Being Mary Jane..or at least Being able to Relate to her

On tonight's "Being Mary Jane" finale, Mary Jane was partly blamed by the public--and by fellow Black journalists--for the suicide of Terrence Mitchell (portrayed by Ludacris). On a recent episode of her news show, she interviewed Mitchell's ex-girlfriend, who said she had tape recordings of Mitchell admitting to lying about information he shared with news media in years prior. Knowing he was lying, he declined to be interviewed by Mary Jane, and must have subsequently received immense negative backlash and ultimately took his own life. Cameras flashed in Mary Jane's face, a lawsuit was pending--all blaming the journalist for causing the death of a man who chose to take his own life.

To a degree, I can relate to this situation: having the public make you feel like your work caused negative outcomes in other people's lives. As a news reporter in Spartanburg, S.C., I once covered a story about a coach who was charged with inappropriate sexual conduct with a student. When the story ran, I got several calls sharing negative feedback on us running the story, including a call from a Black man who said, "You have ruined the life of a black man!" Yet, in my view, that black man ruined his OWN life, rep and career because of what he did; not because of what I reported. 

Often times, as in Mary Jane's case, being one of the reporters of color in a newsroom means that there's an unspoken expectation within your community to be the voice; be the beacon; shed light on the positive. But truth be told, there's good, bad and ugly within each of our communities, and I felt it my duty to report--unbiased --on situations as they arose, regardless of the subject's race. 

To my fellow friends in journalism, report facts, report truth, and keep your head up knowing your work is needed, valued and important--regardless of what the public has to say.