Alum's first book offers 'street level' insights, solutions to gun voilence
While national coverage of gun violence often zeroes in on statistics and widespread impact, journalist Josiah Bates saw something different when reporting on the issue at the community level. The Penn State alumnus found personal stories, real-world actions and, most importantly, solutions.
Bates is a 2015 broadcast journalism graduate of the Bellisario College. He wrote “In These Streets,” a book that reflects on his coverage of the gun violence epidemic and chronicles his journey to several U.S. cities interviewing activists, experts, perpetrators and victims. His book paints a unique picture of the violence plaguing the United States from the “street level,” with stories that aim to redefine the causes of the issue and the struggles to combat it.
“From a national perspective, it’s very difficult to understand what’s happening on the ground,” Bates said. “There’s a big difference between being in a community board meeting versus just talking to the people who were there. That shoe leather, eye-level reporting is where you see for yourself what’s happening.”
Starting out at Penn State, Bates wanted to be a sports reporter. However, current events at the time, including the murder of Trayvon Martin and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, changed that.
One of Bates’ professors, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society John Affleck, became a go-to resource while Bates went through this career change, and he continues to be a mentor today.
According to Affleck, “In These Streets” is an important book that captures both the “human stories and the impact this plague has on our society.” He said that Bates’ transition from his native Brooklyn to State College, and seeing the stark culture differences between the two locations, likely impacted his decision to switch from sports to news coverage.
“I think when you’re 19, you don’t know what you don’t know in terms of what goes into certain areas like production, sports or news,” Affleck said. “I think in Josiah’s case, he saw the importance of what he could do, and based on his life and his reporting, he is in the place he needs to be.”
Affleck said that one of the most gratifying parts of being a faculty member is building relationships with students and watching them succeed after graduation. He said that being a “sounding board” is important and he’s proud to have played a part in Bates’ success.
Bates credited Affleck and other Bellisario College faculty members like Mike Poorman, lecturer and director of alumni relations in the Bellisario College, and Steve Kraycik, associate teaching professor and director of student television, for setting a path for success in journalism.
“I had some really great professors,” Bates said. “I learned so much from them. It was just a great experience.”
A few years after Bates’ graduation, the chaos of COVID-19 and multiple incidents of social unrest jolted the rate of gun violence in the United States.
“In These Streets” unearths a more complicated situation, which continues in many parts of the country today. Bates’ interviews reveal stories of people dealing with poverty, reacting to policy and trying to get by in unsafe communities.
He spent time in Atlanta, Baltimore, New York City, Washington, D.C. and Youngstown, Ohio. Throughout the book, Bates follows an activist who does intervention work for a violence prevention organization in Bates’ hometown of Brooklyn, New York. The man’s journey from poverty to prison to rehabilitation to community work symbolizes the spirit Bates hopes will emerge for readers when reading the book.
“The goal isn’t to fear monger,” he said. “Half of the book is about solutions. There are things we can do and apply to this situation.”
@wawaislife