The Story of Us: Community Image in the News and other Forms of Media (Butler Toolkit)

The Story of Us:

TOOLKIT

ATTRIBUTION

In creating the Butler College Prep toolkit, Public Narrative aims to engage students in the Intro to Journalism course in the importance of narrative change and storytelling as activism, specifically for Black and Brown communities, through a community lens.

In 2021, Public Narrative hosted a series of listening sessions with My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and local media makers. Participants helped us understand how Black and Brown journalists and community members can leverage their platforms to improve the representation of youth of color in the media. We compiled the findings from those listening sessions in our report, “The Story of Us: Community Image in the News and other Forms of Media.”1 This toolkit references excerpts from the report and the conversations during the listening sessions.

Editor in Chief, Jhmira Alexander

Editor, Olivia Obineme

Writer, Yaseen Abdus-Saboor

Toolkit Design, Yaseen Abdus-Saboor (Cover Template Design by Tommie Collins)

Public Narrative, 2022

©All Rights Reserved (publicnarrative.org)

THE PERCEPTION OF US IN MEDIA

Negative media coverage of Black and Brown communities is a significant issue across the country.

In our 2021 listening session, participants provided thoughts on how the media portrays Black and Brown communities, including: “Black men do not see themselves or their experiences depicted with humanity and authenticity in the media; what they do see offered up as worthy of their community’s attention is either depraved or unattainable.” — Jennifer Kho, author of “The Story of Us: Community Image in the News and Other Forms of Media”

“Media coverage of young men of color needs to take a more expansive view of who young Black men are, what roles they can play in society, and the contexts in which they are being brought up.” — Jennifer Kho, author of “The Story of Us: Community Image in the News and Other Forms of Media”

“We see that rehabilitation happens in the public eye for our other racial counterparts and we get to see what redemption looks like and what hope looks like, what future looks like for someone who is non-Black and non-male … and we don’t get to see that a lot when it comes to Black males. The empathy for Black men isn’t there because, in terms of media, we don’t show a lot of that transformation.” — Olivia Obineme, Director of Journalism and Media Engagement at Public Narrative

“Newsrooms without a cultural knowledge base make mistakes.” — Brandon Pope, Anchor and Reporter at CW26 Chicago

Chicago has gained a narrative of being an overwhelmingly violent city. And disproportionately at the forefront of this narrative are Black faces. But, the truth is that this narrative is incomplete and is missing key reasons why some areas in Chicago have higher crime rates in Black communities.

The Circuit, a Chicago-based collaborative journalism investigation that explores and exposes millions of cases over three decades and shares correlations they discover hidden in the Cook County courts, published several stories that shared some of those missing reasons. In a December 2021 publication, reporters Josh McGhee and Jared Rutecki found that of the more than 3 million criminal cases filed in Cook County between 2000 and 2018, over 60% of them were against Black people. Although crime rates overall were reportedly down in the last two decades, Black people are still overrepresented in the system. Scholars they interviewed suggested this could be because of “long-standing disinvestment and overpolicing in Black communities.”2

COMMUNITY IMAGE

People from these communities view themselves differently than how the media portrays Black and Brown people and spaces.

Public Narrative hosted listening sessions with community members and Black and Brown journalists to better understand their perspectives on media and their communities. These journalists and community members discussed how they view media and its coverage of Black and Brown people and what narratives on Black and Brown communities are missing from mainstream media. They also raised possible solutions to resolve the inclusivity issues in news and media production.

Testimonies from participants during our listening sessions and from the report include:

“Part of the solution is working to support local news organizations that are working to improve representation as well as newer organizations that explicitly serve Black and Brown communities.” — Jennifer Kho, author of “The Story of Us: Community Image in the News and Other Forms of Media”

“I believe the narrative that boys and young men of color are brave, courageous, beautiful and gifted.” — Vondale Singleton, CEO of C.H.A.M.P.S Male Mentoring

“We need people to tell “the truth about what it’s going to take so that we don’t have to keep having these stories. There’s some real truth and there’s some real solutions but it takes a certain level of bravery and courageousness to really upend this system to make a real change.” — Bradly Johnson, former director of external affairs at Build Chicago

NARRATIVE CHANGE EXERCISE

How can you shift narrative change in your storytelling journey?

The following activity demonstrates how we take some of the negative media perceptions participants voiced in our listening sessions and provide actions to flip those perceptions into positive and more complete narratives of Black and Brown people in the media.

Take a moment to read through each one. Can you identify any parts of your life story that could better articulate your experiences as a Black or Brown person?

The media portrays Black bodies as “inferior, negative, barbaric and ignorant.” We usually see this narrative more in crime reporting of Black and Brown communities.

Media portrayals of Black and Brown youth are onedimensional. They are seen as either completely evil, or completely good, but rarely anything in between or more complex. We usually see this narrative in criminal justice stories that involve young people.

THE NEGATIVE NARRATIVE THE JOURNEY TO NARRATIVE CHANGE

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Most stories we see of Black and Brown communities are about when something bad happens. Overall, this creates negative and incomplete stereotypes of Black and Brown communities.

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Tell the story of Black people existing and showing their brilliance. For example, identify and report on more stories in marginalized communities that support this quote: “I believe the narrative that boys and young men of color are brave, courageous, beautiful and gifted.”

Tell stories of Black and Brown youth that humanize their circumstances. Collect the perspective of individuals from different facets of their life, i.e., school, family, community and friends. Recognize the individuality and the humanity of Black and Brown people and acknowledge the complexities that come with just being a human existing in our society.

Tell stories that shed light on events and intentions that are taking place in Black and Brown communities and are building solutions to the barriers that exist. For example, identify the community events, new businesses and community celebrations happening.

GLOSSARY

This is a short list of words that are used and relevant to this toolkit.

We curated this list to share essential vocabulary that can help you understand the importance of telling better and more complete stories.

complexity (n)

the state or quality of being intricate or involving many different aspects

humanize (v)

to make (something) more human or civilized; show more compassion or benevolence

the activity or profession of writing for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or preparing news to be broadcast

marginalized (adj)

(of a person, group, or concept) treated as insignificant or peripheral

journalism (n) media (n)

the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the internet) regarded collectively

media literacy (n)

the ability to critically analyze stories presented in the mass media and to determine their accuracy or credibility

narrative (n)

a representation of a particular situation or process in such a way as to reflect or conform to an overarching set of aims or values

perception (n)

a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression

representation (n)

the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented

storytelling (n)

the activity of telling or writing stories

LOCAL MEDIA OUTLET GUIDE

This is a list of local media outlets the Public Narrative team curated. We encourage you to incorporate these newsrooms as part of your media intake to expand your understanding of your community and the world around you.

Austin Weekly

Austin Weekly News is a news site committed to in-depth reporting on issues concerning the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. Austin Weekly is part of the Growing Community Media nonprofit group.

Website: https://www.austinweeklynews. com | https://growingcommunitymedia. org/

Block Club Chicago

Block Club Chicago is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, nonpartisan and essential coverage of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Their mission is to build community through ground-level reporting of the city’s neighborhoods.

Website: https://www.blockclubchicago. org

Borderless Magazine

Borderless Magazine NFP is a nonprofit news outlet reimagining immigration journalism for a more just and equitable future.

Borderless covers labor, justice and advocacy issues impacting Midwestern immigrant communities through a lens of equity and resilience.

Borderless also provides opportunities for emerging journalists from immigrant and other marginalized communities to report on immigration and learn

from professional journalists through its Pathways program and its Immigration Reporting Lab. Borderless responds to immigrants’ information and language needs and aims to create a more representative media landscape that includes their voices and experiences.

Website: https://www.borderlessmag.org

CAN TV

The City of Chicago established CAN TV in 1983 to maximize the involvement of Chicago residents and groups in cable television. It delivers over 140 hours of original, hyper-local programming each week. Additionally, CAN TV provides coverage of events relevant to the local community and gives every Chicagoan a voice on cable television by providing video training, facilities, equipment, and channel time for Chicago residents and nonprofit groups. CAN TV’s five local cable channels (CAN TV 19, 21, 27, 36, and 42) reach more than one million viewers in the city.

Website: https://www.cantv.org

Change Agents

Change Agents is a podcast series developed by Judith McCray and Maurice Bisaillon of Juneteenth Productions. The series is a partnership between community organizers and emerging journalists of color who are provided the tools to produce professionally crafted episodes highlighting issues, challenges and ground-level efforts for change.

Website: https://www. changeagentsthepodcast.com

Chicago Crusader

The Crusader Newspaper Group consists of two weekly newspapers in Illinois and Indiana featuring news, commentary, and lifestyle reporting geared toward the African American community. The Chicago Crusader and Gary Crusader, published by Black newspaper champion Dorothy R. Leavell, reach two unique markets with a shared $47 billion (annual) consumer buying power. It is circulated in 23 Chicago communities recognized as predominantly African American.

Website: https://chicagocrusader.com/

Chicago Defender

The Chicago Defender is a multimedia content provider of news, information and events that cover the interests of the urban African American community with culturally relevant content not regularly serviced by mainstream media. In July 2019, The Chicago Defender transitioned from a printed newspaper into a digitallyfocused content platform dedicated to online editorial, premiere events, custom publishing and archival merchandising.

Website: https://chicagodefender.com/

Chicago Reader

The Chicago Reader creates and curates political and cultural coverage by and for Chicago, including highlighting

underrepresented communities and stories.

They reinvest all their profits to achieve sustainability, grow their reach, and ensure the fulfillment of their mission.

Website: https://www.chicagoreader.com

Cicero Independiente

Cicero Independiente’s mission is to provide bilingual, accurate reporting, connect residents to important resources and information, and equip neighbors with journalism skills to engage in local democracy. They believe in bringing people of diverse media backgrounds together to co-create useful and necessary news. They also believe in journalism that is reflective of the knowledge, resilience and organizing in a working-class, Black, Brown and immigrant community — journalism that holds those in power accountable and, most importantly, is accessible in multiple languages and formats.

Cicero Independiente envisions a future where everyone can participate in documenting their stories for generations to come. A future where everyone can participate equally in transformational change.

Website: https://www. ciceroindependiente.com

Community Image in the News and other Forms of Media

City Bureau

City Bureau is a journalism lab reimagining local media. They do this by equipping people with skills and resources, engaging in critical public conversations and producing information that directly addresses people’s needs.

They aim to equip every community with the tools to eliminate information inequity to further liberation, justice and selfdetermination.

Website: https://www.citybureau.org

City Cast Chicago

City Cast is a network of daily local news podcasts in cities around the country, accompanied by a daily email newsletter that keeps you in the know about what’s happening in your community. City Cast is established in several cities, including Chicago, Denver, Houston, Salt Lake, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Boise, DC, Philadelphia, Portland and Madison.

City Cast aims to be the smartest, easiest way to connect with the place you live in and love.

Website: https://chicago.citycast.fm/

Free Spirit Media

Free Spirit Media provides teens and young adults in communities of color on Chicago’s West and South sides with a comprehensive foundation in media literacy and hands-on media production experience. Free Spirit Media runs in-

school arts education, after-school and summer digital media programs and advanced creative workforce development programs.

Free Spirit Media transforms media and society by providing opportunities for emerging creators, primarily from communities of color, to produce and distribute original content and to pursue artistic, personal and professional aspirations.

Free Spirit Media follows this mission by providing an engaging learning environment that stimulates meaningful media creation, fosters an entrepreneurial and visionary culture, taps into the talents of the Free Spirit Media team, and understands that social transformation is only viable when individuals promote and practice equality, inclusion, and solidarity.

Website: https://www.freespiritmedia.org

Harvey World Herald

The Harvey World Herald is a news source for in-depth reporting on education, business, public safety, health, politics and entertainment in the City of Harvey. The Harvey World Herald aims to pass the mic to those with a voice but without a platform, fill information gaps, and help the next generation of storytellers shape and own their narratives.

Website: https://harveyworld.org/

South Side Weekly

The South Side Weekly is a nonprofit newspaper dedicated to supporting cultural and civic engagement on the South Side and developing emerging journalists, writers and artists.

We publish in-depth coverage of politics, the arts and issues of public interest alongside oral histories, poetry, fiction, interviews and artwork from local photographers and illustrators.

The Weekly is produced by a mostly volunteer editorial staff and seeks contributions from across the city. They distribute the paper bi-weekly on Thursdays.

Website: https://www.southsideweekly. com

The TRiiBE

The TRiiBE is a digital media platform that is reshaping the narrative of Black Chicago and giving ownership back to the people. Its original works in journalism and documentary, alongside creative writing and video, capture the multifaceted essence of the Black experience in pursuit of truth and liberation.

Website: https://www.thetriibe.com

Village Free Press

Village Free Press was founded in 2013 by Michael Romain as a local, independent portal of information, news, reporting,

analysis and story-gathering for the Proviso Township.

In May 2022, Village Free Press joined the Growing Community Media nonprofit group.

Their mission is to build communities and enhance local democracy by providing people with information that means something and creating moments that matter.

Website: https://www.vfpress.news | https://growingcommunitymedia.org/

WBEZ

WBEZ was established as an extension service of the Chicago Board of Education in 1943. It broadcasted educational instruction for most of those early years, operating during the school year on weekdays while Chicago Public Schools were in session. In 1970, WBEZ became one of the first charter member stations of National Public Radio.

WBEZ’s mission is to serve as a cornerstone of the public conversation, as a central pillar of our civic community, and by reasserting itself as the heart of innovation within public media. They amplify the public conversation by telling the stories that matter — stories that provoke thought, entertain, capture emotion and inspire action

Website: https://www.wbez.org/

Community Image in the News and other Forms of Media

YR Media

YR Media is a leading media, technology and music training center and platform for emerging Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) content creators who are using their voices to change the world. YR Media equips emerging content creators between the ages of 14-24 with an immersive media arts education, top industry mentors, paid career-track employment and holistic support services, including counseling and healthy food.

Young people leverage these offerings to become civically engaged citizens driving systemic change and disruptors that diversify the traditional media landscape by creating stories, art and music that matter.

Website: https://yr.media/locations/ chicago/

REFERENCES

Jennifer Kho, Victor Brand. (October 2022). “The Story of Us: Community Image in the News and Other Forms of Media.” Public Narrative.

Josh McGhee, Jared Rutecki. (December 1, 2021). “Fewer people in Cook County are being charged with crimes. Why are Black people making up a larger share of defendants?” The Circuit: Injustice Watch, DataMade and Better Government Association.

Community Image in the News and other Forms of Media