On Friday afternoon, about 30 students and community members gathered in the Petteruti Lounge for the Department of English鈥檚 first-ever Inclusive Journalism Conference. Organized by Nell Lake, a lecturer in English non-fiction writing, the three-and-a-half-hour event featured a roundtable discussion with a diverse panel of journalists followed by workshops on inclusive coverage and reporting.
Lake hoped that the conference would emphasize how 鈥渏ournalism is critical to society, democracy and social justice,鈥� she told conference attendees before the roundtable discussion.
Lake, who has taught multiple journalism courses at Brown since joining the University faculty in 2022, has long wanted to 鈥渙ffer a curriculum that would address issues of social inclusion and equity鈥� in reporting, she said in an interview with The Herald.
The conference gave Lake the opportunity to bring these discussions to campus 鈥渢hrough the perspectives and experiences of people in marginalized positions, not just through the things I assigned (in class) as a white, cisgender woman,鈥� she told The Herald.
Boston Globe climate reporter Ivy Scott 鈥�21.5 moderated the two-hour discussion, which included ESPN features writer Katie Barnes and Vox policy correspondent Abdallah Fayyad. It also featured Dalila Paul, who is a national editor at Capital B News, and Phillip Martin, a senior investigative reporter for the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting.
Panelists began the event by discussing the role of identity in journalism. Barnes, a nonbinary journalist who covers policies affecting transgender athletes, told conference attendees that identity-based perspectives 鈥渟hape everything that we do when it comes to journalism.鈥�
Scott added that her experiences as a Black woman have previously allowed her to 鈥渢ouch on topics and ask questions" that she wouldn't have otherwise been able to.
鈥淥ur backgrounds are not something that we put away and check at the door when we come to work,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hese are things that really need to come with us sometimes.鈥�
When asked about the role of objectivity in journalism, most panelists agreed that fairness 鈥� not just objectivity 鈥� is key when covering marginalized communities and controversial topics.
鈥淥bjectivity means something different to almost every journalist, every newsroom,鈥� Fayyad told the attendees. 鈥淥ftentimes, it鈥檚 confused with neutrality, but being objective doesn鈥檛 mean being neutral.鈥�
鈥淚f I鈥檓 missing the perspective of anyone around the topics that I report on, then my story is incomplete, and it鈥檚 not doing the service to the public that I wanted it to do,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 less about being objective, and more about fairly representing the discourse as it is happening.鈥�
Martin and Paul emphasized the power of newsroom higher-ups in determining what events and perspectives are covered by the publication 鈥� what Martin called 鈥渁genda-setting.鈥�
鈥淓arly on, most of my bosses were white men and white women who had never been to a Black neighborhood, so they had no experience with鈥� different types of people, Paul said. 鈥淗ow are you really objective if you鈥檙e making a decision based on ignorance?鈥�
Toward the end of the discussion, audience members were given the opportunity to ask questions to the panelists. When asked whether the panelists had ever felt that they were the 鈥渨rong鈥� reporter to cover a particular issue or event, Fayyad told the attendees that 鈥渢here is no 鈥榳rong reporter鈥� for a story.鈥�
鈥淭he only way you鈥檙e the 鈥榳rong reporter鈥� is if you鈥檙e a bad reporter,鈥� he said. 鈥淵our background matters in how it informs your approach, but ultimately, it鈥檚 your humanity and your humility鈥� that matter most.
After the roundtable discussion, students had the opportunity to attend one of five different workshops, each led by one of the panelists on topics ranging from inclusive reporting and audio journalism to opinion pieces and scene writing.
Paul hopes that sharing her perspectives and personal experiences with attendees will positively impact younger journalists, she said in an interview with The Herald. Overall, Paul found the conference 鈥渁ffirming.鈥�
Gabriella Lui 鈥�26 appreciated the diversity of the panel. The panelists 鈥渃ome from all different walks of life, from all different points in their career, and they all have a very specific niche,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat offered a lot of perspective.鈥�
The roundtable discussion 鈥渂rought a lot of the issues that students grapple with in classes down to earth,鈥� Lake said. Following the conference, she hopes to bring more professional journalists to campus.
Additional reporting by Ryan Doherty.
Julianna Chang is a University News Editor who oversees the academics and advising and student government beats. A sophomore from the Bay Area, Julianna is studying Biology and Political Science on the pre-medical track. When she's not in class or in the office, she can be found eating some type of noodle soup and devouring bad books.
