CHARLESTON, W.Va. – “I have this saying: ‘Sometimes something can be fact, even when it’s not true.’ There’s sometimes a way that information is constructed that leads to dishonesty.”
That’s what multidisciplinary-artist Alexandra Bell told media representatives from The Mountain State Spotlight, Black By God, The RealWV, The Times West Virginian, 100 Days in Appalachia, City Bureau, and several other West Virginia-based news outlets on Wednesday, during her keynote address at the “Reimaging Local Journalism” event, held at the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s offices in Charleston.
Designed as an exploration of journalism’s critical role in safeguarding democracy, “Reimagining Local Journalism” was hosted by Crystal Good, publisher of Black By God, and presented in partnership with The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, ACLU WV, and News Futures. The event was also attended by representatives of numerous non-media organizations, as well as several Kentucky-based news outlets.
Bell, who earned national acclaim for her groundbreaking series, “Counternarratives,” discussed both her work, and the methodology behind it – to challenge the presentation and perception of digestible media, and to reinforce the understanding of the critical importance of presenting authentic narratives through journalism…