Faces of Diversity: Jomay Steen
08.03.01
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| Jomay Steen |
This is the first in an occasional series of interviews profiling former Chips Quinn Scholars who now work in newspaper newsrooms. Jomay Steen, youth reporter for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., was a Chips Quinn Scholar in 1997.
Q: How did you hear about the Chips Quinn program?
A: When I returned to South Dakota State University at Brookings for my journalism degree. Dr. Richard Lee, head of the journalism department, told me about the Chips Quinn Scholars program and said he thought it would be the perfect program for me. I interned at the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D. I still work there, and I am very happy with my work so far.
Q: What did your internship teach you about journalism and reporting?
A: Being part of the Chips Quinn program taught me the importance of listening and not being concerned about what people think of you, asking questions if you don't understand, asking people to repeat important details, asking, asking, asking. The more I know the better. If I don't know something, I should not write about it.
Reporting is not about me — all of the instructors at The Freedom Forum were so clear about explaining my role as a journalist and the process of responsible reporting. They also taught me that truth and honesty would be my shield in time of fire. And that ultimately, the newspaper's reputation is on the line along with my credibility as a reporter.
Q: What attracted you to journalism as a career?
A: I grew up in a home that read two weeklies, The Faith Independent and West River Progress, and two dailies, The American Daily News in Aberdeen, S.D., and The Rapid City (S.D.) Journal. I loved reading them, and I enjoyed writing.
The biggest attraction to the profession was meeting new and different people, finding out something that no one else knows and telling it to the world. Reporting gives a person a backstage pass into the behind-the-scenes workings of events and the lives of public and ordinary people. It opens doors to fascinating places, people and ideas.
Before becoming a journalist, I taught grades five through eight in a one-room schoolhouse. I taught every subject from English to math to art. I also taught second-grade. Teaching is a noble career, but journalism is better.
Q: How do you think your ethnicity influences your coverage?
A: I try to find people to interview for my stories who are representative of the American Indian community, the ones who have a sense of humor and are strong, confident individuals. They are the best voice for the community.
Q: What stories may have been neglected without your special connection to the American Indian community?
A: I brought the story of the Big Foot Memorial Ride to our paper; he was the chief of my people, the Lakota, when they died at Wounded Knee. This memorial commemorated the riders who went out and retraced Big Foot's journey from Sitting Bull's house to Wounded Knee. I wrote about the people who made the same journey as their ancestors did 110 years before.
I've also written about Indian Boarding Schools, how they were so bad at the turn of the century and how students now consider them their homes. I've written about race relations and diversity training. I'm not sure if these stories would have been reported.
Q: What other Indian issues are you concerned about?
A: I find the mascot issue troubling. When I was at SDSU, a student talked about walking his daughter to day care when the school was playing football against the North Dakota State University's Fighting Sioux. He had to explain to his daughter what an Indian effigy was, why it was hanging by a rope in a tree and why it was set on fire. I've never been so moved or felt so upset. That little girl learned something very ugly that day, and it was only a football game.
Q: As an educator turned journalist, how do you feel your life experience helps you in your reporting?
A: There are a lot of goofy things I still do as a youth reporter that I did when I taught professionally. I analyze people's learning styles — I can't help it. In my beat, it's nice to talk to the ordinary kids — those who aren't beautiful, popular or the teacher's pet. They offer up some great quotes on how they see the world. Often people complain that we never print good news about students, and I often tell them that I celebrate their achievements every day. Their lives, loves, jobs, struggles and frustrations are part of my beat, and I won't neglect them.
Q: What was the hardest part of leaving the education field to become a journalist?
A: I had to break out of the mind-set that women could only be teachers and nurses. I own a home. I have responsibilities. I was going to go back to school with basically no income and no idea if anyone would hire me. Scary stuff, but I had a wonderful friend say to me, "We create our own opportunities." I repeated this to myself like a mantra.
Q: What advice do you give young Native Americans in South Dakota about becoming journalists?
A: To be a journalist, I tell them you have to finish school and take every writing class available, soak up the history and government classes and take keyboarding as well. This will serve you well. If you know the mechanics of grammar and how to look up words in a dictionary, you'll spend more time creating stories than having to revise them.
Q: Does your newspaper staff reflect the community it reports?
A: Our city has more than 50 different minorities. The American Indian population in this city exceeds that of the Lower Brule Reservation in eastern South Dakota. When I joined the newsroom, there were three Indians on staff — all of them photographers. Two photographers left, but a graphic artist and photographer and I are still here. Denise Tucker, a black news reporter, has been here for more than 10 years. And that's about all for people of color. Go downstairs to the back shop or presses and it's a different story. The newsroom is hard to crack if people don't know about the careers here.
Q: Do you think diversity is an important issue for the newspaper industry?
A: Yes. It brings so much to the newsroom. Fresh ideas, different perspectives and a way of opening new lines of communication all can be achieved by figuring out a way to bring minorities into the newsroom and keep them there.
Q: What do you feel has been the most important influence keeping you in a journalism career?
A: The variety of work, the great people within a newsroom and our great leadership. I taught school for 13 years and our leadership was dismal at best. But if you have people who care about what they do and care passionately, you'll follow them anywhere.
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