Diversity in staffing makes a difference in content
By David Ledford
Special to freedomforum.org
04.19.01
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| Marty Two Bulls |
Good editors put enormous energy and brainpower into the quality of ideas before asking reporters and photographers to hit the streets.
And when it comes to developing story ideas that have impact with readers, journalists with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and interests make a huge difference.
At the Argus Leader, three Native American newsroom employees — Marty Two Bulls, Valerie Hoeppner and Jomay Steen — have helped enrich the newspaper. Our content is more reflective of the communities we serve, and our relationship with the public is improved.
Graphics Editor Two Bulls and Reporter Steen are Lakota; Assistant Photo Editor Hoeppner is Cherokee.
These journalists, along with their colleagues, make meaningful contributions to the newspaper every day. Their efforts are amplified when they engage with stories and public-service projects concerning American Indians. They bring passion to their work that helps all of us better understand the significance of their stories, and they bring connections in the community we might not have without them.
They also help us:
Having them at work at our newspaper also helps make American Indians feel good about telling their stories to the Argus Leader. And who better than these working journalists to talk to young Native American students who are considering journalism as a career.
Consider their efforts on some of the work we've published recently:
Cameras were not permitted at the ceremonies, so we couldn't rely on traditional photo coverage. Two Bulls got permission from a medicine man to explain the intricacies of the ceremony and created graphics and original paintings to explain the self-sacrifice ritual.
He also wrote a compelling story that helped put into perspective a historic and sacred rite that Europeans and some Americans are now paying for the privilege of participating in.
Steen found families whose descendents had been followers of Chief Big Foot and fled after learning that tribal police had killed Sitting Bull. Steen talked to young riders, some of whom live along the original trail, about the lingering pain of women and children being massacred by U.S. Cavalry.
She also wrote a column explaining that some of her relatives were killed at Wounded Knee.
Two Bulls buttressed this effort with an original painting of a red messiah who predicted that whites would die and that Indians and buffalo would once again live in harmony.
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| Lucille Brings Plenty in her home. |
Hoeppner made an extra effort that resulted in another strong photo for the series. Knowing that buses cannot handle the gooey mud that clogs reservation roads each Spring, Hoeppner made a special 400-mile round trip to photograph children who must walk miles to pavement to get picked up for school.
And she captured the anger and frustration of Indian children whose mother had been killed by a white drunken driver as she crossed the street in Sioux Falls. The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated; no charges were filed in the death.
The list could go on.
These stories and images have gone a long way toward helping the Argus Leader educate its readers about the Indian culture and the challenges faced by tribes. It's gratifying to hear lifelong white residents say they appreciate our reporting on the state's largest minority.
Education slowly chips away at the ignorance that is prejudice.
And people like Two Bulls, Steen and Hoeppner are very good at helping us teach.
David Ledford is executive editor of the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. When he wrote this story he was executive editor of the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., recognized by Gannett Co., Inc., for outstanding coverage of Native American issues.