Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley has a long and varied history with the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
When Riley worked for the Louisville (Ky.) Courier Journal two decades ago, she was asked by fellow CJ writer and NSNC co-founder Bob Hill to help Hill plan our organization’s 1999 conference. It turned out to be a great meeting (I was there).
“I met the most amazing journalists and writers, some of whom I hadn’t been aware of,” recalled Rochelle, referencing how a number of our talented members are more known in their local areas than nationally.
Then, at the 2011 NSNC conference in Detroit, Riley received the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award for the community service she did and does as a columnist. “It was one of the highlights of my life,” said Rochelle, with the bonus of being presented with the honor by a Will Rogers descendant.
And, this year, Rochelle will be among the prominent speakers at the
NSNC’s upcoming June 7-10 conference in Cincinnati (read the full schedule HERE). Her session will open the Conference Friday morning after breakfast and is co-sponsored by the Cincinnati Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
It will be a continuation of an incredibly busy period for Riley. When I interviewed her by phone on April 19, she had received a Society of Professional Journalists award the day before and made a book appearance the day before that – Rochelle’s 28th local, regional, or national appearance since Feb. 1 for The Burden: African Americans and the Enduring Impact of Slavery (Wayne State University Press, 2018) . “It’s not just about selling my book, it’s about the conversations with diverse audiences, some mostly white,” she observed. “Conversations we need to have.”
Needed conversations are also inspired by her newspaper writing. “Some of my columns spur action,” she said. “I’ve been called a crusader and I don’t shy away from that, but I’m also more cerebral sometimes. I’m not constantly running on ten pistons.”
Indeed, her columns are a mix. Perhaps 35-40% focus on racial matters, but she also writes about everything from literacy to Barbara Bush (after the former First Lady’s recent death) to cupcakes. “I like to say my column defies definition,” said Riley, who joined the Free Press in 2000. “I don’t want any fences. I’m blessed to have that freedom, and it works. I like it and my readers like it.”
She added, “I work from two schools of thought: Les Payne [the late Newsday writer], one of the best columnists, said, ‘Tell the truth and duck.’ DeWayne Wickham [of USA Today /Gannett renown], said: ‘Never be afraid to be unapologetically black.'”
As mentioned, racial issues take up approximately 35-40% of Riley’s column. “Yet a reader still asked, ‘Why play the race card?'” she remembered. “I replied, ‘Why does that bother you?’ He had no answer to that.” Rochelle noted that she wasn’t devoting 100% of her columns to that topic, and that 35-40% by one writer is a tiny portion of the Free Press ‘ entire content.
What’s it like to be a columnist in this Trumpian time of dismaying developments such as never-went-away racism being more out in the open? “It’s horrible and monumental,” Riley replied. “We’re dealing with the worst of humanity. You see how little has changed. America should be better. We need people writing about that – exposing that. I’m doing that with my column and book. Journalism matters.”
With racism, “so much has been happening for a long time,” she added. “We can’t keep sweeping it under the rug – the rug is full.”
Rochelle, a frequent TV guest, has received numerous other prizes in addition to the SPJ and Will Rogers ones – including the 2017 Ida B. Wells Award from the National Association of Black Journalists for her efforts to make newsrooms and news coverage more accurately reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. And her columns on the text-message scandal that led to the imprisonment of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick were part of the Free Press ‘ 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning entry for local news.
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Dave Astor writes the weekly “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column for Baristanet.com, blogs weekly at DaveAstorOnLiterature.com, and is the author of the 2017 book “Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time: The Book Lover’s Guide to Literary Trivia.”
