Stephanie Corbin

Bias Accusation Stings
February 15, 2008

For a reporter, being accused of bias is one of the harshest criticisms to endure, because objectivity is an essential quality of what we do.

When that sentiment comes my way, it’s always a surprise to me, as it was when Tradeshow Week received a letter to the editor after the first story I wrote about the Natl. Council of La Raza (and the Natl. Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and Southern Christian Leadership Conference, in support). The group was considering pulling its NCLR 2009 Annual Conference and Latino Expo USA from Kansas City, Mo., in protest over the mayor’s appointment of an active member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps. to the city’s parks board.

Instead of being about a Midwest city possibly losing a convention – a blow to any destination – the story became embroiled in the national debate about illegal immigration that was taking place in the local Kansas City papers, some national media and, to a lesser extent, in Tradeshow Week.

Because of the heated opinions on each side, every time a situation came up requiring that I write a story, I had to contact the NCLR, the mayor, the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Assn., the Minutemen, other players speaking out in the debate (NAACP or the SCLC, which were considering calling for a national boycott of Kansas City) and Frances Semler, the Minutemen member who later resigned from the parks board because of the brouhaha.

Every story included discussions in the office about how to place lines of “so-and-so didn’t return comment,” and to make sure the real issue for our readers – conventions considering leaving Kansas City – was the focus, not what the Minutemen do or what others think of the organization, although both had to be included in order to accurately portray the situation.

As a reporter, the question is always how to show a situation and make each side balanced – even if only one side is doing the talking.

Now that NCLR has booked Chicago’s McCormick Place as the new site of its 2009 event, I’m glad we can move onto a new issue with heated opinions on each side. Did I hear “exclusives” whispered out there?

Posted by Stephanie Corbin on February 15, 2008 | Comments (0)