Posted on 04/17/2007 12:19:57 PM PDT by Dont Mention the War
Media Advisory: Coverage on Virginia Tech Shooting Incident
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Janice Lee, 415-346-2051, JaniceL@aaja.org
SAN FRANCISCO (April 16, 2007) -- Like the rest of the nation, we at the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) are stunned at the news of today's shooting at Virginia Tech. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends as they cope with this horrific incident.
As coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting continues to unfold, AAJA urges all media to avoid using racial identifiers unless there is a compelling or germane reason. There is no evidence at this early point that the race or ethnicity of the suspected gunman has anything to do with the incident, and to include such mention serves only to unfairly portray an entire people.
The effect of mentioning race can be powerfully harmful. It can subject people to unfair treatment based simply on skin color and heritage.
We further remind members of the media that the standards of news reporting should be universal and applied equally no matter the platform or medium, including blogs.
We at AAJA, representing approximately 2,000 reporters, editors, photographers and executives in the industry, encourage journalists to refer to style and reference books, both within their own shop as well as AAJA's at http://www.aaja.org/resources/apa_handbook/.
We also invite those with concerns or questions to contact AAJA as a resource for issues of fair and accurate coverage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. AAJA's national office is at (415) 346-2051, National@aaja.org, www.aaja.org.
About AAJA
The Asian American Journalists Association is a non-profit professional and educational organization with approximately 2,000 members across the United States and in Asia. Founded in 1981, AAJA has been at the forefront of change in the journalism industry. AAJA's mission is to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to enter the ranks of journalism, to work for fair and accurate coverage of AAPIs, and to increase the number of AAPI journalists and news managers in the industry. AAJA is an alliance partner in UNITY Journalists of Color, along with the Native American Journalists Association, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and National Association of Black Journalists. For more information, visit www.aaja.org.
ok, so I can see the news release the next time something like this happens..
FLASH: police want you to be on the lookout for a male suspected in (insert crime here) in (insert town name here). if you see a male, please contact police..
Racial slur = hate crime
Don’t go anywhere, the police are on their way.
They DO have a point...... he’s spent his life here in America since 1992 (8 years old).
His ethnic heritage has little to do with his behavior.
I think he did most of the shooting in a German language class, not an engineering class.
Some freeper said yesterday, something like “soon, anyone other than white, will all be referred to as earthlings”.
Awww jeez. So what do we call them now???
My Chinese friends correct me when I call them Asian. They prefer Oriental over Asian.
Better watch your post doesn’t get pulled by the mods b/c you might offend somebody with your comments
ASIAN.
This nearly as amusing as when the University of Wisconsin Madison removed all race height and weight discriptions when looking for a suspect in a robbery.....
I had a journalism teacher/adviser (high-school) teach me much the same thing back in the early 80’s. Ethnic or racial characteristics were to be left out unless they have a bearing on the story. The above used to be the conservative way of looking at things . . . funny how it’s been completely reversed. I see the conservative response here (on FR) as a backlash against racial-identity politics.
” the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) are stunned at the news of today’s shooting at Virginia Tech. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends as they cope with this horrific incident.
As coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting continues to unfold, AAJA urges all media to avoid using racial identifiers unless there is a compelling or germane reason. There is no evidence at this early point that the race or ethnicity of the suspected gunman has anything to do with the incident, and to include such mention serves only to unfairly portray an entire people.”
Does anyone see the irony here?
How about describing him as: “rhymes with Asian.”
Same thing happened in Ann Arbor . . . there was a rapist on the loose and one of his victim’s identified her assailant as a black man. The Libs went into convulsions when the press reported it.
I might go along with this provided they can show that 100% of their membership did not mention race regarding the Duke lacrosse rape allegations.
I’m offended that they are referring to him as a “gunman” or a “man”. The fact that he is a man has no bearing on the crime. We should therefore not talk about the gender of a perpetrator of a crime. Has no relevance to the crime, right?????
I used Oriental one time and a girl told she was not a rug. True story.
We can’t win.
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