EDUCATION + MEDIA

Lessons from a Machete Wielding Professor

When a story is or isn’t newsworthy.

“All of us show bias when it comes to what information we take in. We typically focus on anything that agrees with the outcome we want.”

— Noreena Hertz

What is news for one is not news for another.

A professor from Hunter College in New York threatened a reporter with a machete, holding it to the reporter’s neck and yelling at him to leave.

The story was on the front page of most every conservative paper in the U.S. and then covered internationally. There was almost no mention of the story in the liberal press.

CNN and related media did not cover the story because the professor is a black woman and an activist. CNN also didn’t cover the prior story when the same professor vandalized some students’ pro-life display at the college. She verbally abused them and then knocked the items from their table.

Media bias. Perpetuated by us.

CNN won’t cover the story because it doesn’t fit their narrative. It is the same reason that Fox News gives very little attention to the January 6th hearings.

I read multiple online papers every day and also randomly select news from different countries around the world. There is some level of consistency across journalism. The Ukraine war tends to get coverage as does the debt ceiling crisis in the US. But beyond a handful of key topics, the news is designed to fit the narrative of the company and the readers.

The story with the professor is newsworthy. When a teacher is wielding a knife at reporters and stopping free speech on campus, we should all be concerned. The story is not that she is a woman or black or an activist or liberal.

But even with the video proof of her threatening with a machete, chasing after the reporters and violently engaging with the students, some people still found her actions acceptable. There is one person with an online petition supporting the actions of the professor.

Hunter College fired the professor. I am a full believer in freedom of speech, activism and protecting the rights of professors sharing their views. But there is a limit when they wield a knife and threaten students.

The problem with all news media is that we are rarely talking about the issue at hand. The story is twisted and turned to fit a particular bias. We talk around the issue. Some make the argument that she had a rough life as a woman and as a black person. Both of those may very well be true and there is no question that women and black Americans have had to fight for greater equality. And the scales are still tipped against them.

But that is another discussion. This is the “Yah, but…” argument by people not wanting to discuss the truth.

I feel sorry for the professor but I feel worse for the reporters and the students. Her interaction with the students was appalling. I’ve run schools and been in education for twenty years. I do not understand why the school allowed her to stay after the first encounter with the students around abortion rights.

The abortion topic is very emotional and both sides have a powerful argument to support their position. I am pro choice, yet, I have no issue with people holding a pro life position. I have been in the position of having to make this decision with my partner. It is very emotional and deeply complicated. Thankfully our positions aligned and we supported each other in the choice. But I know how difficult this conversation is.

So when the news is only creating division with what and how they cover different stories, this makes decisions around abortion for young people even more difficult and complicated. The news isn’t helping to address a problem, they are making it worse.

This is the same pattern happening with discussion on transgender, homelessness, immigration and crime. The news is almost never talking about the topics but only points around the topics that support their narratives.

The irresponsibility of the media companies is part of the story here. But we need to realize that the media companies are for-profit businesses that need to generate ad revenue which comes from their readers consuming more of their stories.

They feed the narrative-buffet and we stand around stuffing our faces.

We do not need to perpetuate this problem. We can break our patterns of reading from sites that only support our own bias and interests. It takes strength to read opposing views. When I started reading Fox News about eight years ago, I didn’t know how I was going to continue. But as I moved beyond the clickbait headlines, I saw what the stories were focusing on and the concerns of their readers. There were a lot of great points. I learned quite a bit, my world opened up.

I understand why CNN didn’t cover the story with the professor. I don’t agree with their decision as I feel it is an issue we should be discussing publicly in a balanced forum. But by them not covering the story, they fuel the fire and anger. And the exact same is true of the conservative media when they don’t cover relevant stories.

If people really want to be addressing this problem and helping to make the world a better place for our children then we need to change how we operate.

While I will scan the stories on CNN, MSNBC and Fox, I absolutely realize that I am getting a highly biased perspective of the world. This is not a US issue. Liberal and conservative media battle in every country. A quick review of The Times and Guardian in the UK will show the great divide. As I read, I am constantly reminding myself of the bias.

I spend more time on balanced sites likes Axios or Reuters. While not perfect they tell a different story of the world, one that better reflects our reality.

The problem with the story above is that tomorrow there will be a white male teacher abusing children and threatening the media. Liberal media will make it front page, conservative media will spin it or ignore it.

We continue to reinforce stereotypes because that helps to justify our own stories and beliefs. It justifies our hate, vengeance. It allows us to rail against those who aren’t like us. It gives us permission to support programs that aren’t grounded in good policy.

What I ultimately struggle with is that we complain about the hate and vitriol in the world but we only blame others for the problem. We point fingers at the media or those who don’t support our views. We rarely look at ourselves as the perpetrators.

A professor wielded a machete and threatened students.

A story for some. Not for others.

I find it a bit sad and depressing at so many levels.

Thank you for reading and please share your thoughts as to how we address these challenges. We can’t fix all the problems of the world but we can discuss things here and work to make things better for all of us.

If you enjoyed my story you may sign up here to receive an email for new articles. If you want to subscribe to Medium to read all the stories, including my articles, please use my link. There is no extra cost to you.