San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
News value of ‘Karens’
actions ... or so we hope.
But for us as journalists to avoid the dangerous slide of becoming tabloid TV, we must assess each case with an enhanced level of scrutiny. Unlike social media, which only amplifies boorish behavior without adding context, we must go beyond the superficial shock and awe and override the hasty despite to hit the digital goldmine and dig a bit deeper into our reporting.
While it’s not right to harass someone and call the police about their Black Lives Matter chalk drawing on their own Pacific Heights property, what did the interaction entail before the camera started rolling? Was the tech CEO seen shouting expletives in a racist rant toward a Filipino American family dining at a restaurant in Carmel egged on by the woman filming the incident? Did a man slash a woman’s car tires in Martinez because of posters and stickers supporting the Black Lives Matter movement or for another reason?
These are not questions that can be answered with the click of a “like” or “share” button.
If we as journalists fail to ask these questions, or can’t find the answers ourselves, the story should not be considered news.
If we make this ethical promise to exercise heightened responsibility for this new breed of storytelling I hope consumers of this content can understand the importance of context during consumption. The journalist’s mission is to inform and empower. If we take the time to add original reporting and context to caughtoncamera “Karen” moments, we can use this new breed of storytelling to enhance the public’s understanding of a critical time in our culture.
Dion Lim is an anchorreporter at KGOTV in San Francisco and author of “Make Your Moment” (McGrawHill).