Changing Our Narrative
Where Santa Monica Boulevard and the 405 Freeway meet is where we caught up with Jamil Smith, the Los Angeles-based senior writer for Rolling Stone magazine.
A veteran of print and television journalism, Smith recalled that his talent for writing was discovered at an early age. “I was in the eighth grade when I realized writing was my path. A teacher later told me, ‘You’re a good writer – this is something that you might want to pursue.’”
And pursue he did. Smith, a former CNN production assistant, would have several important media jobs that contributed significantly to his award-winning career. “Whether it was at HBO, where I was an associate producer, or NFL Films, where I was a producer for six years, all the way up to MSNBC where I produced Rachel Maddow and Melissa Harris-Perry – and when I ended up at The New Republic and MTV News, I think I was a better writer because I had been in those other forms of media,” said Smith.
“I knew how to set up a shoot. I knew how to be in different arenas that maybe other magazine writers had not been in. And eventually when I got to Rolling Stone, I knew how to cover stories that maybe other writers didn’t.”
Our one-on-one interview with Smith was conducted in the days immediately following the announced partnership between rapper and entertainment mogul Jay-Z and the NFL. Smith was quick to provide perspective regarding the controversial pairing.
“Having been an employee there for six years, I understand the NFL is all about protecting its shield,” Smith explained. “The NFL essentially got Jay-Z to serve as a shield for themselves and the commissioner, Roger Goodell, on the third anniversary of Colin Kaepernick taking a knee to protest racial injustice. And he [Goodell] got Jay-Z to serve as a shield for these mostly white owners.”
Our discussion with Smith didn’t end there. Smith, who covers national affairs and culture, shed light on everything from the 2020 presidential race and voting suppression to the powerful Netflix miniseries, When They See Us, and its director, Ava DuVernay. “I think what Ava manages to do with this film, When They See Us, is to articulate the story that had not yet really been told from the perspective of these five boys who are now men. She gave them a new voice.”
Smith, a native of Cleveland, Ohio raised in the prominent African American community of Shaker Heights, recalls his father’s delight upon learning he would be joining Rolling Stone. “When I got the job, my father was thrilled. My father loved the magazine. My mother bought the magazine when I was growing up.”
Our new media profile and wide-ranging interview with Mr. Smith took at place at the West Coast headquarters of Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of Rolling Stone and several other notable print and digital publications.
Smith was passionate as he discussed the very heart of Rolling Stone. “It’s always had a revolutionary spirit. This magazine has always approached this world from the perspective that things are going to change and should change. That has always been my feeling about the world.”
In the final moments of our conversation, Smith, speaking exclusively with Michael Reel of Reel Urban News, expressed the importance of African Americans telling their own stories.
“We need to tell our own story. So urgently. And that goes for film making, and especially journalism. We need more of us in these newsrooms. We need more of us on television. We need more of us behind these desks. We need more of us on these bylines.”
