“It’s Not Hate but … ”: Marginal Categories in Rural Journalism

Abstract

Arc hi v e d v ersi o n fr o m N C D O C K S I nstit uti o n al R e p osit or y h tt p: / /li br es. u nc g. e d u /ir / as u / It' s N ot H at e B ut . . . ": M ar gi n al C at e g ori e s I n R ur al J o ur n ali s m B y: Gr e g or y P err e a ult , R ut h M o o n, J essic a F ar g e n W als h, a n d Mil dr e d F. P err e a ult A b str a ct J o ur n alists w h o c o v er r ur al ar e as i n t h e U nit e d St at es s a y t h e y ar e afr ai d t o r e p ort o n h at e gr o u ps, a n d t his f e ar is e x ac er b at e d b y cl os e c o m m u nit y ti es a n d li mit e d r es o urc es a m o n g r ur al j o ur n alists. W e e x a mi n e t h e c o nc e pt of " h at e s p e ec h" as a b o u n d ar y o bj ect, a n al y zi n g i n-d e pt h i nt er vi e ws wit h U. S. j o ur n alists r e p orti n g i n r ur al c o m m u niti es ( n = 3 3) t o b ett er u n d erst a n d h o w r ur al j o ur n alists r e p ort o n h at e. W e fi n d t h at r ur al j o ur n alists artic ul at e a cl e ar d efi niti o n f or h at e s p e ec h b ut str u g gl e t o a p pl y t h at d efi niti o n t o e v e nts wit hi n t h eir c o m m u niti es, e v e n as t h e y artic ul at e n u m er o us f or ms of h at e. J o ur n alists oft e n dis miss e d acts of h at e usi n g t h e r esi d u al c at e g or y of " n ot h at e, b ut ... " t o si g n al s o m et hi n g t h at t h e y f elt w as o ut of pl ac e or u ns uit a bl e b ut di d n ot ris e t o t h e l e g al d efi niti o n of h at e s p e ec h a n d t h us w as n ot w ort h r e p orti n g o n. T his a p pr o ac h e n ds u p c h all e n gi n g j o ur n alists' n or m ati v e c o m mit m e nts t o t h eir c o m m u niti es a n d e x e m plifi es t h eir d esir e t o a v oi d a n o bj ecti vit y tr a p. Gr e g or y P err e a ult , R ut h M o o n, J essic a F ar g e n W als h & Mil dr e d F. P err e a ult ( 2 0 2 2): "It's N ot H at e b ut ... ": M ar gi n al C at e g ori es i n R ur al J o ur n alis m, J o ur n alis m Pr actic e, D OI:

Scooped by the town drunk”: COVID-19 as an actor in the rural journalist’s network

“…We focused on newspaper journalists because they are crucial to the information economy of rural areas and offer the locally produced and focused content most desired by rural audiences (Napoli, 2019;Perreault, Moon, Walsh, & Perreault, 2022). We interviewed people whose main job was writing and publishing news on timely and pertinent topics (Fröhlich et al, 2013); titles for respondents included "reporter," "staff writer," and "editor."…”

“…However, critics of journalistic boosterism contend that it can conversely function as a form of social control (Gutsche, 2015). This identity can influence how rural journalists choose to report on controversial topics such as hate groups and hate speech, where they might delay or avoid reporting to protect their relationships with sources (Perreault, Moon, Walsh, & Perreault, 2022). Relationships influence small-town news organizations' ability to attract and maintain funding in the form of advertisements and subscribers (Ali et al, 2020;Wenzel, 2020).…”

“Everything Else is Public Relations” How Rural Journalists Draw the Boundary Between Journalism and Public Relations in Rural Communities

“…In addition, the researchers identi ed the work of journalists in these areas as rural journalism based on the circulation of their news organizations, as well as the size of the community they covered (Perreault et al, 2022b;Smith, 2019). Journalists were recruited through established contacts and lists provided by professional organizations.…”

“…Rural newsrooms are already situated precariously, as they sometimes lack the institutional infrastructure to train their sta in specialty reporting (Jenkins & Nielsen, 2020;Radcli e & Ali, 2017;Wenzel, 2019). This can be problematic when covering issues that are more complex such as hate speech (Perreault et al, 2022b), health (Perreault & Perreault, 2021), and natural disasters (Perreault, 2021).…”

What is Rural Journalism? Occupational Precarity and Social Cohesion in US Rural Journalism Epistemology

“…However, there are fewer people covering rural communities in the mainstream press (Greico, 2019). This leaves rural journalists distanced from infrastructures of power, which places rural journalists in more precarious positions regarding hostility from the audience (Perreault et al, 2022). While rural communities have been the home to news organizations even before the printing press was invented, rural journalism remains an understudied area of mass communication (Ali et al, 2020;Fernandez-Bou et al, 2021).…”