A couple of stories in the last week or so highlight the problems associated with identifying story subjects by race or ethnicity. As a rule, such identification is included in a story only if it is considered significant to the story. So this week, in editing stories on Shonto Pete, we were careful about referencing his Native American heritage. For example, in today's hard news story on his auto theft trial, link here, there is no mention of Pete's race. But in the secondary story about his mother's vigil at the trial, link here, Pete's Native American ethnicity is central to the story. ... Sensitivity to racial identification can lead to some fairly amazing self-censorship. One of the nation;s top dailies a few weeks ago, wrote about an at-large criminal suspect including some important physical attributes in their description of the dangerous fugitive, but not telling readers the suspect's race. He is black/Steve Smith, News Is A Conversation.
Question: Is that political correctness run amok? Where is the line between appropriate sensitivity and failure to deal with critical information?
D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.
As a rule, such identification is included in a story only if it is considered significant to the story. So this week, in editing stories on Shonto Pete, we were careful about referencing his Native American heritage. For example, in today's hard news story on his auto theft trial, link here, there is no mention of Pete's race. But in the secondary story about his mother's vigil at the trial, link here, Pete's Native American ethnicity is central to the story. ... Sensitivity to racial identification can lead to some fairly amazing self-censorship. One of the nation;s top dailies a few weeks ago, wrote about an at-large criminal suspect including some important physical attributes in their description of the dangerous fugitive, but not telling readers the suspect's race. He is black/Steve Smith, News Is A Conversation.
