Reporting on reporting on reporting

Remember those videos of various domestic pets discovering their reflections in mirrors or puddles of water and becoming infatuated with it? Well, humans haven't evolved much beyond that point, because we still stop to learn about anything that could be reflective of us. Or at least, I do.

As I scrolled through Twitter the other day, I came across a Washington Post article about the role college newspapers have played in coverage of the COVID-19 crisis, and obviously had to stop to check it out. I don't even write for the Marist Circle, my college's newspaper, but I am an avid consumer of its news, and a fervent supporter of the political and journalistic engagement demonstrated by my generation...so it felt applicable.

The piece, entitled "College newspaper reporters are the journalism heroes for the pandemic era," delves into the important work college students have done in informing their campus and wider communities about COVID updates. Quoting a number of newspaper editors at major college campuses, as well as some local newspaper reporters in those areas, it praised college students for filling a need that has slipped through the cracks due to meager staffing at community newspapers. Without these reporters, college administrators wouldn't be held accountable for their actions, and college campuses and communities would largely remain in the dark about the status of the pandemic throughout the student population. In this sense, they are, in fact, heroic in their pursuit of the truth.

However, the title piqued my interest because of that word choice: 'heroes.' It seemed a little biased, a little quick to glorify the work of some journalism novices. As I read, I remained on high alert for hints of bias, verbiage or diction that would indicate an underlying motive to cast college journalists in a favorable light. Despite my first intuition, though, the piece remained incredibly factual, recounting only the opinions of those interviewed, not any of the author's herself. Elahe Izade, the reporter, clearly wanted to gain a broader understanding of the issue, interviewing not just college students themselves to get their insight on their work, but also staffers at local newspapers near colleges who may not be able to dedicate the time necessary to properly cover COVID's impact on college campuses.

Izade easily could slide into commentary in the piece, giving her own two cents about newspaper staffing errors or college students' and their dedication to their craft early on. However, she remains neutral, instead just providing context to the quotes provided. Context is important in a journalist's role of sense making, and allows readers to understand the implications of the reporting being done. In present day discourse, providing this context and analysis can sometimes be misconstrued as bias, because it isn't the monotonous dissemination of fact, but I believe it's essential to fully grasp the situation at hand. For example, after quoting the director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida about the college students' ability to get the inside scoop from their peers, Izade went on to report about reader metrics, providing important but impartial insight as to the meaning behind them. She reported that readership of college newspapers has increased, especially among parents, proposing that they could be turning to the newspapers for updates on the crisis when they're unsatisfied with the school's communication. With this context, we can better grasp the frustration parents, students, and faculty alike feel when left in the dark, and the reliance on college newspapers that can formulate as a result. College journalists then "have greatness thrust upon them," to quote the cliché, and must investigate the pandemic's spread, articulate their findings in a coherent manner, and consequently inform the public.

College reporters are doing important work, and that's no bias on Izade's part. It is only through her thorough interviewing, careful reporting, and insightful contextual analysis that we as readers can begin to understand the magnitude of the task at hand for most college journalists. And as their contemporary, I've got to say – they're doing a bang-up job.