Homelessness, Community & Journalistic Humility
Feature piece exploring how to adequately represent marginalised voices.
"I look at the food invoices, I visit the kitchen, and I see people enthusiastically eating meals, but I don’t talk to anyone eating the food “on the record” to learn how dessert affects their life. This is partly because I’ve been told that some of the men can be spooked by cameras, while others may have outstanding warrants.
I can’t justify explaining reporting guidelines about always being able to name a source in article to people who often are missing formal documentation such as passports because they are living on the streets.
When people don’t have somewhere to sleep at night, is it ethical to report about their food? Should a journalist only use quotes when they have a full name and way to contact the person in question? Or does this mean that some voices sometimes won’t be heard?"
http://www.headstuff.org/2016/08/mendicity-institution/