I’ve stuck my finger in a light socket on more than one occasion while writing for newspapers. It’s unavoidable but I usually knew what I was doing and understood what it would cost.
In 2006, I covered a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting that included a lecture on African American soldiers and sailors who fought for the Confederacy.
This was a controversial topic, so I included a paragraph explaining the views of historians who disagreed with the speaker’s conclusions.
Both sides of the issue pilloried me. My favorite was the contention that I was a “South-hating lib-tard.” I’d never heard the term, but I assume he was trying to say I was an intellectually challenged liberal fool. Reprints of my article were shared on blogs and other internet vehicles five years after its publication.
Here is the point. I don’t cover stories because I want to advocate for a cause. I did not include the “fact-check” to call the speaker a liar; I acknowledged disagreement on the matter.
Covering all sorts of news is what journalism is all about. Being fair and accurate is also important.
As for criticism, as one publisher told me, “If you want a friend in this business, get a dog.”
On May 18 of this year, I did it again.
I covered a Sons of Confederate Veterans ceremony honoring Chowan County’s Confederate Civil War dead on Confederate Memorial Day (a state holiday.)
The ceremony was unconnected to Edenton’s Confederate monument removal controversy. The event included the appearance of Michael Dean, the commander of Edenton’s new SCV chapter, reading the names of 47 Confederate war dead. He did it in a Civil War uniform, complete with a saber.
I did not editorialize the event; it was a news story. Afterward, I interviewed Dean, who denied any connection between his organization and white supremacy.
I decided to report the statement and allow the readers to evaluate it. But then, he made a startling analogy.
Dean attempted to say that honoring the Confederate dead in the Civil War was like honoring other veterans in previous unpopular wars like Vietnam.
“All the soldiers in Vietnam were all brothers: soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. We were all brothers,” Dean said.
This statement would have some people standing up and cheering while others spewed their orange juice at the morning paper.
News writing is a lot like flower arranging. You put the most interesting flowers in a prominent place, but you can’t make the flower.
I received an angry personal response to the article from a reader who took exception to the fact that I covered the ceremony at all. I did not answer it immediately because I wanted to consider what he said carefully before responding.
I won’t use his name here because the letter was addressed to me and was not written as a letter to the editor.
“I find your recent article endorsing the work of the rebel traitors in the Civil War who fought to enslave and kill Black people and Union soldiers disgusting, and their throwback to Jim Crow absolutely horrible,” the reader said.
He also criticized me because I “let their leader equate the turncoat rebels equal footing to our Vietnam veterans.”
I did not endorse the statement and I did not “let” Mr. Dean say anything. He commented on the record, so I quoted him. Readers were free to draw what conclusions they wanted.
One final remark drew my attention.
“When are you going to sponsor a ceremony to read the names of all the dead slaves who died in Chowan County?” he asked.
Good question. I would like to see that. I did not sponsor the SCV ceremony, and I won’t be sponsoring the one he suggested, but you can bet I will be there to report on it when it happens.
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