Grading the Media

It was one of the most “enjoyable” panel discussions I attended in the wake of Mike Brown’s murder on August 9, 2014.

I hesitated to say I “enjoyed” the opportunity, presented by the St. Louis Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, to live tweet and examine the media’s coverage.

There were many journalists, some students, and citizens (including the still-controversial “citizen journalists”) who attended the Wednesday night event at Harris-Stowe State University.

Erica Smith at Live and Kern captured the tweets in a unique way that pretty accurately summed up the evening and the thoughts.

The media either helped or hurt the cause, perhaps the jury is still out on how well the local and national media covered the minute-by-minute events of those tumultuous early days.  There is still a story here to be told and there are writers, poets, dancers, visual artists, rappers, musicians, and yes, even journalists, who are using their skills to try to capture the continuing stories of a community, a region, a state, and a nation that has yet to comes to term with our racially charged past.

What grade would you give the media?