Whitlock hits it out of the park

Jesus H....

I'm aware racism exists -- in my family, in my department and on this board. I don't ignore it because I see examples of it every day. My point is that I personally don't view non-white athletes differently than white athletes in my daily job as a writer.

And I certainly don't agree with your generic, blanket statements that every story told about a white kid overcoming adversity has a heroic tone while those about blacks (or Hispanics or Hmong for that matter) have a tragic tone. I've written many stories about athletes dealing some form of adversity and suspect most, if not all, have been a mix of heroism and tragedy.

If it's a story about a white woman living courageously despite the fact she knows she likely has a disease that has a 100% kill rate there is heroism and tragedy at work.

Ditto if it's a story about a black kid who flourishses as an athlete despite having to deal with a potentially debilitating disease every day of his life by taking medication to control his condition.

 

My paper seems more fixated on high school kids overcoming rare diseases and/or gruesome sports injuries. Oddly, these things seem rather plentiful here.

 

I think there's something to be said for stopping this whole "grew-up-in-the-streets, overcame a lot" crap when the SPECIFICS of that kids' experience aren't any more compelling: i.e., he was poor. Well so were a lot of people. I wasn't exactly rich either. Or he witnessed gunshots or knifings.

But I'm sorry, if a kid - and his parents and coaches - are willing to tell you that a sibling was shot, he's been homeless, he once dealt drugs, or something along those lines, then it's part of the story, maybe a major one. The problem of our urban areas is a huge one, and we as reporters cannot ignore it.

 

Ah, disease of the week. Sometimes, there needs to be more of an emphasis on doing stories on athletes who are just plumb good.

 

I would say that it is at least as much your powers of inference at work in that comment as any implication being made.

 

i've lived in the hood and i've lived in the suburbs...

as fascinated as suburban reporters/editors are with the poor athlete who has overcome an absentee father and the mean streets, if people from the hood were writing stories about people from the burbs, those hood writers would be fascinated by athletes who overcame the bipolar, anti-depressant-taking, alcohol-drinking mom who has slept with every man and most of the women in the neighborhood.

but we don't tell that story for a number of reasons. it's not an evil conspiracy. i could toss out a couple of examples of what i'm truly talking about, but i've already tested the limits of my free speech enough this week.

the victors write history....the losers have a story to tell too, we just don't want to hear it.

 

I think the column sets up the rest of the season rather nicely.

 

I said that because I wish it wasn't still an issue.

 

Yeah, I know. Sometimes I have to reiterate what I've iterated. Huh? What?

I don't know what happened to him, but a young kid I worked with long ago became a columnist at the Press-Telegram, working alongside Krikorian and Keisser. Then he left. Have no idea where he went. Louis Johnson is his name.

 

I think there are some of these inner-city stories worth telling, some not. Just like there are some suburban kid stories worth telling, some not. Frank is right, though. the inner-city black kid makes good story is cliche now; it seems at times when we do them that we're saying, "Hey, look, here's a kid who grew up in the hood and isn't selling drugs or shooting people." Heck, think about the times you've read those stories or interviewed someone and they've said, "A lot of kids in his situation make the choice to go down the wrong road." That's what they mean. The "wrong road" means "ended up in jail." And sure, some kids make that choice, but most don't. So is it really a story just because this kid grew up around that kind of stuff and realized it was wrong?

If there's a compelling angle to add to the story, then tell it. But if you can't find that angle, then there's not a story there, just a cliche.

 

Can't speak for other HBCUs, but as a proud graduate of Howard University (Class of '85), I can attest to my alma mater's productivity.

Darryl Richards (formerly of FOXSports and the DMN) was The Hilltop's sports editor (I was his assistant). D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC was Hilltop editor-in-chief. Janet Cooke (formerly of the WP) was editor-in-chief, too  (Might as well mention the good and the bad.)

There are numerous scribes from HU writing for papers' news, features and business sections, too. Most notably, the NYT's Isabell Wilkerson won the 1994 Pulitzer for feature writing.

The broadcast journalism program has done well, also. Gus Johnson and Stan Verette in sports, plus anchors/reporters on national cable and numerous local news stations.

Go Bison go!!  ;D

 

Where are the black (and other minority races and female) journalists at?

I don't know, but they're not at the Chicago Tribune's columnist rankings.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/

Just look at the faces.