Journalism is about telling stories. Whether they be interviews, crime reporting, or intended for the morning news on TV, journalists are tasked with choosing how to tell a story, whose voices are heard, and what message is conveyed.
While some may use this as an opportunity to push a specific agenda, others will find ways to amplify the voices of the underrepresented.
Journalism is about sharing knowledge with people, and at the end of the day, those sharing this knowledge are simply people as well. Their stories are often reflective of not only their knowledge but their heartache, their hopes, and their desires.
In the process of these stories being shared, we sometimes find moments of emotion when the journalist becomes a part of the story. Although it may be argued that their job is to narrate rather than contribute dialogue of their own, sometimes the storyteller can’t help it.
Narrators hold power, and sometimes that power is best used to step away from narrating and insert oneself into the story in the form of resistance. Many instances of resistance in journalism have occurred over the years, demonstrating that journalists often do much more than recount events that have taken place.
Here are some examples of when journalists have done more than just tell the story.
Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoes at George W. Bush
During a news conference in Baghdad in 2008, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al-Zaidi threw both of his shoes at George W. Bush while shouting, “This is from the widows, the orphans, and those killed in Iraq!”
This act expressed the frustration of Iraqis toward the American government during the American military’s invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq.
Al-Zaidi speaking out was in itself an act of resistance, and the accompanying throwing of shoes expressed that he wasn’t simply a journalist at that moment; he was also an Iraqi enraged by injustice. He was soon after removed by security, jailed and beaten.
In an interview conducted by CBS News in March of 2023, Al-Zaidi stated, “The only regret I have is that I only had two shoes.” The journalist’s perspective on the situation, 15 years later, highlights how frustrated victims of occupation are with their occupiers.
Those in power often see the world as nations rather than as individuals. They often lack value for individual lives and focus on their own political agenda. This instance of resistance in journalism ultimately led to the ongoing gag of attaching shoes to photos of the former U.S. president.
Similar incidents of shoe throwing reportedly also occurred after that of Al-Zaidi in Europe, North America and South America, as well as in India, China, Iran, Turkey, and Australia.
Reporters Protest During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution
In 2011, millions of people demanded that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak be overthrown. This caused violent clashes between security forces and protestors, many of which included journalists who continued to stand their ground despite the ongoing hostility.
These journalists were not afraid to hide their subjectivity in the situation. Their demands revolved around dignity, injustice and corruption. Journalists from well-known news broadcasting organizations, including CNN and Al-Jazeera, faced violence from pro-government protesters.
Journalists were warned that the president’s “secret police” would be on the lookout for any speaking in favour of his removal. Refusing to stay away from the populated streets where the protests were taking place, some were arrested or had their equipment taken away, while others were beaten or stabbed.
The programme coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Middle East and North Africa reported a sudden surge in attacks against journalists. If someone was seen holding a notebook or a camera or interviewing someone, they were likely violently attacked. This meant that reporting on the situation was becoming increasingly difficult. However, this did not mean that reporting stopped.
Reporters Challenge Trump’s COVID-19 Narrative
In May 2020, U.S. President Trump held a press conference regarding COVID-19 and how the country was going to respond to the spread. Trump announced $1 billion going into testing across the country. However, Trump misstated the amount the dollar amount that would be allocated to testing, with officials confirming to news agencies that the number would be $11 billion. In addition to this, this budget was mentioned by the president as a major step that was being taken, despite it having been put into action weeks earlier.
Trump then continued to argue that the country was doing better than other countries. When Weijia Jiang, a Chinese-American reporter for CBS, questioned the importance of this matter in contrast to the increasing death rate due to COVID-19 cases still in America, Trump suggested that she should ask China the same question, a snide racially charged comment towards her.
When Jiang challenged the President’s racist comment, asking why this was being said to her specifically, Trump argued that he would have given the same response to anyone who would ask “a nasty question like that.”
The president’s irritation continued to show when he called on another reporter, Kaitlan Collins from CNN. When Collins stated that she had two questions, Trump replied, “No, it’s okay,” and pointed to another reporter waiting to have their question answered. As Collins pressed for her right to speak as she had been called on, Trump continued to dismiss her, eventually thanking the crowd and walking off stage.
Journalists Arrested for Speaking Up About the Death of Mahsa Amini
In 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, was taken into police custody in Iran for not properly wearing the hijab. Witnesses expressed that Amini had been beaten by police, while authorities denied these allegations and blamed her death on “natural causes.”
In response to the unfair treatment and unnecessary death of the young woman, journalist Niloufar Hamedi tweeted a photo of Amini’s father and grandmother learning of her death. Hamedi paired the photo with the caption, “The black dress of mourning has become our national flag.” Similarly, reporter Elaheh Mohammadi wrote and published a story regarding Mahsa Amini’s funeral. The article highlighted that the claims about her underlying health conditions that led to her death were false.
Shortly after Hamedi and Mohammadi published their pieces, they were arrested. Both were known to speak out regarding human rights issues, including covering stories that didn’t align with the narrative the Iranian government hoped to stick to. However, although both journalists were supported for their efforts of speaking out about Amini’s story by the newspapers they worked for, both were punished as individuals.
Hamedi and Mohammadi were even accused of being trained by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to create tension and unrest in Iran, which both newspapers denied. They were ultimately falsely charged for collaborating with the U.S. government, committing crimes against national security, and spewing propaganda.
Iranian journalists continue to put their lives at risk when speaking up against the government, and many common folk choose to disobey the mandate of women wearing hijab, all with the ultimate goal of abolishing the system that controls their lives and seeking justice for those whose lives have been taken or ruined because of this system.
Overall, it’s important to remember that a journalist’s job is often not simply to tell a story. Rather, it’s their job to tell the truth, and sometimes this means expressing resistance and putting oneself at risk for the greater good. Journalists are not always merely storytellers and are often also a part of the story.