Effectively Covering Diverse Communities

Ryan Everett
re962714@ohio.edu

As communities become more and more diverse it becomes more important for journalists to cover this diversity in an effective manner. But how can we achieve this without making it seem like we are covering diversity simply for the sake of diversity?

Statistics on Diversity in the United States

The United States is becoming increasingly more diverse giving a greater demand for diverse coverage in the media.

According to Statistical Atlas, the population of the United States is composed of 62% white, 17% Hispanic, 12% black, 5% Asian, 2% mixed, and 2% other. This is a very fairly diverse breakdown, but the more telling statistics come when looking at American youth.

Statistical Atlas shows that 54% of Americans aged 15-17 are white while 46% are minorities. However, the most telling stat shows that 49.8% of children aged 0-4 are white while 50.2% are minorities.

In fact, according to the Census Bureau, the United States will be majority-minority by 2044. With the diversity of the country increasing at such a rapid rate, it is essential for journalists to cover this diversity. So, how can we do just that?

Diversity in the Newsroom

The simplest solution to this problem would be to increase diversity in the newsroom. As a white man, I cannot truly understand the perspective of a black woman, or a Hispanic man so it may be difficult for me to report effectively on minority issues.

However, statistics show that we are simply not diverse enough in the newsroom. According to survey performed by ASNE in 2017, minority journalists comprised only 16% of the workforce in the United States, a half percentage point decrease from 2016.  The survey also showed that only 25.5% of news organizations reported having at least one minority journalist among their top three editors.

While these statistics are not horrible, and show some diversity not just in the newsroom, but in top editorial positions as well, diversity must increase in the newsroom.

It is plausible to think that diversity in the newsroom will increase as the adult population grows increasingly diverse, but news organizations must make additional efforts to interview and hire a diverse array of people. It is also important to ensure that news organizations hire minorities and women into editorial positions as well. This creates a wide range of knowledge, backgrounds, and perspectives in the newsroom.

Reporting on Diverse Communities

Reporting on diverse communities goes beyond simply including minority perspective in your stories. While this is certainly important, it should not be the main focus of a journalist.

With the current political climate and the racial divide arising in the United States, it becomes increasingly important for journalists to treat people of all races the same way. It is all too common to see a white male labeled as "troubled"or a "loner" after a mass shooting spree but a Muslim committing the same crime would immediately be labelled as "radical" or a "terrorist." While each crime is equally egregious, the reporting on the suspects is not equal. A diverse news room could help avoid such disparity in reporting.

Diversity also helps to avoid embarrassing mistakes in advertising that could easily be construed as racist or playing into stereotypes. For example, the Dove soap ad that shows a black woman removing her shirt and "cleaning" herself into a white woman.

Image via thepolitic.org

This ad was clearly a major lapse in judgement, but any minority in a position of power within the Dove advertising department would have immediately noticed the issue with the advertisement. One might question why the current leaders in the department didn't notice the issue, but that's a discussion for a different day.

A diverse newsroom is essential for an increasingly diverse country. With the United States moving towards a majority-minority country, it is up to news organizations to ensure that diversity in the newsroom matches that of the rest of the country.