Sunday, August 5, 2007

Reporter murdered over hometown news A reporter I briefly shared a newsroom with was killed in California last week by a man with a shotgun. If the police are right about the shooter's motive, Chauncey Bailey is one of the few American journalists in recent memory to be murdered because of their reporting in recent years. I hardly knew Bailey at The Hartford Courant. Even in a small state, we started out covering cities almost 40 miles apart. About a year after I moved to Hartford, he left for bigger things in Detroit, Washington and Oakland, the city where he grew up, and where he has been what the papers call "a strong presence in Oakland media" for the past 15 years. When another Couranteer sent over the news today about "Skip" Bailey, I didn't recognize the nickname. But when I followed a link to the story, I instantly remembered Bailey's byline -- you don't run into many Chaunceys... and I remembered who he was. There just weren't many black faces in the newsroom. Here's a thoughtful comment from a writer who knew him longer and better: In many ways, he was an old-style black journalist. He regularly attended events in the black community. he wrote about entrepreneurs, people starting self-help programs, community organizations, individuals and institutions we would otherwise not have known about. He was the herald of and champion of the African-American community. That didn't mean he didn't report wrongdoing or go after scoundrels. He was a champion, not a cheerleader. -- Brenda Payton, Oakland Tribune columnist How to work this into class discussions later this month... Sometimes you can add to a story by focusing on detail, sometimes by stepping back so that more readers see an answer to the "what's in this for me?" question. In this case, my students might learn from a shift of emphasis. Drop the word "black" in the middle of "old-style journalist." Or make it "community journalist" or even "citizen journalist." Skip the other racial adjectives in the paragraph, and what's left describes roles of a good reporter covering his or her "community," by any definition -- a college campus, the home team fans, a small town, a county, or something more abstract... The roles: A herald brings news of importance to the community, the "we would not otherwise have known..." part. A champion represents -- to insiders and outsiders -- what the community needs, and what it does well. Finding the line between community reporting and cheer leading is difficult. That last part the Tribune column mentions, investigating wrongdoings and scoundrels -- often called "watchdog" reporting -- may be hardest of all when you are covering a community you live in and love, one you grew up in and came back to. Bailey, 57, recently named editor of the Oakland Post, was shot to death as he walked to work Thursday morning. On Friday, police arrested a 19-year-old handyman for an organization Bailey had been investigating. Police told reporters that the young man said he was angry over stories Bailey had written or might be working on. Investigative reporting may not have been on Bailey's mind Thursday. His publisher said they were getting together that morning to plan a special supplement about community people solving problems. It was to be called "The Good News Is..." Sources: Oakland Tribune stories: Oakland journalist shot dead Bailey's career in news U.S. journalists rarely slain in line of duty Hartford/AP story: Former Courant Reporter Killed ... and thanks to Andy Kreig for his e-mail alert. 9:24:49 PM    comment []

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