Striving for Fair and Accurate Reporting

By Diane S.W. Lee, AAJA student member

I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watched breaking news of a shooting rampage unfold on Virginia Tech’s campus. A reporter pressed an eyewitness about the gunman’s ethnicity. The witness answered with confidence, describing the shooter as “Asian.”

My heart sank. I felt like they had just pointed at me and every “Asian” person on the planet. I worried Asian Americans would be discriminated against, as Muslim Americans had experienced after September 11 attacks.

I followed news reports closely on the Internet. I cringed. Several news organizations stressed the fact that he was a “South Korean immigrant,” despite having lived in the U.S. for more than a decade. As if Cho’s race or ethnicity had anything to do with his decision to pull the trigger. As if Koreans and immigrants were scapegoats for his actions.

They got it all wrong. It was a coincidence he was Korean. He just happened to be an immigrant. It was only a small fact, but was race even relevant to the story? I wondered if anyone would be able to pick out Korean and Chinese people from a crowd. It didn’t matter what Cho’s ethnic background was, because all “Asians” looked the same. Thanks to buffets, my non-Asian friends thought sushi was Chinese food until I corrected them. I didn’t blame them if they couldn’t distinguish Chinese from Japanese food, let alone people.

Still, I took it personally. I identified with Cho in many ways. My parents, like his, also immigrated to America. I was shy and quiet among my peers, and like him, I was bullied and teased in elementary and middle school. My boyish haircut led to taunts from schoolchildren, and wearing my brother’s hand-me-downs didn’t help. In high school, I wasn’t a socialite like most of my classmates and I lacked the social skills to strike up a conversation. I overcame my fears at the end of my senior year when I joined the speech team. I saw some eerie similarities of me in Cho, but I would never dream of seeking revenge through violent means. I’ve never held a gun before and I squirm at the mere sight of blood. 

Like many Asian Americans, I was shocked and disappointed that blood was spilled in the hands of one of our own. But it would be unfair to blame an entire group of people for the acts of one individual. There were early warning signs Cho was mentally unstable and his race had nothing to do with killing 32 people. His anxiety disorder played a role, including other factors like his troubled childhood and lack of support he received from others. The real story, as reported later, is the shootings could have been prevented with stricter gun laws and better health treatment systems in place.

The experience has taught me to see people as individuals. I’ve learned not to judge people no matter what their racial background or socioeconomic status. I’ve learned to never make assumptions, and always remain sensitive when dealing with race-related issues. I don’t want another repeat of the Virginia Tech coverage. That’s why I’ve made an effort to strive for fairness and accuracy in my reporting, asking questions whenever I lack knowledge about a particular issue or subject. What’s great about being involved in a network like AAJA is that I know there’s always someone I can count on for advice to make sure I get the story right.