“I don’t get emails that say, you know, You’re short. I don’t get emails that say, You have short hair. I don’t get emails that say, Oh, I hate your glasses. I get emails that almost always start at race, and, you know, I would be lying if I didn’t tell you it’s exhausting.”

Audra D.S. Burch, national enterprise correspondent for The New York Times, said the above quote about an hour into an expansive, intimate, and candid roundtable discussion Tuesday night presented by The Journalism Program.

“Race and the Media: a Roundtable Discussion Among Journalists” brought Burch together with national reporter Robert Samuels of The Washington Post and Jeri Young, managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal.

The 85-minute virtual conversation – moderated by Phillip Cunningham, assistant professor in Media Studies – drew an audience of almost 150 people, including Wake faculty, staff, and students, as well as Winston-Salem residents and journalists from around the state and country. Funding for the event came from the Office of the Provost, the Program for Leadership and Character, the Wake Forest Humanities Institute, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Over the course of the conversation, these three prominent Black journalists opened up on a number of topics, including covering the 2020 election, being a journalist during a pandemic, writing about the death of George Floyd, receiving hate mail, and dealing with the traumas of the job. They also discussed their philosophies of journalism and gave advice to young journalists.

“I think objectivity is a bad (journalistic) standard,” Samuels said early on. “I also think transparency might not be a great standard either. I think fairness is a good standard.”

Later, Young said:

“I find myself constantly interviewing people and looking at people to see who they are, because I think it’s fascinating. […]  Just talking to people and listening to people – I think that those are the two things that really help a young journalist develop.”

The Journalism Program always has focused on teaching students to seek out, speak to, and empathize with sources from all walks of life. But events of the past year – an election and a pandemic that exposed systemic racism as well as widespread demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s death by police – have made this learning goal more important than ever. The Journalism Program is developing events, new courses and curriculums to better address the contemporary moment.

Tuesday’s conversation among Burch, Samuels and Young resonated with students. Below, you can read some short excerpts from essays students wrote for various journalism classes.

“I was touched and enlightened during the long discussion about what it means to be a Black journalist today. They all gave different answers, but each offered an understanding of how their approach to the field may differ from journalists of other races and ethnicities. When Jeri Young discussed her interview with a KKK leader, I was stunned by her fearlessness to converse with someone who had been hateful to Black people over the phone. Yet, I was more amazed by the curiosity within her as she spoke. She wanted to know this story and these people, despite everything they stood for and against.” – Cecile Paquette ’21

“This was such a powerful conversation. The ethical standard that these three journalists hold themselves accountable to – and their honest and fair pursuit of the truth – is a practice that I aspire to engage in. Hearing the way they spoke about journalism was so raw, human, and fundamentally democratic.” – Lilian Nassif ’21 

“Jeri Young from the Winston-Salem Journal said that not only should we cover stories on race, but journalists should also make sure to inject voices from an array of races in stories not directly related to race. Utilizing Black, Hispanic and Asian sources in articles about a hurricane or a store closing, for example, allows race to play a role in all pieces.” – Joseph Rafshoon ’21

“Although I may never fully understand the journey of Jeri Young, Robert Samuels, and Audra D.S. Burch, their discussions provided me with a glance into their perspective as a black journalist, which I was very fortunate to listen to, and I see myself using their advice in the future.” – Grace McGavin ’22

“[Robert Samuels] talked about the three different acts of a story; the third being the conversation that happens at dinner tables and in different forums after the story is posted and people read it. I think oftentimes I completely skip over that ‘act’ and don’t really think about it, but isn’t that what journalism is intended to do? Spark cultural discourse and engage in serious conversations with those around us. That’s what makes something newsworthy – if it’s something you can’t stop thinking about it.” – Emma Young ’21

“In our class we are urged to ‘show not tell.’ Robert Samuels best articulated this point when it came to writing about racism and how he must show it rather than outrightly say it. The story needs to ‘animate the perspectives’ of those making the call.  He made the point to say if a reader has to ask if it is racist, then the story does not do its job by providing the reader with a vivid picture of what is happening. This is definitely a message I will take with me as I continue to write.” – Ella Bristow ’21

“I learned a lot about how local news stories can highlight larger national issues. Washington Post reporter Robert Samuels explained how he aims to tell a local news story that resonates with people who are not from the community he reports on — revealing the power of language, detail and care in writing a local news story that translates a sentiment or idea to the audience.” – Margaret Rand ’23