A new oral history archive at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) features 33 interviews with women journalists from across the globe who reported on the COVID-19 pandemic at its peak. From May to September of last year, EMU Associate Professor of Journalism Dr. You Li conducted and compiled over 30 hours of interviews for the archive, entitled "Collective Memory of Women Journalists in COVID-19." The collection details how the unique challenges interviewees faced ultimately led to significant contributions to the field of journalism.

"Even though we all experienced COVID, political, economic, and cultural factors added to the complexity and differences between communities handling COVID," Li says. "Part of the reason I wanted to do this archive was to raise awareness among the public about how journalistic storytelling comes together, and what it takes to produce news in the middle of a global health crisis."

While pandemic-specific challenges such as quarantining and being unable to communicate with sources in person were brought up by many of those interviewed for the collection, Li explains that several reporters faced regional and cultural challenges as well. She recounts stories told by journalists in Europe who "were only allowed outside one hour per day to walk their dogs or to go to the pharmacy" at the peak of the pandemic, and others from South Asia and India who were fighting against misinformation perpetuated by their local governments. The pandemic also forced many journalists to work remotely. Some interviewees recalled being burnt out or worried about how they would support their families.

"Many issues that these journalists brought up existed before COVID, but COVID amplified the issues, which hit them all at once," Li says. "Their sense of responsibility while being minimally supported or compensated is just remarkable."

Many of the women interviewed also discussed facing challenges due to their gender, battling sexist cultural ideas that women should be at home raising children or getting out into their communities not just to report, but to support others through volunteer work. However, Li says that changes to the field of journalism, like being able to work remotely as well as many young journalists veering more toward solutions-based journalism, are signs that the profession could be changing for the better. 

"It’s very unfortunate that women journalists are still experiencing gender-based challenges in the twenty-first century," Li says. "There are so many structural inequalities that women journalists face in this profession still, and I hope the profession can recognize that and hopefully bridge the gap."

The full collection of interviews can be found online here or accessed in person through EMU’s University Archives at Halle Library. For more information and inquiries, please contact Li at yli23@emich.edu. 

"By publishing these conversations in the most original way, I aim to preserve the memories of these women journalists and give the public direct access to make sense of and reflect their own experiences during COVID," Li says. "I feel like I owe it to these journalists who were so generous about sharing their experiences. I want to do them justice."

Rylee Barnsdale is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She wants to use her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.

Infographic courtesy of You Li.