Why a Black Girl Wants to Be a Journalist
By Aishamanne Williams
Spectrum staff
I stick out like a sore thumb almost everywhere I go. I’m often the only one with dreadlocks. The one who speaks so softly that I’m mistaken for not having much to talk about. The one with a name people sometimes have to say twice to pronounce correctly. I’m short. I’m noticeable. I stand out, but, in certain peoples’ eyes, not necessarily in a good way.
And that has made me wonder, at times, what the future would hold for someone like me, so curious about so many things.
Before the Urban Journalism Workshop, I was insecure about my passion for journalism. I knew I had a voice, but didn’t know who, in the world of journalism, would want to hear from a black girl like me.
In 2016, 12.7 percent of journalists at newspapers were people of color, according to the American Society of News Editors. In TV, in 2017, 24.4 percent of journalists were people of color; and 11.7 percent of those in radio were people of color, according to the Radio-TV News Directors Association.
Reading those statistics makes it seem like the odds are against an aspiring journalist of color. Even before researching that data, I knew journalism was oversaturated with white faces just by turning on the television news. As a news junkie, I’ve noticed how so many of the news stories are about black criminals. But there are so many kinds of black people with newsworthy stories to tell. The world isn’t as white as the media makes it seem.
That’s why meeting so many journalists of color during my 10 days at the Urban Journalism Workshop was life-changing. Of course, I knew that black, Latino, Asian, South Asian and Native American journalists existed. But actually meeting them, hearing their stories, seeing them in the newsroom and getting advice from them was transformative.
I and the 19 other reporters in UJW 2017 met Ayana Harry, a black female, Princeton-graduated, Emmy-nominated reporter for Pix11 News. She gave us a tour of the Pix11 newsroom, and, at least to my eyes, was the only black person in the newsroom on that day. (The station does have other journalists of color.)
At CNN, NYU journalism grad Contessa Gayles, a multimedia journalist and documentary reporter, was our host. She mostly reports on social justice and human rights, which is exactly what I plan to do in my career.
Another black woman in CNN’s newsroom said hello to us at the beginning of the tour, but I don’t remember seeing any other black-like-me faces there.
The trip to HuffPost especially resonated with me because, from the looks of it, so many on that staff were Millennials. I saw more people of color and met the Black Voices writers, including Zeba Blay, whose work I already was following. She’s my favorite writer from that section. She spoke to me about college, perfecting my craft, and how important it is for me, as a black person, to be good at what I do in this industry. She wrote her email address on a post-it note and handed it to me.
Meeting these black women was inspiring. But I couldn’t help feeling disappointment that, relatively speaking, there were so few people of color in those newsrooms—in a nation that is increasingly made up of people of color. We have so much more progress to make.
Despite all that, I know it’s possible for me to succeed as a journalist and to show why people like me must be in the business.
Some people get it all wrong about black girls, about people of color, about what we can do in a newsroom (and elsewhere).
My short stature, my hair, my name, my quietude are part of who I am. I will carry all those things into the newsroom, along with my skills as a researcher, a reporter and writer with the digital savvy that these times require.
I want no one to judge me based on how I look. I want my talent and drive to speak for me. And I can’t wait to have a real job as a reporter in a professional newsroom someday
Commentary
Why a Black Girl Wants to Be a Journalist
By Aishamanne Williams
Spectrum staff
I stick out like a sore thumb almost everywhere I go. I’m often the only one with dreadlocks. The one who speaks so softly that I’m mistaken for not having much to talk about. The one with a name people sometimes have to say twice to pronounce correctly. I’m short. I’m noticeable. I stand out, but, in certain peoples’ eyes, not necessarily in a good way.
And that has made me wonder, at times, what the future would hold for someone like me, so curious about so many things.
Before the Urban Journalism Workshop, I was insecure about my passion for journalism. I knew I had a voice, but didn’t know who, in the world of journalism, would want to hear from a black girl like me.
In 2016, 12.7 percent of journalists at newspapers were people of color, according to the American Society of News Editors. In TV, in 2017, 24.4 percent of journalists were people of color; and 11.7 percent of those in radio were people of color, according to the Radio-TV News Directors Association.
Reading those statistics makes it seem like the odds are against an aspiring journalist of color. Even before researching that data, I knew journalism was oversaturated with white faces just by turning on the television news. As a news junkie, I’ve noticed how so many of the news stories are about black criminals. But there are so many kinds of black people with newsworthy stories to tell. The world isn’t as white as the media makes it seem.
That’s why meeting so many journalists of color during my 10 days at the Urban Journalism Workshop was life-changing. Of course, I knew that black, Latino, Asian, South Asian and Native American journalists existed. But actually meeting them, hearing their stories, seeing them in the newsroom and getting advice from them was transformative.
I and the 19 other reporters in UJW 2017 met Ayana Harry, a black female, Princeton-graduated, Emmy-nominated reporter for Pix11 News. She gave us a tour of the Pix11 newsroom, and, at least to my eyes, was the only black person in the newsroom on that day. (The station does have other journalists of color.)
At CNN, NYU journalism grad Contessa Gayles, a multimedia journalist and documentary reporter, was our host. She mostly reports on social justice and human rights, which is exactly what I plan to do in my career.
Another black woman in CNN’s newsroom said hello to us at the beginning of the tour, but I don’t remember seeing any other black-like-me faces there.
The trip to HuffPost especially resonated with me because, from the looks of it, so many on that staff were Millennials. I saw more people of color and met the Black Voices writers, including Zeba Blay, whose work I already was following. She’s my favorite writer from that section. She spoke to me about college, perfecting my craft, and how important it is for me, as a black person, to be good at what I do in this industry. She wrote her email address on a post-it note and handed it to me.
Meeting these black women was inspiring. But I couldn’t help feeling disappointment that, relatively speaking, there were so few people of color in those newsrooms—in a nation that is increasingly made up of people of color. We have so much more progress to make.
Despite all that, I know it’s possible for me to succeed as a journalist and to show why people like me must be in the business.
Some people get it all wrong about black girls, about people of color, about what we can do in a newsroom (and elsewhere).
My short stature, my hair, my name, my quietude are part of who I am. I will carry all those things into the newsroom, along with my skills as a researcher, a reporter and writer with the digital savvy that these times require.
I want no one to judge me based on how I look. I want my talent and drive to speak for me. And I can’t wait to have a real job as a reporter in a professional newsroom someday