Joyce Davis  On Ethics


ETHICS AND REPORTING ACCURATELY

The closest thing I can think to, that happened to me during my reporting assignment on Muslim women. I did a five-part series on women in the Muslim world. And the second place we went was the Sudan. And about the middle of the trip, while we were there, the Sudanese government basically said they were going to pay for our expenses. Now for NPR, I mean, on one way that'd be fabulous, I mean, we have no money! So this'd be great if somebody would pick up the tab. But in another level, that cannot be tolerated. There's no way I could go to somewhere like the Sudan, as controversial as it is, and allow the government to pay my way. Just absolutely not. First of all, some of the things I was going to say about the Sudan were actually going to be nice things. Who would believe it after everything they're hearing, about the horrors of the Sudan. Who would believe that we hadn't been bought? And of course, I was going to have to say some very bad things about the Sudan, about what I saw. Would the government be very happy about paying my way, hearing that I was saying these things? So I had to make it absolutely clear that in no way, I would stop eating! — if they paid my way. Absolutely not. So they got the point across.

That trip alone took me through five countries across the world. I started in Egypt, went through the Sudan, then to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. For five stories and a documentary.

It was tough. It was really tough. It was exciting. We met some wonderful people, some real world leaders that are not really heard of very often.

FACING RACISM

I would say there aren't many older women like me, older African American women, because they've been drummed out of the profession, frankly. I mean, I remember starting at the Times-Picayune in 1972, and I remember seeing quite a few, at least a dozen, young women, my age, when I was still in college, and it was so hostile. And it was so tough to survive. First of all, you need self-confidence in this business. You need to feel like you know what you're doing. You can walk up to someone and say, "Here's an idea" and especially if you have a quirky idea, you need to walk up and say, "Let me prove I can do this." Not everybody wants to go through that over and over and over again, and the smart ones got out and went to something else! And left those of us with hard heads in here. But no, there aren't that many, and it's unfortunate. Because I've seen many smart, really gifted journalists, African American journalists, just leave. Go into public relations. And it doesn't pay a lot. So you really have to be dedicated to journalism to stay in it. It's a shame. It's really a shame. Right now, I would say things are a little better. I see young women coming into the field, African-American women, and I hope stay. The question is, will their talents really be appreciated and used? And I don't know. Not until we diversify really the top echelons of some of the companies, that really have the environment that'll keep them.

Also, I mean my interests all along have been in international news. Now, that's not where people wanted to take me. You have to have an environment that will allow a person to be what a person wants to be. Yes, I perhaps know about ghetto life, I perhaps know about, can cover drugs and all that. That's fine, but I wanted something else. I was from college, I took foreign languages because I knew I was interested in the world. But to try to peg you to do one type of story. It was always there and it was a constant battle. I'll give you another example. I remember at the Times-Picayune I went to the editor in charge and said I wanted to begin an international op-ed column. I wanted to not write the stories for myself, I wanted to solicit experts to write columns on given topics, I would edit them, get them in the paper, and it would be a regular weekly column. I basically was told to present about 52 ideas, an idea for every week of the year, plus two people capable of doing each of those. So that was the challenge that I had to meet, to come up with 100 or so names, and 52 ideas before, and even then they tried to ignore me, and I just wouldn't be ignored! I said, "Here, I've done everything you've asked me to do, let's go with it!" Those are obstacles. They're hard to climb sometimes.

And yet, you know, to be absolutely honest, I mean, sometimes I felt ambivalent about it, because I do bring a certain sensitivity to doing those kinds of stories. But I don't want my personality distorted. Because, just because I've a sensitivity toward it, doesn't mean it's what I'm all about, or that my primary interest is even there.

A JOURNALIST NEVER HAS FRIENDS

There really are some things that I brought with me clearly from journalism school. And one phrase, I brought with me that stuck with me, now this is gonna sound really bizarre. But I remember a teacher, I think his name was Mr. Long, I don't remember what his first name was. But he said, and he was one of these pompous kind of guys, and he said, "A journalist never has friends." And I really know now what he means. I mean, you never know who you're going to have to tell the truth about. I have met some people that I absolutely thought were the most wonderful people in the world. And then it turns out that they're ordering massacres of people in their country and that they're doing all kinds of things, they're torturing people in jail! This is someone I would have liked to have as a friend! Can I write the truth? And I have to write the truth. So you always enter anywhere you go with the feeling of yes, being nice and being cordial and getting the information, but keeping your distance. Realizing you can never get drawn into it, because there's some charismatic people out there. People that can win you, even if they're not offering you obvious bribes or anything, can win you just on a personal basis. You've gotta have whatever it takes to step back and to not let that really deceive you and thereby deceive the people that trust in you.