Are We the Media? Then Maybe We Have the Power to Change It

What influence do we have as writers, editors, and content producers

I shared an article of mine on Facebook and got called “the media”.

“Gotta love the media,” a woman wrote sarcastically.

The women who commented had an issue with the image I’d chosen and, I’m guessing, though my article was from a large media outlet. She didn’t realize it was just me — choosing my own image and sharing my article because I thought the content might resonate with someone in the group.

My initial thought was, “I’m not the media, I’m just me.”

I’ve been a professional writer for magazines and websites for over 11 years. I’ve never thought of myself as the media. The media was some faceless force that sensationalizes the news, promotes negative body image, and twists the facts. I’m not the media.

Or am I? The media is any mass communication: radio, news, and television, yes, but it’s also print media and publishing — that means it’s also us writers.

If we are the media, then we have the power to change it (even if only in small ways). Here are 3 ways we can make an impact:

Language

I wrote a feature article a few years ago for a large newspaper about the work of the Leprosy Mission in New Zealand. When the story ran, the editor had made a few changes. A large gruesome picture headed my article. A group of people with Leprosy warmed their hands over a fire — their fingers missing and disfigured. It was the type of image that’s completely against the Leprosy mission's aims. So that was problem number one.

Then, reading through my article I noticed the editor had made some content changes as well. Everywhere that I had used people-first language: “people with Leprosy” he had changed it to “lepers”. Leper is a word that’s considered a big no-no by the Leprosy Mission.

The Mission was very gracious and accepted my apologies — the article had gotten them some exposure — but I wonder at what price? Rather than the positive message they wanted to share, the stereotype of deformed “lepers” with melted fingers had been reinforced.

I had no control over my editor's changes, but I chose to never work with him again. It reminded me of how important it is to use language well. Words are powerful.

When you describe people in your articles, especially minority, persecuted, or vulnerable groups of people, what impact does your language have?

Images

Obviously using an image with deformed fingers over a fire was a poor choice and one that I had no say in. We do, though, have a say here, on our own blogs, and in our publications, e-books, and books. (I know we are limited by what’s available, to some extent, on sites such as Unsplash and Pexels.)

Ask yourself:

• What mix of people are represented by the images I choose?
• Do I tend to use images of people in the same age group, gender, skin tone, body shape, etc.? Have I ever used an image of someone who has a disability?
• What message does this image send?
• What images would I like to see more of in the media?

Diverse Stock Images

CreateHERstock has free and subscription images that are described on the website as “authentic stock photography that featured women of color.”

WOCinTech has free stock photos of women of color in tech workplaces.

UKBlackTech has free British-based stock photography representing a diverse range of people at work.

Unsplash has photos of people of different ages, skin tones, and body types. They also have a “diversity” tag. At the time of writing this article, their images of people with varying abilities, however, are limited. A search for “women” gave a relatively wide range of body types, ages, and skin tones. The search for “men” was more limited, with mostly model-looking men in their 20's and a search in their “human” tag came back with images that were almost all of young white people. However, all Unsplash images are free and there is a lot to chose from. They also add to their images frequently.

Pexels has quite a number of diverse photos. Oddly, the majority of their photos of people with disabilities are images of people drinking beer with friends, but their range is not bad. When I searched “women”, even in the top twenty search results, there were a few different body types represented which were great to see. A search for “men” turned up a much less diverse group, unfortunately. A collection called “Real People, Real Places” was a bit more promising.

There are a number of stock image sites with diverse image categories, such as Getty Photos and Adobe Stock, but they tend to cost between $50–650 to use, making them out of reach for many writers and bloggers.

Our message

What’s the overall message of your piece? Will your message negatively impact a group of people — by stereotyping them, for example.

As a parenting writer, I often think about my audience and whether I’m stereotyping (parenting information often targets married mothers). Personally, I was raised by a solo dad and in my own parenting journey I’ve been a foster mum, a working married mum with the kids’ dad staying at home, a single stay-at-home mum, and I’m about to become a stepmom. When I write my articles, I try to make sure I include anyone who parents a child: moms, dads, singles, couples, grandparents, foster parents.

Is it true

The other thing you want to think about with your writing is honesty. People talk about honest writing a lot, but I’m talking here about whether your non-fiction story tells the truth. If it’s an article that’s meant to educate, include facts, statistics, research, or a story about a real person, then is it true?

Have you fact-checked the best you can?

We can’t always get this right, but we can try our best to use reliable sources, and check and double-check our facts.

Words have power. They can be used to inspire, educate, encourage, build up, or make a change. They can also be used to stereotype, bully, pull down, deceive, or discourage. What impact will your words have on your readers?

What do you dislike about the media? If you’re a writer, editor, blogger, or content creator of some kind, then in a small way — or perhaps a large one depending on your audience — here’s your chance to change it.

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