Do We Still Need A Black Press?

As teaching assistant Katie Beardsley discussed in class the other day, the rise of the Black Press was very much a reaction to the portrayal of African American people in the mainstream media during the early 1800s.

By the time of the Civil War, there were 40 newspapers dedicated to serving African American audiences. By 1900, she said, there were more than 600.

Today, there are around 200, including the Philadelphia Tribune, which is the oldest continuously operated black newspaper in the country. And there are numerous websites that seek to tell the stories of African American people, as well as inform that community.

In 2013 - 186 years after the founding of the first black newspaper, Freedom’s Journal - do we still need a Black Press?

Do the mainstream media still treat non-white folks differently? Is there ignorance that remains, such as the unfortunate Vogue cover with Lebron James that recalled a 1917 military recruiting poster?

Or was the symbolism of the above image an honest mistake?

In the Obama-era, is it anachronistic to have news outlets that break down audiences by race or ethnicity?

Kurtis Lee: "We Should All Call Ourselves Multi-platform Journalists."

Kurtis Lee was ready for bed just after midnight on July 20, 2012 when he received a call about a shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

Lee, a political reporter for the Denver Post, rushed to the scene and immediately started tweeting details.

"Twitter is how I get my news," said the 2009 TU journalism grad. "It's how I break news."

There were helicopters buzzing overhead and police and medical crews all around. Stunned people stood around with blood all over them, their shirts ripped open. Twelve people had been killed by a lone gunman and 71 others were shot.

"You're in the moment and the adrenaline kicks in," Kurtis said.

The next print edition of the newspaper wouldn't hit the streets for more than 30 hours. The Internet was the way to get information to people as quickly as possible. Kurtis recorded interviews and typed notes on his Blackberry, later dictating information to a rewrite person back at the office. Information was posted as quickly as it came in.

He was on scene from about 12:30 am until 8 pm - meaning he did not sleep for two full days.

"I saw so much grief and violence," he said, "that it was almost like I was in the theater that day."

Many of his colleagues sought counseling after witnessing the horror and some are still dealing with issues today.

For their coverage of the tragedy, the staff at the Denver Post won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting.

"It was bittersweet," Kurtis said, and then he recalled what a friend told him: "You don't celebrate the incident. You celebrate the journalism."

Here are a few other things that stood out to me from his visit to class yesterday:

• He's from Colorado and he came to Temple because of the journalism program and the diversity of the student body.
• After he graduated, he applied for numerous jobs and suffered six months of rejection.
• He networked at events, like the National Association of Black Journalists convention and the Online News Association conference.
• He finally landed an internship with PBS Newshour, which later became his first real journalism job - writing stories for the Newshour website.
• He was one of a handful of people - on a staff of more than 30 - who knew how to use Final Cut Pro. That made him valuable.
• "We should all call ourselves multi-platform journalists," Kurtis said. "You're not going to survive as a single-skilled journalist."
• When he began covering politics for the Denver Post, he also started a web video show. And he sold ads to sponsor the shows.
• He keeps a DSLR camera in the trunk of his car in case news happens.

• When the movie theater shooting occurred, it was all hands on deck. Even the Broncos beat reporter arrived on scene to interview victims.
• You try to be as sensitive as you can while doing the job of journalism. "You want to break news," he said. "If we're not getting it first, it's because we're trying to get as accurate information as possible."
• He and other Post staffers were sent to Newtown, Connecticut last December to assist a sister news organization that had to report on the mass shooting there.

• He's had a few job offers but he wants to cover politics, so he's holding out for a good fit.
• He continues to cover the statehouse, where he is the junior reporter working alongside a veteran journalist with a huge pool of sources.
• "I've only been doing this a few years," Kurtis said. "I still have a lot to learn."

What stood out for you?

Should The Sports Anchor Act Like Ron Burgundy?

A Boise sports anchor did his segment (and more) while acting as Ron Burgundy, the fictional character played by Will Ferrell.

The video has gone viral.

Is this the funniest thing ever, as some people have claimed? Should journalists simply present information and not act like Hollywood characters?

Do journalists take themselves too seriously (and that's why this was seen as refreshing)?

Does it matter that this was on Halloween?

Neal Santos: "I Really Want to Celebrate the City."

Neal Santos was a sophomore in college when he realized he wanted to become a photojournalist. He was traveling in the Philippines, shooting pictures and meeting people.

"I realized the camera could be an excuse to dive into so many different worlds," he said in class yesterday.

He returned to Temple and began interning - almost non-stop - until he graduated in 2008. He interned at the Philadelphia Daily News, the Metro, Inquirer, Good Housekeeping and OUT magazine.

During his first internship, Daily News photographer David Maialetti saw Neal hanging out in the office and said to him, "What the hell are you doing inside? You're not going to make any images in the office."

So Neal hit the streets and started shooting.

"I got to know the city very well by being an intern at the Daily News," he said. "It was daunting at first but I grew to love being able to drive around and talk to people."

The Jersey City native fell in love with Philly, so he stayed after completing his studies. About six months after graduating, he found a job working as a web editor and photographer for Philadelphia City Paper. He's now the staff photographer and he freelances for numerous other publications, mostly covering the city and region.

"I really want to celebrate the city," Neal said. "I like being able to show Philly in a positive and gritty way."

Here are a few other things he said that stood out to me:

• When he shoots pictures, he approaches people and let's them know what he's doing. He asks permission and then shoots a lot, until the people reach a comfort level with him being there. "The key is not being a giant douchebag," Neal said.
• He photographs a wide variety of people, and he doesn't always like all of them. "I think of the end game," he said. "I need to tell this person's story. I need to be fair. I need to be professional."

• He doesn't write much but he does have to provide caption information - names, locations, time, etc. He does the work of a reporter but his primary task is the visual side.

• His classmates and former Temple News colleagues are now working journalists, many doing great stuff in Philly. "I can tell Holly (Otterbein), 'I remember when you were writing a sex column for the Temple News before you were covering politics for WHYY,'" he said with a laugh.

• Different internships provided different experiences. For instance, at the magazines, he learned studio lighting and office management skills. Even bad internships have value, he said, as you discover if you want to compromise on your goals.

• He spends a lot of time on Instagram searching for inspiration.

• As a freelancer, he is a business person, artist, photographer and journalist, all at once. He rarely turns down assignments ("I need to provide for all my animals," said Neal, who lives on a farm in West Philly).

• He has no grand aspirations. "I don't want to be the best," he said. "I just want to be a good photographer."

What stood out for you?