Local Journalism during BLM Protests (ft. WHQR Reporter, Hannah Breisinger)

Welcome back to Let's Talk Media! In this episode of the media analysis podcast, host Vedant Akhauri sits down with Hannah Breisinger, a 2019 Ithaca College grad and reporter/host for the NPR affiliate WHQR in Wilmington, North Carolina. Hannah shares what it is like navigating the fast-paced news cycle during a global pandemic and historic BLM civil rights protests, proving exactly why local journalism is more crucial than ever.In this episode, we discuss:Broadcasting During a Pandemic: Hannah discusses working at a small NPR affiliate during the early months of COVID-19. She explains the domino effect of sickness on a small staff, and how her station adapted to remote broadcasting to keep their essential coverage on the air.National vs. Local News & The 1898 Coup: Hannah gives a brilliant defense of local journalism by bringing up the 1898 Wilmington massacre - the only successful coup d'état on American soil, where a thriving Black community and local newspaper were destroyed by white supremacists. She explains how local reporters possess this vital historical context to properly report on modern racial tensions, whereas parachuting national reporters often miss the full picture.The Pitfalls of Citizen Journalism: We explore a nuanced take on getting your news directly from Twitter. While acknowledging the power of social media, Hannah warns that citizen journalists lack the training to provide full context, noting how easily short video clips can be chopped up or manipulated just to get likes and retweets.Redefining Impartiality: Hannah challenges traditional journalistic "objectivity". She argues that acknowledging the facts of systemic racism and police brutality is not a partisan stance, but a factual one. She notes that ignoring these realities in the name of strict "impartiality" does a massive disservice to the community being covered.If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating to be notified of future episodes. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show on Instagram @letstalkmediava