Story Behind the Story: Death on the Bakken Shale
Josh Rushing of Al Jazeera English can spend anywhere from 14 days to six months on a story for his program “Fault Lines.” He works with a team of producers to create each story, but he is now the only correspondent for “Fault Lines.” In this particular piece, Rushing investigates why North Dakota’s Bakken Shale has the highest worker fatality rate in the nation.
Rushing and his team spent six months investigating this problem. They interviewed family members of those that lost their life on the job, and the ones that happened to survive. “When I do a story for Fault Lines I’m inserting myself into someones life, which is emotionally taxing and draining, and there are definitely long days,” he said.
When selecting a story to cover for “Fault Lines” Rushing said there usually is “life-or-death stakes” and “a clear line of accountability.” In the Bakken Shale, the employers at the oil sites, did not acknowledge that accountability. Many times it is a challenge to get someone to accept accountability, according to Rushing.
“Fault Lines” utilizes long-form storytelling to get a message across. The show looks like a documentary, so as to better take the audience right to the scene. “My job is my life, and the sense of what I mean is, it’s not just something that I’m doing, this is my life’s work, this is the way I see the world, I’m trying to share the way I see the world with other people,” he said.
Rushing’s path to becoming an international investigative journalist is a unique story. After graduating with a dual-degree in classic civilizations and ancient history from the University of Texas, Rushing enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps to fulfill his civic duty. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Rushing served as a spokesperson at Central Command. It was through this position that he began dealing directly with the Arabic news outlet Al Jazeera.
Unbeknownst to him, Rushing was featured in the documentary “Control Room” as a Marine spokesperson about his work with Al Jazeera. Following the success of the film, The Pentagon ordered Rushing to not comment to the press about the movie. “That led the coverage from being in the entertainment section to the front page,” he said.
In order to speak freely about Al Jazeera, Rushing resigned his commission from the U.S. Marine Corps. He then went to the media to try and change America’s perception of Al Jazeera. “It occurred to me, sitting over there in the Middle East, working with Al Jazeera, that they were phenomenally influential, everyone in the Middle East was watching them at the time,” he said.
Rushing was then given the opportunity to help start Al Jazeera English, where he has hosted “Fault Lines” since 2009. Avant-garde as he may be, a journalist he is nonetheless.
“My personal journey was about the understanding of what Al Jazeera was and why it was so important, and that led me from my role in the Marine Corps being a spokesperson on it, to being an investigative journalist for the network,” he said.
