Diversity

Diversity Toolkit: Industry Leaders

We asked other industry leaders and observers about the new challenges of newsroom diversity in the 21st century.

Diversity Defined by Industry Leaders

Onica N. Makwakwa
Executive Director
UNITY: Journalists of Color

Diversity in the newsroom brings creativity, insight and diverse perspectives that will create not only a balanced workplace but also one that is financially competitive in the 21st-century global marketplace.

Dan Rosenheim
RTNDA Member
Vice President and News Director
CBS 5/KPIX-TV

Our goal, in a general sense, is to have newsrooms and newscasts that represent the diversity of the communities we serve -- in ethnic makeup, gender, age and sexual orientation.

This flows from our commitment to diversity -- in our staff and on air. We make that commitment because it is the right thing to do in a democracy or in any other kind of society for that matter. We make it because we believe it is bad journalism to ignore large segments of the community in our coverage area. And, frankly, we make it because it's good business. We won't stay in business in our diverse nation if we produce newscasts largely by, about and filled with straight white men.

That does not mean strict adherence to specific numerical targets. We don't need to ensure that 8.5 percent of the people in our newscasts are African American, or 21 percent Latin American, or 10 percent of the people in our newsroom are gay or 20 percent of the people in our newsroom are Asian American, half male and half female, to use a few examples. Doing so would be artificial and mechanical, without regard for the different stories, abilities and personalities that come our way at different times.

But it does mean acting affirmatively -- making the conscious effort to see that people of color and both genders and all ages and orientations are not underrepresented in our newsrooms and newscasts. And, it means ensuring that our newscasts don't perpetuate inaccurate stereotypes.

Dori Maynard
President and Chief Executive
Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

As we enter the 21st century, we believe that diversity needs to be looked at through the fault lines of race, class, gender, generation and geography. This Fault Lines framework that we use helps journalists understand that these five fault lines shape our perceptions of ourselves, each other and events around us. In addition, we all have blind spots, areas in which our five fault lines perceptions come together in such a way we simply don't see something. As a result, it is essential that we both have diversity in our newsrooms and that we know how to talk across the fault lines in such a way that we can understand each other, even if we never agree. That is the only way we will be able to ensure that our coverage accurately and fairly portrays our increasingly diverse and complex society.

Veronica Villafane
National Association of Hispanic Journalists Ex-Officio Representative to the RTNDA Board
San Jose Mercury News

We might be in the 21st century, but we’re far from having truly diverse newsrooms. Cities with large minority populations don’t have true representation in the newsroom or in the stories that are covered. And, it goes beyond race. Diversity is also about culture and a difference of opinions. We don’t all think alike, and we all have different interests. More than likely, that’s part of the reason why local newscasts continue to lose viewership – because they’re not in tune with the reality of the market they cover. Perhaps when they take a good, strong, hard look at who’s gathering the news, who’s deciding what goes in a newscast and who their audience truly is, they’ll realize why diversity is important to success.

Janice Gin
RTNDA Board Member and RTNDF Trustee
Assistant News Director
KTVU

We are so much more than color, race, ethnicity, culture and traditions. Diversity in the 21st century needs to recognize age, gender, sexual orientation, economic condition and lifestyle. But, we also should acknowledge and embrace differing perspectives as a core element of diversity.

In a newsroom, where journalists play gatekeepers of information, one’s race or gender, or whatever distinguishing characteristics might be assigned, may be less important than what perspectives he or she brings to the table. And when that perspective is being offered, journalists must be willing to give weight to differing perspectives when trying to report stories to their fullest.

For example, to put it in a more crude way, you do not have to be Asian to raise questions about how culture might have had an influence in an action or decision made by an Asian person. If you have knowledge that culture might have played a role in a story, as a journalist you need to offer that perspective at the discussion table and in your story. Similarly, if someone brings to the table a perspective that you had not considered before, as a journalist you have an obligation to listen and weigh that information in your pursuit of telling truths to the fullest. Doing so will help your audience get the most complete report possible.

Lane Beauchamp
RTNDA Board Member
Managing Editor
CBS Television Stations Digital Media

As broadcasters extend our reach beyond radio and television to all digital media, we're delivering our news and information to a wider, more diverse audience. It's imperative that we as news professionals embrace those voices in our newsrooms and in our content. The challenge is really a tremendous opportunity to use new media to reach and empower our diverse world.

Michael Castengera
Teacher, Grady College of Journalism, University of Georgia
President of media consulting firm

Many managers and employers give lip service to diversity, but only because they’ve accepted it as the new catch phrase for racial equality and not because they believe in or even understand the benefits of diversity. There is an old cliché that variety is the spice of life. Diversity is the spice of thought. It brings in those different points of view that enrich the experience. There are so many instances of the person who didn’t follow the pack, follow the conventional thinking and created the new idea. That’s part of why it’s so important in the business world. It’s even more important to the “business of journalism.”

Diversity is too often the new tokenism of the 21st century. That’s because some see it as something you “have to do” and don’t see the value that diversity adds to the thinking process, the working process, the strategic and tactical considerations. One of the new “concepts” in business and consulting is the 360-degree view. In a globalized world, you have to be able to see things from all angles and directions – from 360 degrees. Diversity provides that 360-degree view.

Part of the problem is that diversity is seen as a “race issue.” But, it also means having an urban, suburban, rural point of view in the mix. It means having a rich, middle class, working-class point of view in the mix. It means having a Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim point of view in the mix. Diversity is additive to the process. The sooner people latch on to and internalize the true belief that diversity is a positive that makes things better and not just something they “have to do,” the better off and the more accepting and the richer we’ll all be.

Brian Bull
Native American Journalists Association Ex-Officio Representative to the RTNDA Board
Wisconsin Public Radio

The concept of diversity being simply one person, one race, is changing. In this new era, one can look at another individual and see within him or her a spectrum of culture and ethnicity that is more vibrant and elusive to define. More and more barriers will be pushed aside, bridges will continue to be built, and I hope that even as people celebrate the differences between them, that more emphasis is put on celebrating the similarities we all share as human beings. The need to love and be loved, the basic principles of justice and fairness, and the drive to become a significant member of one’s own community shouldn’t disappear -- even as the once seemingly “clear-cut” definition of diversity becomes more hazy and vast.

Keith Woods
Poynter Institute "The Authentic Voice" website

Diversity is inclusion and covering the under-covered and mitigating bias and prejudice. Each piece of the definition is a response to the perennial challenges journalists face in telling complete, complex, fair and accurate stories about the people they serve.

Inclusion is about consciously bringing people and issues into news coverage because they would otherwise be excluded. Covering the under-covered means telling stories that otherwise go untold. Mitigating bias and prejudice begins with the presumption that all journalists bring biases to work with them each day.

To do justice to diversity in storytelling, journalists need to build an awareness of their own biases and guard against them at every stage of the journalistic process – from story inception to the final edits before publication or broadcast.

Elliott Lewis
National Association of Black Journalists Ex-Officio Representative to the RTNDA Board
Freelance Journalist

It seems there's a lot of pressure these days to craft news for a particular target demographic most coveted by the sales department. Part of diversity in journalism is having the courage to say, we're committed to having points of contact and building relationships with all segments of our community, and our coverage will reflect that.

Angie Kucharski
RTNDA Chairwoman and RTNDF Trustee Vice President and Station Manager
WBZ-TV/WSBK-TV, Boston

As journalists, our calling is a noble one. We are charged with holding the powerful accountable, pursuing the truth, telling meaningful stories and serving our communities. It is both a great privilege and an awesome responsibility. Each day, we must sort through vast amounts of information and make the smart and meaningful coverage choices that will best serve our viewers, listeners and users. We strive daily to be important, relevant and reflective of our communities. Those goals are easier to achieve when diversity is a priority, both in our coverage and in our newsrooms.

Diversity means recognizing our differences and celebrating that which makes each of us unique. It means searching for untold stories and giving a voice to those who might not previously have been included in our newsgathering. It means recognizing that diversity is not simply race or ethnicity, but also life experiences. Our newsrooms can – and should – be filled with individuals who can share those different perspectives with us. Our audiences are more diverse than ever – both in who they are and how they get their news. Our challenge in this new information age is to stay relevant and necessary to all of them. A meaningful commitment to diversity is one important step in the right direction.

Randall Yip
Asian American Journalist Association Ex-Officio Representative to the RTNDA Board
Special Projects/ Investigative Producer
ABC7/KGO-TV, San Francisco

For me, diversity means equal opportunity--an equal opportunity to be heard, an equal opportunity to be included, and an equal opportunity to be hired and promoted. Diversity means hearing and respecting all voices. Diversity means being open and inclusive. Diversity means watching the news and seeing people like me alongside those unlike me. Diversity means an opportunity to learn from others while they get an opportunity to learn from me. True diversity will be achieved when there is equal opportunity for everyone.

Eric Hegedus
President
National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association

The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) celebrates the rich diversity not only within its membership, but also within the journalism industry as a whole. In order to best represent all communities in news coverage, it is imperative that news media pursue greater inclusion, interaction, representation and understanding of underrepresented journalists. This includes, but is not limited to, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) journalists, female journalists, journalists of color, journalists living and working with disabilities and senior journalists. By embracing a broad and inclusive definition of diversity, we enhance our professionalism while we strengthen the identity, respect and status of LGBT journalists in the newsroom.

Gary Wordlaw
General Manager
WUPL-TV
Metairie, LA

Diversity has taken on many personalities throughout the years. It is no longer a black and white question, if ever it was. Today, diversity is as colorful as a rainbow and as broad as the ocean. It has come to mean different things for different people, but there is one constant, in order to move ahead and embrace change, we must never forget to include everyone in the discussion. Without communication there is chaos, and when chaos rules, fear and ignorance take root, leading to exclusion and prejudice. Diversity, to me, is being part of the solution.

Funded by the MK Level Playing Field Institute

If you have questions, please contact Melanie Lo, program coordinator at melaniel@rtnda.org or call 202.467.5218.