Thread: Media miss the boat on some stories

http://www.sbsun.com/ci_4308466

Media miss the boat on some stories

Conor Friedersdorf, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun

On an average day I read a couple dozen newspaper stories about immigration. It's a routine I've kept up for a year.
Subtracting two weeks' vacation, I'm afforded a sample size of more than 8,000 stories to ground my observations about the state of immigration coverage in the United States.

Breaking news stories are the most common.

Immigration legislation is passed or voted down. Upset citizens stage a protest or hold a march. Authorities carry out an immigration raid. Census data is released that sheds light on demographic trends.

Often these stories are reported adequately enough, occasional instances of factual inaccuracy and bias aside.

Next most common is the news feature that begins with an anecdote about a particular illegal immigrant. Sometimes he is sneaking across the desert. Other times she is working illegally at a factory, or engaging in politics, or buying a first home.

It is appropriate for newspapers to offer readers insights into the lives of immigrants, and individual stories frame those insights into narrative bits easier to process than they'd otherwise be.

Many of these stories are perfectly defensible pieces of journalism, and I disagree with those media critics who object every time an illegal immigrant is portrayed sympathetically. The fact is that many here illegally have sympathetic stories.

At the same time, it is problematic when nearly every single anecdotal lead and news feature about illegal immigrants focuses on the deportee who works three jobs and once saved a man from drowning while almost always ignoring the deportee who collects welfare under an assumed identity and has two drunken driving arrests.

Illegal immigrants have loafs and scoundrels in their midst like every other subgroup in society. Insofar as immigration coverage systematically ignores that fact, its effect is to mislead readers.

A preference among journalists for liberal immigration policies isn't always behind this systematic bias. As a reporter I much preferred writing about sympathetic people to writing about unsympathetic people.

Whatever the topic, it's no fun to hang around deadbeats. They're usually unwilling to regale reporters with their ill deeds. And it seems far more worthwhile to draw attention to ordinary people doing remarkable things than to unremarkable things done by uninspiring people.

But understandable biases still demand corrective action, and the bias in anecdotal leads and news features can't be entirely explained by the reasons I've mentioned.

I say that because immigration stories often highlight those hurt by a crackdown on illegal immigration. We've all read stories about married couples separated or parents and children torn apart. But immigration stories typically don't afford the same individualized portrayals of workers who lose their jobs to illegal immigrants, or see their wages fall, or endure longer commutes on more crowded freeways.

I hope newspapers will continue to inform us about the unnoticed good deeds and quietly admirable lives led by some illegal immigrants.

At the same time, readers are owed more balanced coverage that reports more often on things like illegal immigrant gang members and children whose education suffers because their teacher is less efficient in a classroom where half her pupils speak one language and the remainder another.

People are hurt by illegal immigration, and we need to hear their stories, too.

In a future column I'll propose some story ideas that would complement the coverage already offered by newspapers.

Conor Friedersdorf manages The Sun's blog on immigration issues. The blog, designed to provide a forum for opinions and information on immigration, is at www.beyondbordersblog.com.

But immigration stories typically don't afford the same individualized portrayals of workers who lose their jobs to illegal immigrants, or see their wages fall, or endure longer commutes on more crowded freeways.

The media need to make it clear that illegal immigration is not victimless. I took NPR's marketplace survey and suggested to them that they include these types of stories on illegal immigration because such topics are consistent with their program being focused on business and economic matters.

Look at what our town's hispanic poster wrote -I'm sure she doesn't read all the articles we read... Below is my reply to her.

http://www.waukegan.org/Forum/topic.asp ... hichpage=2

Palomablanca
Senior Member
647 Posts
Posted - 09/09/2006 : 12:49:53
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I think the two sides are talking but not listening.
We as educators see the problem as getting the job done (the job being getting everybody speaking english and as many as possible headed towards college). We can't and don't play favorites. We treat the individual 'patient'. Our problems lie in having a large group of patients that have a similar problem- they don't speak English well- and group therapy, we believe, is the most effective economically and in widespread effect.
The other side consists of students who don't have the language problem and aren't worried about getting into a college (at least academicly) if they get the courses they think they need and the personal attention they think they deserve.
Closely coupled with this side is a group of adults and students who see this as yet another battlefront in a xenophobic war. (aliens)

Both sides talk and talk.

These truths fail to get recognized:

1) As far as spanish speaking student policy goes, the school administrators hands are more or less forced. They have to follow State guidelines and "the numbers". They can't ignore more than half the student population. They can't ignore STATE policies or funds get cut off. And they can't ignore a bigoted School Board.

2) Hispanic students (citizens and illegals) can't help what they are any more than anyone else. Most did not make a choice to be here and are trying to make what they consider to be the best of it. Most ARE succeeding, but this goes unrecognized because new arrivals mask their successes.

3) The Hispanic community IS successful. Evidence for this lies in its growth- both in population and in the businesses that have sprung up to support them. They have a right to an appropriate education. The Xenophobes and dinosaurs see this and THIS is what horrifies them.
They will exaggerate crimes done by ' minorities of minorities', welfare fraud, and imagined "high crimes and misdemeanors". They will shriek and howl about howl about how "their grandparents followed the rules". (and these rules vary depending on who you talk to!)
The Xenophobes and dinosaurs want ALL Hispanics to LEAVE. Success by legals means more 'illegals' to them. Our present school policy will create more successful legals as well.

4) This "us versus them" philosophy is not as widespread as some contributers would have you believe. Most support the Hispanic presence. This can be seen by participation in marches that support them and the lack of effective marches against them- not only in Waukegan, but ANYWHERE! Friction between ethnic groups at schools has been relatively small, as well.
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fedupinwaukegan
Junior Member
127 Posts
Posted - 09/09/2006 : 14:33:27
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Sigh....perhaps one can accuse PB of not listening either. I would say she is half right and half wrong. The marches demanding citizenship rights have seen their numbers drastically reduced. I don't think illegal aliens were 'shipped' to Waukegan -so how can they have no choce for being here. There is a Hispanic group called 'You don't speak for me' -and that is certainly true here. This group is angered at illegals 'demanding' citizenship rights. This 'dinosaur' will shriek till the cows come home about my legal immigrant grandparents. A recent survey showed 75% plus wanted stronger border security. The school admin can help our Hispanic students learn English and feel pride being here -I don't think that is happening... I want to live in a diverse community. When I go to places like Lake Forest I fee very uncomfortable. I was sickened to hear that a LF woman asked Kelly to get out the health club locker because it was hers, and they complained about their help in Florida... Typical.

So my rant is over. I could post 'long' articles to counter what was said by PB...but I am comfortable, firm, and resoulute in my beliefs. How brash, typical, and out of line for her to say we want ALL Hispanics to leave. So you carry on as I will, but

You don't speak for me....

Below is link to a classic story I'm tired of reading. I'm sure this fellow is working for persons who have business models that require illegals. Tomorrow I will read stories of how the agriculture businesses in US and in Mexico can't find laborers. Is it unrealistic for the govt to specify (and maybe increase the number of visas for agriculture, only workers)? (And monitor the program to ensure they aren't going into industries where legal workers are employed? Or I am being too altruistic?

http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/edi ... 5bdef.html

I totally agree with Jean--way too many stories of the plight of the illegal, and insufficient coverage of the plight of the American citizen (I don't care from what country they came from).