Diversity Guidelines: SPJ
Society of Professional Journalists News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Oct. 12, 2001
ATTENTION:
News editors, Business editors, Feature editors, Photo editors,
Assignment desks
CONTACTS:
Julie Grimes, SPJ deputy director, jgrimes@spj.org or 317/927-8000 ext.
216
Sally Lehrman, SPJ Diversity chair, 650/728-8211 or
slehrman@bestwrit.com
SPJ Offers Guidelines for Coverage to Counter Ethnic and Religious
Profiling
INDIANAPOLIS - The Diversity Committee of the Society of Professional
Journalists has issued a set of guidelines to help journalists counter
religious and ethnic profiling in coverage of the U.S. war on terrorism.
"Journalists need to cover all aspects of a complicated and emotional
situation in a fair and accurate way," said Sally Lehrman, a medical
technology writer and chair of the committee. "The repetition of certain
images and wording can unintentionally lead to racial profiling and the
hate crimes that come with it."
The guidelines elaborate on two resolutions adopted Oct. 6 by the
delegates to the SPJ National Convention that urge journalists to strive
for ethical and informative coverage of all the communities throughout
the United States and the world. The two resolutions are available at
spj.org. (Resolution No. 2 and Resolution No.
3)
"The resolutions and the guidelines reflect the first principle of the
SPJ Code of Ethics, 'Seek truth and report it'," said SPJ President Al
Cross, a political columnist for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. "Some
of the pertinent points covered by that principle say that we should not
stereotype, misrepresent, oversimplify or highlight incidents out of
context, and that we should give voice to the voiceless, avoid imposing
our own cultural values on others, and tell the story of the diversity
and magnitude of the human experience boldly, even when it is unpopular
to do so."
The guidelines offer tips on choosing stories and sources that help
demystify Muslims, Arab Americans and other targeted groups, and for
using informative rather than inflammatory language and images. They
encourage the media to seek a variety of voices and perspectives
routinely and include a list of resources to help journalists educate
themselves about Muslims, Arab Americans, South Asian Americans and
their coverage in the news.
The SPJ Ethics Code encourages journalists to tell the story of the
diversity of the human experience boldly even when it is unpopular to do
so.
The new guidelines were developed in consultation with the American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Muslim Council, experts on
Islam and its history, the South Asian Journalists Association, the
Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and Newswatch, a project of
the Center for the Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San
Francisco State University.
The complete set of guidelines follows.
The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and protect
journalism. The organization is the nation's largest and most
broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free
practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical
behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow
of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and
educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment
guarantees of freedom of speech and press.
Guidelines for Countering Racial, Ethnic and Religious Profiling
On Oct. 6 at its National Convention in Seattle, the Society of
Professional Journalists passed a resolution urging members and fellow
journalists to take steps against racial profiling in their coverage of
the war on terrorism and to redouble their commitment to:
* Use language that is informative and not inflammatory;
* Portray Muslims, Arabs and Middle Eastern and South Asian Americans in
the richness of their diverse experiences;
* Seek truth through a variety of voices and perspectives that help
audiences understand the complexities of the events in Pennsylvania, New
York City and Washington, D.C.
Guidelines
Visual images
1. Seek out people from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds
when photographing Americans mourning those lost in New York, Washington
and Pennsylvania.
2. Seek out people from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds
when photographing rescue and other public service workers and military
personnel.
3. Do not represent Arab Americans and Muslims as monolithic groups.
Avoid conveying the impression that all Arab Americans and Muslims wear
traditional clothing.
4. Use photos and features to demystify veils, turbans and other
cultural articles and customs.
Stories
1. Seek out and include Arabs and Arab Americans, Muslims, South Asians
and men and women of Middle Eastern descent in all stories about the
war, not just those about Arab and Muslim communities or racial
profiling.
2. Cover the victims of harassment, murder and other hate crimes as
thoroughly as you cover the victims of overt terrorist attacks.
3. Make an extra effort to include olive-complexioned and darker men and
women, Sikhs, Muslims and devout religious people of all types in arts,
business, society columns and all other news and feature coverage, not
just stories about the crisis.
4. Seek out experts on military strategies, public safety, diplomacy,
economics and other pertinent topics who run the spectrum of race,
class, gender and geography.
5. When writing about terrorism, remember to include white supremacist,
radical anti-abortionists and other groups with a history of such
activity.
6. Do not imply that kneeling on the floor praying, listening to Arabic
music or reciting from the Quran are peculiar activities.
7. When describing Islam, keep in mind there are large populations of
Muslims around the world, including in Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe,
India and the United States. Distinguish between various Muslim states;
do not lump them together as in constructions such as "the fury of the
Muslim world."
8. Avoid using word combinations such as "Islamic terrorist" or "Muslim
extremist" that are misleading because they link whole religions to
criminal activity. Be specific: Alternate choices, depending on context,
include "Al Qaeda terrorists" or, to describe the broad range of groups
involved in Islamic politics, "political Islamists." Do not use
religious characterizations as shorthand when geographic, political,
socioeconomic or other distinctions might be more accurate.
9. Avoid using terms such as "jihad" unless you are certain of their
precise meaning and include the context when they are used in
quotations. The basic meaning of "jihad" is to exert oneself for the
good of Islam and to better oneself.
10. Consult the Library of Congress guide for transliteration of Arabic
names and Muslim or Arab words to the Roman alphabet. Use spellings
preferred by the American Muslim Council, including "Muhammad,"
"Quran," and "Makkah ," not "Mecca."
11. Regularly seek out a variety of perspectives for your opinion
pieces. Check your coverage against the five Maynard Institute for
Journalism Education fault lines of race and ethnicity, class,
geography, gender and generation.
12. Ask men and women from within targeted communities to review your
coverage and make suggestions.
Web resources on this topic:
Informational Resources on Arab-Americans, the Arab World and Islam
adc.org
100 Questions and Answers about Arab-Americans: A Journalist's Guide
freep.com
The American Muslim Council promotes participation of American Muslims
in mainstream public life, including U.S. political and public policy
arenas.
amconline.org
The Quran online
hti.umich.edu
or
islam.tc
The South Asian Journalists Association provides a stylebook, sources
and a roundup of coverage for journalists.
saja.org
Newswatch is a site dedicated to diversity in journalism, with
commentary on media performance. It is a project of the Center for
Integration and Improvement of Journalism of San Francisco State
University and a collaboration between the Native American Journalists
Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the
National Association of Black Journalists, the Asian American
Journalists Association and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists
Association.
newswatch.sfsu.edu
Reuters explains its policy on the word "terrorist."
about.reuters.com
Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
maynardije.org
Articles
Nothing foreign about Islam in America:
sunspot.net
ome%2Dcolumnists
-END-
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