Oak Ridge Fire reporting taken out of context
Journalism, as they say, is a powerful tool in providing essential information to what’s occurring in the news whether it be world news reporting or within your local community.
As a reporter, one of my responsibilities is to inform people to be aware of what’s happening. As you would expect, the recent Oak Ridge Fire has filled up the headlines in our local and state news.
As part of the Navajo Times editorial staff, I reported on the impact it has caused, and my choice of wording has generated some controversy.
In several Facebook posts, I was called out for the usage of “casualties” in my reporting of the cancelation of the Ahóóhai Days 4th of July Celebration and the postponement of the Cody Jesus Invitational. The usage of my word choice has caused some backlash, and I would like to defend myself as the word “casualty” has several different connotations.
And while some people associate “casualty” as a person being injured or killed – it also means “a person or thing badly affected by an event or situation.”
I was hoping to convey to our readers that the latter has put a hold onto to what we do in our daily lives here on the Navajo Nation as the ongoing blaze continues to impact the many lives affected by this catastrophe. Unfortunately, it was taken out of context as the “lede” sentence of the story was the first to appear on the Times’ website.
I would like to apologize to our readers if what I wrote offended you and has caused some confusion. Nevertheless, I would like to add that under no circumstances was I trying to sensationalize the news and “provide false information” as suggested by an influential Facebook user.
As journalists, our number one priority is to report the news with accurate information and as the author of the story I stand by my work.
Without question, the Oak Ridge Fire has uprooted many lives, especially the people who have been displaced by this disaster. In my reporting, I was making light of the circumstances the fire has caused and the cancelation of the rodeo and postponement of the rodeo were “casualties” connected with the inferno.
It’s unfortunate that this article has been blown up on social media the past couple of days, as it has taken away the focus on what’s really important: the Navajo people affected by this crisis and the many people who are combating it.
Worldwide journalists get attack for some of the reporting they do and here on the Navajo Nation it’s no different. I would like to commend my colleagues for defending me with an editorial column that was posted on Thursday afternoon regarding my work, as I was out of the loop for most of that day without any outside connection. I was made aware of the backlash until Friday morning when I retrieved my phone back and I felt the need to respond.
As we move forward, let’s continue to pray for the people affected by the fire and the people battling it as we navigate through this difficult situation.
As always, the Navajo people are resilient and at the end of the day we’re going to preserve from this and overcome the challenges and adversities that this fire has caused us.
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