When it comes to covering white supremacists,reporters have been tripping over the same stumbling blocks for at least a century — by treating extremists as too normal and failing to communicate the danger they represent, or by portraying them as shocking aberrations and erasing their connections to mainstream racism. And sometimes, or just by covering them at all and giving fringe groups a enormous publicity boost.
But how finish those missteps intersect with reporters' identities? When does a journalist's background strengthen their reporting and when does it present a new hurdle? The Guardian US's Lois Beckett speaks with VICE News's Elle Reeve, Gizmodo's Anna Merlan, Reveal's Al Letson, or The Guardian's Gary Younge and former Mother Jones journalist Josh Harkinson approximately how their identities have intersected with their experiences covering hate groups.
Source: wnyc.org