November 30 — December 6, 2017 Vol. 84 No. 17 www.spokesman-recorder.com
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THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934
— See Sister Spokesman: Celebrating Moms of All Ages on pg. 7
FAKE NEWS IS NOTHING NEW It’s been around long before Trump’s attacks
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer
T
he state of the public’s current confidence in the news media, especially with the president’s constant attacks on fact-based reporting, is alarming. PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates press freedom nationally and worldwide, has established a Press Freedom Incentive Fund to help local communities discuss related issues.
utes reading the entire article, Gibney said. Satisficing — first introduced in 1956 as “only satisfactory results [that] the person is familiar with,” Bu si ne s sd ic t ion a r y.com noted. Hornbacher stressed that people tend to get “just enough information to satisfy them. We believe what we want to believe. We have to dig deeper for news.” Click-bait — Wikipedia says this is when people just “click” on a story based on the headline, which Regan
Members of Den Brothers North with founder, Andre “Debonaire” McNeal (standing at far right)
Changing lives with mentors and self-discovery By Brandi Phillips Contributing Writer The Doorstep Foundation, a start-up mentoring group committed to changing the lives of youth in schools and in the community, is the brainchild of Andre “Debonaire” McNeal. “Doorstep Foundation was something that I started way back when I was on KMOJ radio,” McNeal recalls. “Over the holidays, people would call me and ask me to help provide school clothes, backpacks, school supplies, Christmas toys and winter clothes — things of that nature. The calls had got so regular that it became a little overwhelming.
“One day,” he continues, “when I was on the radio, I said, ‘No matter what, leave it on Debonaire’s Doorstep, and we are going to figure it out.’” He then put out a “public ask” to the radio station’s listening audience. McNeal started receiving calls from listeners saying they wanted to help. Over the years, McNeal says, “I have done things privately and quietly. I have sent boys to prom and provided supplies for graduation, taking in a homeless teen and another troubled youth over time. As I volunteered for other programs in and around the Twin Cities, in my eyes I saw a gap.” As he started mentoring boys from the community in his home, he started doing so
with a purpose. Thus, the Doorstep Foundation was established, and from the Doorstep Foundation, Den Brothers North was started. Den Brothers North (for North Minneapolis) has 41 young men, ages eight to 18. The group just completed their second successful year with sessions held at NAZ (the Northside Achievement Zone). The name Den Brothers stems from McNeal’s days as an Eagle Scout and Boy Scout. “When we were Cub Scouts, we spent our time in what was called a den. Traditionally, as Black men, we consider ourselves ■ See Mentors on page 5
From pain to purpose:
A harrowing past leads one man to seek the greater good the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR) back in 1995, when he reached out to the publisher at the time to offer photos of the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Back then Floyd was just “taking” pictures, not “making” them. He explained the distinction: “Taking pictures is just, you
Shannon Gibney The group co-sponsored a press freedom discussion on November 19 in downtown Minneapolis that featured four women: Minneapolis Community and Technical College Professor Shannon Gibney, journalists Sheila Regan and Marya Hornbacher, and poet Sun Yung Shin. Asked if the fake news issue discussed during the two-hour event, mostly attended by Whites, should be of any interest to Blacks, Gibney told the MSR, “Black media, ethnic media from historically margainized communities, has been the antidote to fake news from the beginning.
noted might be misleading. “The headline is trying to get you to click… Headlines can be terrible.” Confirmation bias — people filter out facts and opinions that don’t match their own, Wikipedia states. People today use this to decide whether or not a news story is true, Hornbacher pointed out. Fake news is on the rise, but it didn’t begin with President Trump’s attacks on stories he doesn’t agree with since January. It dates back to the muckraking days of the 19th century, Gibney said, but today people are “happily” sharing false information among
“We believe what we want to believe. We have to dig deeper for news.” “It doesn’t mean that we don’t need fact checkers. It doesn’t mean that you believe everything you hear” from non-mainstream news sources, she said. The Riveter co-founder and editorial director Joanna Demklewicz, who moderated the panel, defined ‘fake news’ as “false and often sensational information under the guise of reporting.” She told the audience that the term is in contention for 2017’s word of the year. Social media is partly to blame for this, said the panel, which introduced several terms to emphasize their point: Info-snacking — Joinstratosphere.com describes this as when people use the first few lines of an online news story to quickly get information. “The average person spends about two minutes on a news article” and around 10 min-
their circle of friends and family. “It’s bigger than you can imagine,” she said. Fake news “brings into question our credibility” as journalists, Hornbacher continued. “The media literacy has to be taught before [readers] get to college. “Fact checking actually is not very hard. I think, as consumers, we need to be well informed about our news consumption,” especially when using social media sources, she pointed out. “Fake news in the digital era and the era of Trump is totally proliferating… It’s not new,” said Gibney, the only Black person on the panel. “Blacks [and other people of color] know this. I think a lot of mainstream news historically [have] been called ‘fake’ by many in the Black community. I get a lot of my news from social media.” ■ See Fake news on page 5
went on expeditions to train his eye. In addition to National Geographic, Floyd has done assignments for humanitarian organizations; for magazines and newspapers, including the MSR, where he contributes frequently to the sports section and other areas; and for the local
“I wouldn’t change my race for nothing in the world.” see something and click, click. But to make a photograph, you see it and yet you’re working the background. You’re working everything just to get the right shot. Then the picture says a lot more than just somebody seeing something and snapping it.” Learning how to make a photograph would come later Steve Floyd with camera Photo by Nikko Floyd for Floyd, after grueling street and gang outreach work left him depleted and he took to travel to By Paige Elliott “You have an eye,” he told Floyd. decompress. Online Editor Heeding the recommenda“You know what you see, but tion of the photographer on the you need some training.” That Second of two-parts conversation would spark a plane, Floyd signed up for a On a fateful plane trip home new passion for Floyd, one that photography workshop in Sanfrom South Africa, Steve Floyd would embrace his wanderlust ta Fe, New Mexico. There he rewas looking at his vacation pho- and eventually launch him on a ceived extensive training from National Geographic veteran photos when a photographer sitting second career. Floyd first connected with tographer James Stanfield, and next to him noticed his shots.
architectural photography business Spacecrafting. “I shoot everything: nature, wildlife, landscape, sports, street photography… That’s one of my favorites, street photography — capturing people in the streets and catching moments,” said Floyd, who cites Gordon Parks and war photographer James Nachtwey among his favorites. Floyd credits longtime MSR Sports Columnist Larry Fitzgerald, Sr. with helping him get his start shooting at sporting events. “Steve and I go back many years,” explained Fitzgerald in an email. Both he and Floyd are from Chicago and grew up in the same ■ See PurPose on page 5
Steve Floyd with children from Fulani tribe in Senegal. Photo by Ann Dillard