Diversity in Media

Ally Campbell
ac076015@ohio.edu

Diversity in media means filling news staffs and leadership positions with people from all varieties of backgrounds. It means covering stories, equally and fairly, about people from all walks of life. It means recognizing different perspectives, including those stemming from race, class, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

Journalism, in its current state, is seriously lacking diversity. Staffing is one major issue. As of 2013, only 13 percent of 36,700 newspaper journalists are people of color. In contrast, minorities make up approximately 37 percent of the United States population, according to 2013 U.S. Census Bureau data.

There is clearly a discrepancy in newsrooms. If 37 percent of the U.S. population is comprised of minorities, it should follow that the institutions covering that population is equally as diverse. Additionally, minority staff members should have access to decision-making power or leadership positions. Diversity in newsrooms elevates the quality and accuracy of the journalism they produce.

Staffing people from unique backgrounds opens the doors for more representative and diversified content. The same content may appeal to diverse audiences, help eliminate destructive stereotypes or hinder the pervasiveness of single-sided stories.

Language can also contribute to diversity representation in the media. How journalists speak about minorities affects how they are perceived by the general public. Consider how African Americans are depicted in the news versus how white people are represent in news media.

African Americans are disproportionately represented as criminals. African American represent 37 percent of criminals in the news, but only make up 26 percent of those arrested on criminal charges. On the other hand, the news portrays white people as criminals only 28 percent of the time, while FBI crime reports show they make up 77 percent of crime suspects.

In order to combat this misrepresentation, journalists can aim for more diversity in the newsroom and more holistic and representative coverage. It's time to put an end to the notion that all minorities fall into one stereotype. Stereotypes are just that, and journalists cannot ethically contribute to their preponderance.

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In addition to being conscientious about how journalists cover minorities and minority issues, it's essential to strive for accurate and fair representation. There is an ethical obligation for journalists to represent stories to the best of their ability and to minimize harm. That means that journalists must factor diversity into the equations.

It's no longer enough to interview one minority person for a story and call it diverse. Journalists must seek out issues and stories that are important to minority communities, then report them fully and accurately. For example, the general public is still very much in the dark about issues within the transgender community.

The most common coverage of the transgender community focuses on a transgender person's life pre-transition and their reassignment surgery. Coverage of Caitlyn Jenner's transition is a prime example. Her transition received high levels of news attention, but there was very little focus of the most pressing issues of transgender people.

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Coverage of the transgender community often fails to go into the intricacies of the community and the daily struggles of its members. Perhaps more relevant issues would be the high levels of violence against transgender people or the invasion of privacy they face when questioned about their decision to undergo or not undergo gender reassignment surgery.

Journalism truly has come a great way in respect to diversity, but there is still a large distance to go. Coverage can always be more diverse, equal and fair.

As journalists, it's our responsibility to strive for diversity. Journalists must fight for minority representation in the newsroom, portray diverse issues and stories and work diligently to discredit harmful stereotypes.