Keith Woods became so mired in heated issues of race relations while he was city editor of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans that he may have understandably opted to turn to other topics after leaving the paper.
After all, months of tearful voicemail messages, name-calling and hate mail can easily lead to burnout.
But 15 years after the explosive 1993 series “Together Apart: The Myth of Race” was published, Woods is still at it, but in a different work environment and an even sunnier location. “I’m still teaching journalists how to think about [the] coverage of race,” he says.
Woods, 49, joined the Poynter Institute in 1995 and is now dean of the faculty at the internationally renowned facility in St. Petersburg, Fla., which modestly describes itself as “a school for journalists, future journalists and teachers of journalists.” It is, in fact, a state-of-the-art training site providing seminars led by experts in the field. Earlier this month, the Poynter Institute announced that it will use a $1.4 million, five-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to help transform journalism education by expanding the journalism e-learning site, NewsU.
In his current position, Woods is one of those experts, most notably on the subject of race, diversity and media. He is author of “The Essence of Excellence: Covering Race and Ethnicity (and doing it better),” a 2001 report for Columbia University.
In one of his articles on the Poynter site, “Reporting on Race Relations,” Woods offers insightful, yet simple, tips to journalists. For example, “Examine your fears and look for ways — through reading, writing, talking — to move beyond them. The more comfortable you are in asking difficult questions about race relations, the more complete your reporting will be.”
