Author

Issac J. Bailey

@ijbailey

Issac Bailey, a 2014 Nieman Fellow, is a journalist, race relations seminar creator and facilitator, and the author of “Why Didn’t We Riot? A Black Man in Trumpland” (Other Press, October 2020). He is also the author of “My Brother Moochie: Regaining Dignity in the Face of Crime, Poverty, and Racism in the American South” (Other Press, 2018). He has contributed to Politico, CNN.com, Time, and The Washington Post. He is a former columnist and senior writer for The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and he was a 2011 recipient of a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for stories about a child protection case. The state subsequently revamped the way it handles such cases.

How Should Journalists Respond to Trump’s Refusal to Commit to a Peaceful Transfer of Power?

How Should Journalists Respond to Trump’s Refusal to Commit to a Peaceful Transfer of Power?

I began a recent session of my “Trump, Race, and U.S. Media” course at Davidson College with video clips of news reports about protests in the aftermath of the Breonna…
Bob Woodward and the Ethics of the Presidential Scoop

Bob Woodward and the Ethics of the Presidential Scoop

Bob Woodward made the wrong choice. He should have alerted the public that Donald Trump, the president of the United States, was lying about the coronavirus. He was in a…
How Objectivity Can Make Audiences Cynical about Politics—and Journalism

How Objectivity Can Make Audiences Cynical about Politics—and Journalism

It’s a shame that headlines for straight-news stories about the stalled stimulus talks between Congress and the White House didn’t plainly say this before the issue was swamped by coverage…
Trump’s Presidency Isn’t Normal. Journalists Should Stop Reporting As If It Is

Trump’s Presidency Isn’t Normal. Journalists Should Stop Reporting As If It Is

I began writing this piece with trepidation, wondering if it would be fair to compare the president of the United States of America to a president in SyFy’s cult classic…
Will This Racial Reckoning Finally Force Newsrooms to Listen to Every Staffer’s Voice?

Will This Racial Reckoning Finally Force Newsrooms to Listen to Every Staffer’s Voice?

I’ll never forget the day the publisher spotted me as I was returning to my desk after lunch. She dressed me down in the middle of the newsroom, with more…
A Journalist Wrestles with the Complex History of Racism in America

A Journalist Wrestles with the Complex History of Racism in America

Issac J. Bailey, a 2014 Nieman Fellow, is a journalist, author, and race relations seminar creator and facilitator. Here he shares an experience that forced him to take…
George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and One Journalist’s Painfully Honest Self-Examination on Racism

George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and One Journalist’s Painfully Honest Self-Examination on Racism

“No one in the United States is immune to the influence of white supremacy, not even a black Southerner like me”
Tara Reade’s Allegations and Trauma-Informed Reporting

Tara Reade’s Allegations and Trauma-Informed Reporting

The more I read about Tara Reade’s story, the less I know about her sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden. That’s a problem, not just for Reade but for every…
The Connection Between Race and Trump’s Coronavirus Briefings

The Connection Between Race and Trump’s Coronavirus Briefings

Was it reasonable to wonder if President Donald Trump began restricting, but not banning outright, travel from China on January 31 because of xenophobia rather than to avert the spread…
Is Biden’s Stutter Being Mistaken for “Cognitive Decline”?

Is Biden’s Stutter Being Mistaken for “Cognitive Decline”?

Biden’s verbal stumbles may be explained not by cognitive problems but by his lifelong battle with stuttering. Journalists should provide that context