s1e9: Community Journalism with Ethan Bakuli

Oh, that's so important.

We need that too.

Yeah.

So I think too, like being in community is helpful for your journalism and it's also helpful for community too.

And to build that, to build community as well.

And I'm wondering too, like how does...

Journalism strengthen or how do you go about protecting our community members in journalism right like how do you find the boundary between talking with community and being a journalist.

Yeah, that is a weighty, I'm actively thinking through that each and every day because I think there's a lot of gray area to how journalists traditionally try to, particularly I'd say in mainstream media spaces, try to engage with community members.

I was just thinking the other day, you know, it's like, Traditionally, we give a lot more grace and consideration to government officials.

These sources that are coming from the top down, we definitely give a lot more credibility.

That's basically what's taught to you.

When I was in journalism school, there's a lot of just baked in, like, oh, yeah, you want to get the public official comment.

You want to make sure that whatever story you write, you're getting their record on it for liability reasons, all this other stuff.

And I think that just... de-centers the people, you know, de-centers the bottom up and the grassroots in ways that I think is very harmful.

I think journalism in this current moment is really wrestling with that because, you know, you have all these topics, conversations around misinformation and disinformation and like trust in media.

And I think trust in media isn't there because people actively see the ways that like not only how corporate media operates, but how it just doesn't center and really want to be in conversation, be in solidarity with community.

So I think for me, what's helped me in this current moment for my work the last few years is really just understanding my place in the community.

When I was doing journalism in other places, there was often this feel like, You're supposed to be removed.

You know, you're supposed to be like objective and neutral and separate.

And I think, you know.

Unbiased.

Right.

Yeah.

Well, quote, unbiased.

And