As a woman of African background, it has always been important for me to read and absorb content made specifically for someone with my background and cultural heritage. There are various publications that have allowed me to be able to do this.
‘Essence’ magazine is an American publication with a target audience of African American women. The magazine is also distributed within the UK, which is how I came into contact with it. Although the content is largely for an American audience the magazine is able to cater to an overwhelming majority of my own personal interests such as music, movies and pop culture topics.
As a journalist, I would love to cover the deeper and heavier topics that affect the black community as those issues relate directly to me. However, that’s not all I’d like to do. In an ideal world, I’d work for a publication such as “Vice”.
‘Vice’ tend to produce well researched written and filmed pieces on more serious topics that surround culture and identity of people all around the world. ‘Vice’ successfully allows readers the option to focus on content that relates to their own experiences whilst offering insight into other experiences in a way that is still accessible. The print magazine masterfully presents serious topics and more trivial subject matters with the same level of importance.
For example, the conspiracy theory that singer Avril Lavigne had been killed and replaced by an actress was reported with the same integrity as any other article would have been. This wouldn’t have happened on a publication such as the BBC. Buzzfeed also reported on the conspiracy theory but with a lot more added humour and focus on the social media response and memes that followed. I would much rather be able to sink my teeth into odd stories and conspiracy theories in the way that Vice does. They offer the freedom to take journalism into a place where there is not necessarily a correct answer or a final resolution.
Vice allows a style of journalism that gives a voice to every angle and every perspective without judgement.
In terms of individual journalists that I admire Reggie Yates would definitely be at the top of my imaginary list. He is a journalist who manages to create the perfect balance in being able to report on ‘black’ topics whilst also being able to be a part of mainstream journalism. I admire his work because he’s a broadcast journalist who makes in-depth documentaries that often come as a multi-part series. These bodies of work are both educational and entertainment pieces. This is my aim for my journalism. I enjoy teaching others and learning myself and Yates’ work possesses the blueprint for the journalistic presentation that I hope to follow.
It can be hard as a British African in the entertainment/journalism world not to be cast into a box that is only defined by your ethnicity. This is why I want to follow Reggie’s work as he has been able to overcome these challenges successfully even though his journalism work is still relatively new.
One of my favourite documentary series that Yates has done is when he actively joined prisoners to see first hand how it feels to be a prisoner but then returned to portray the role of the guard. The series gave a full circle report on both sides. This method was especially effective as just when audiences started to connect with the people in prison the perspective was switched to show how the guards feel.
I hope to one day emulate this style of looking at all angles of an argument.
by Mazvita Musendo
The unorganised undergrad makes her masterpieces here. 