Diversity in Journalism

Mitchell Lyons
ml082312@ohio.edu

The journalism industry has reached an all time low.

The public does not trust the national media.

A Gallop poll, done in late June shows that the trust in media is "rising." The number of Americans who have a "Great Deal" of trust in newspapers is 27 percent. The poll also says that "24 percent of U.S. adults say they possess confidence in television news."

This is, at least in part, because of the lack of diversity in the newsroom. Cjr.org, cited a study done by the American Society of News Editors, people of color only make up 17 percent of newsrooms. The study also states, "of all supervisors, about  were minorities and 37 percent [are] women." This is a major reason why Americans do not trust the media. There is a huge lack of representation for under represented groups in the media.

Photo Credit: sfgate.com
Colin Kaepernick and teammate Eric Reed
take a knee for the Nation Anthem before the game.

News directors hide behind this fact by saying they could not find someone qualified or that nobody applied. That should not be an excuse. As one person put it, it just means you aren't looking hard enough.

"If you can't find one person of color that is qualified to do the job, then you aren't looking hard enough," Jason Timpson, a former director of the Side Five at Ohio Universities campus said.

This has created an issue because not everyone is getting a voice. So the underrepresented groups, that have a platform, feel the need to use their platform to speak on the issues. This has lead to several controversies, such as the ones involving Jemele Hill and Colin Kaepernick.

The Kaepernick controversy started off with good intentions, but has blown up to a point where we have totally forgotten about the issue. Both sides have dug in and won't budge.

Because both sides are so dug in, it has resulted in protests and protests of protests, boycotting of the NFL and nothing has gotten done.

Americans need to get together and work together instead of apart. News, as well as sports stations need to not only hire, but present both sides to the public. The lack of diversity in the newsroom has caused issues and needs to be addressed. There is no way to explain 17 and 13 percent.