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 How to Cross Your ‘Faultlines’
By Sally Lehrman
Why view the world in black, brown and white when reality is so much more varied?
Reporters who understand the world solely through the prism of race not only
limit their vision, but also often misinterpret what they are seeing, says Dori
J. Maynard, president of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in Oakland,
Calif.
Maynard teaches journalists to look more deeply and effectively into society
through a framework called “faultlines.” Her father, Robert C. Maynard,
developed the philosophy when thinking about the frequent earthquakes in the
state where he became the first African American editor of a major metropolitan
daily, the Oakland Tribune. What are the chasms that seem to separate people
in such resolute ways? What are the differences that, without relief from their
pressures, can fracture our relationships and social structures?
 By Dori Maynard
Look for the faultlines in your subjects, sources, and the topics of news stories and images.
— Race: African American, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American,
mixed race, or white?
— Gender: Male, female, gay, lesbian, or bisexual?
— Class: High income, middle income, or low income?
— Generation: 0-18, 19-34, 35-64, or 65+?
— Geography: Urban, suburban, rural, neighborhood (which one?), other?
For more on the Faultlines, check out the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. |
Robert Maynard said there are five enduring forces that shape lives and social
tensions in this country: race, class, gender, generation and geography. Reporters
who consider each one of these as they cover complex stories, he advised, can
understand issues more clearly and build more accuracy into their work. And
by acknowledging our own faultlines – the frame of reference for all of
our own experiences – we can correct for missing pieces in the way we
interpret an event or issue.
Dori Maynard would like to see the faultlines become as second nature to reporters
as those old questions, “who, what, where, when, why and how?” “The
faultlines shape our perceptions of ourselves, each other and events around
us,” she says. “Use them as a checklist to help detangle what’s
really going on.”
Maynard likes to point out that the metaphor of faultlines suggests accepting
natural differences, rather than attempting to erase or ignore them. It also
points to solutions that involve learning to understand relationships and perceptions,
and so ease pressures between groups.
Individual journalists can use the framework to build more representative source
lists and plan coverage based on the communities they serve. Newsrooms and organizations
can use the faultlines framework for more honest discussion about highly charged
issues because it emphasizes understanding, not necessarily agreement, she says.
Refer to the Maynard Faultlines when you need a quick checklist on accuracy
or a brainstorming tool. Each time you write, consider the faultlines and ask
just what the story is really about. Review your sources and consider whose
voices are telling the story and whose have been left out.
It is our calling as journalists to include all of America in its history, Robert
Maynard said. “This country cannot be the country we want it to be if
its story is told by only one group of citizens,” he told a group of young
journalists in his last public address. “Our goal is to give all Americans
front-door access to the truth.”
Sally Lehrman writes about genetics, medicine and health issues for a range
of publications and is national diversity chair for the Society.
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On both chapter and national levels, SPJ provides an open forum for the discussion of diversity issues in journalism. This committee's purpose is to promote a broader voice in newsrooms across the country and expand the depth and quality of news reports through better sourcing. Its ongoing project is the compilation of experts — primarily women, gays and lesbians, people of color and people with disabilities — through the Society's Diversity Source Book. The Society's relevance to its member is based on inclusiveness.
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