Stories that Don't Make the News: Navigating a White Newsroom as a Black Female Reporter

Abstract

ABSTRACT This autoethnography asks newsrooms to consider how the actions and culture of white newsrooms can negatively affect Black female reporters through the usage of autoethnography and critical race theory. I reflect upon my experiences with workplace bullying as a reporter at a Southern newspaper to illustrate how white workspaces can be harmful for Black women and their identity. Critical race theory’s social construction of race thesis and the theory’s emphasis on storytelling via the voice of color thesis were used to explore bullying and lack of acknowledgement for the bullying that took place in the white newsroom. This paper also drew from communication literature that focuses on workplace bullying, gender, and identity. The analysis of my experiences and literature shed light on the isolation and bullying found within white newsrooms. I offer my newsroom experiences in hopes of creating changes in newsroom culture for Black female journalists and white newsrooms.