Racism in Papers

This week I would like to address a letter that was written by a DI staff member. Terrell Starr, DI staff reporter, wrote a letter to the Editor in Chief Steve Contorno about the DI’s coverage of the Cotton Club after-party. My first thought was that this letter was going to be another boring editorial. I was wrong.

Terrell’s words really showed me how important is to be careful with our words. In our text, “When Words Collide,” the authors addressed this issue in chapter 12.

“Language should help us appreciate and write about differences among people as it promotes fairness and tolerance.”

Starr hit this rule right on. Starr talked about choosing our words wisely, always keeping in mind the unintentional messages we send to our readers.

“I am writing this to you because I care about the unintentional messages we are sending our readers,” Starr wrote to Contorno.

Honestly, I have never really thought about this issue, other than in journalism classes. I always assumed that the DI, Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers did a good job of fairly representing all races and groups. I never realized that unintentional messages could be inferred from seeing certain headlines next to each other. After reading Starr’s letter, I am always going to be looking for those inadvertent messages papers are sending. Hopefully, through recognizing these messages, I myself will never be the one who sends a mixed message to his readers. Thanks Terrell.