itís just a nice sweeping kiss and hug to me. Tell me some of the successes Letís Do It Better has had and some of the ways in which it has impacted the culture of journalism.
I think one wonderful thing they did, under Sig Gissler (original founder), was that they targeted the gatekeepers. His model approach was to go directly to the top management. Gissler wanted to show them good reporting that reached a higher level and how stories about race were more nuanced. He wanted them to read the stories and then to talk to the folks who wrote them so they could learn how to do these types of stories. Did the top respond?
Yes! I saw conversions. People who started out cynically were changed by the last day. They were beginning to look at race and ethnicity stories critically. They were going to raise their standard. They left the workshops believing that their news organizations needed more diverse voices. Why are there still so few people of color in newsrooms today?
Too many employers are prejudiced. Too many minorities are still being hired under a cloud of doubt. I donít think many minorities are hired with the notion that they will be star reporters. They are not nurtured. Then when minority journalists leave itís seen as a betrayal, but when whites leave, itís considered a good career move. I have worked with many white reporters who have had many opportunities in training and promotions, and nobody says theyíre ungrateful s.o.b.'s when they leave. Can we keep doing it better?
Of course. There are still so many stories we are not getting that are out there. Journalists who think they know communities of color end up writing stereotypical stories and they use photos to make people look exotic. In fact, we need to pay more attention to photojournalism. A story can be fair and balanced, but if that picture projects the exotic stereotype, the story loses its value. Donít bypass a photo of a person because they donít look ìethnic enough.î Take a picture of the blonde Mexican or the Muslim women wearing Levi jeans.