Last week, I wrote a post in which I took Mary Bubala, now a former reporter for WJZ-TV in Baltimore, asked a question in an on-air interview that implied fairly strongly that demographic considerations mattered with regard to qualifying for public office--specifically, in this case, the mayoralty of Baltimore. In case you have not followed this story, she asked an African-American interviewee whether, after three African-American female mayors of the city left office under ethical and/or competency clouds, it was time for "a different kind of leadership." On the other hand, I might be surprised if you had not heard about this story, given the level of coverage it's received, even in New York. Of course, in the case of the Post, promoting a story like this is just one more example of Rupert Murdoch stirring the racial pot for the sake of minimize the paper's losses, even at the expense of promoting long-term racial division in his adopted country.
That said, I've been spending some time talking to people I know locally about Bubala and the controversy over her (without a doubt) utterly inappropriate question. I've also spent some time on social media (Twitter, specifically, to which my blog is linked) looking at the reactions to this story that people have posted.
And two things have jumped out at me.
First, a number of the Twitter posters have given Bubala a series of electronic high-fives over the racial angle in her question. I'll spare you the specifics, and even concede the point that perhaps those posts say more about the pollution of social media by white nationalists than it does about anything else. Nevertheless, it's worth mentioning these posts as a way of illustrating the level of potential harm to all of us--at lease to the caliber of political discourse--that can come from questions or statements like Bubala's. If nothing else, it should underscore the fact that the question she asked is one that should never be asked by anyone, under any circumstances.
Second, a large number of people have argued that the station's decision to fire her in an attempt to defuse the controversy was unfair, and in fact an overreaction given the fact that nothing in her career prior to her asking the question had shown any animosity based on gender and race. To the contrary, she worked for WJZ for many years and earned, in the process, an excellent and unblemished reputation as a reporter and an anchor. To a limited extent, it was because of that reputation that I found watching the video of her asking the question to be especially disturbing and confusing.
And, as it turns out, a number of African-American viewers, some of whom have had personal dealings with Bubala, feel that she is being treated unfairly, especially in light of the fact that Bubala offered her own, unsolicited apology on Twitter for asking the question, one in question she clearly recognized that the question was wrong. The apology did not deter WJZ from firing her.
All of this has given me a great deal of food for thought, and led me to the following conclusion.
Given the level of offensiveness embedded in the question, and the fact that she did ask it without an immediate attempt to clarify whatever point she was trying to make, Bubala did deserve to be disciplined. But not to be fired. From my perspective, the effect of the firing accomplishes nothing except to hide WJZ's own corporate sins in the area of promoting racial tensions, through its police-blotter coverage of Baltimore and its unabashed support of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and his race-baiting style of politics. When I heard about the firing, I suspected that the station felt that the controversy invited the prospect of people taking a closer look at the station's failings in its treatment of race in relation to local stories. The station didn't want anyone to take that closer look, and fired Bubala as a way of deflecting attention from those failings.
I've got a much better idea. At least, I think it's a better idea. And I hope that most of you will agree with me.
I think that WJZ should re-hire Bubala, but have her spend a year (at least) on special assignment to cover stories in Baltimore that focus on the lives of its African-American citizens--their accomplishments, their struggles, their needs, and the ways in which those needs require a greater effort on the part of all of us to successfully address them. I would not consider this strictly a "punishment" per se. Instead, it would be an opportunity for all of us to take a closer look at the issue of race from the African-American perspective, and to be challenged with regard to a lot of our assumptions about Baltimore and what it needs to thrive.
It would be better for Bubala, for the station, for the city, for the state, and ultimately for all of us. It would take a moment that has the potential to tear us even further apart, and perhaps do something to bring us together.
So, how about it, WJZ? Bubala might not want to go back, at this point, of course. But, if WJZ is not willing to pursue this, I think she should feel free to take this basic idea and run with it at another local station.
I think that, in the end, all of us would benefit. And, in the process, perhaps a needlessly cruel moment could become the beginning of a healing one.
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