I attended Leila Fadel’s talk about the portrayal of Muslims in the media last night. I was expecting great things because I was interested in the talk not only for this class, but also since I am a journalism major and the assistant news editor for the Collegian, so it was directly relevant to work that I do. This talk opened my eyes even more than I thought that it would. Leila’s experience as a journalist was very relatable, and she understood the struggles that journalists often face, such as the time frame you have to write a story or getting sources to speak to you. She also knew how difficult it is to confine a lifetime’s worth of experiences a person has into a short article or sound bite. For this reason, Leila emphasized getting a variety of different perspectives in news stories not just the same person or asking the same people to speak on the same subjects. She also talked about how words can have a harmful effect even if it is not intended so a journalist has to choose them wisely. She illustrated this point with the words “moderate” and “conservative.” In the context of defining a Muslim person’s religiosity, these can seem like you are saying “not that Muslim, so safe” or “very religious, you might need to worry.” I had never thought about how such simple words can carry deeper meanings. Everything that Leila Fadel talked about is directly applicable to my classwork and my stories for the Collegian. I hope that this knowledge will allow me to take the time to think a little deeper about what I am saying when I write stories, especially about those with different backgrounds from my own.
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