Diversity in the Newsroom: Do We Need It?

Mishalaina Coles
mc565515@ohio.edu

Photo taken from politcal365.com

Diversity in the newsroom could mean a plethora of things. This can be looked at in a physical way; make sure the people in the newsroom come from different backgrounds, have different genders, races, and ethnicities. On the flip side, it can be mentally too; are the people in the newsroom equipped with a diverse way of thinking?

In 1978, the American Society of Newspaper Editors wanted the rule of thumb to be that the number of minorities working for a newspaper (this can span to broadcast too) must reflect the percent of the minority in the current population. This was rarely followed.

Why This Shouldn't be a Necessity

One reason why it is debated that this shouldn't be a necessity is that often times when diversity is mentioned, people only think about race. This means that every other diverse characteristic gets ignored; this can include religion, sex, body abilities, etc. So it is argued just if the newsroom consists of the races that most closely mirror America doesn't mean as a whole, the newsroom will cohesively understand the community. To fix this issue, the newsroom should be open, honest, have personal ethics in order to understand diversity and be able to talk about it. In reality, people can understand diversity and advocate diversity, without being extremely diverse.

Why This Should be a Necessity

This is where my own personal belief comes into play, because I completely believe the newsroom should be diverse or be able to fairly speak on diverse topics.

Often times those of different races, cultures, ethnicities, and religion that differ from a white, American, Christian population, can be portrayed badly in the media. Diversifying the newsroom may bring different personal ethics into the mix that when the next time they pick a degrading photo to show on the news, the diverse individual may be able to sway the opinion of the editor and challenge for the reason why that photo shouldn't be used.

Also, just like the government, or any big body existing in the US, people just want to feel represented. This may bring up the trust of news if people felt like they could actually relate to the people telling the news.

Understanding the Statistics

This following section will show what diversity in the newsroom looks like today (all data is taken from ASNE and is from 2016.)

• Minorities made up 17% of daily newspapers
• Minorities made up 23% of online-only news
• Women made up 38% of daily newspapers
• Women made up to nearly 50% of online-only news
• Minorities in supervisor postions made up 13%
• Women in supervisor positions made up 37%

"The numbers seem to be moving in the right direction, but the pace of diversity needs to quicken to catch up with the population," said ASNE President Pam Fine. "We must ask ourselves how we can do a better job of inspiring people of color and women to go into the profession, hire them at good wages, and give them opportunities to influence coverage and advance through the ranks. The purpose of the ASNE survey is to stimulate these efforts. It's one of the ways ASNE champions diversity in newsrooms and in leadership." (asne.org)

Final Thoughts

I can honestly understand both ends of the spectrum. But for me, the most important thing is that the percentage of diversity in newsrooms is growing. I think getting diverse would be the best thing for our country as a whole and may help gain back people's trust.