Journalism Needs Diversity

By: Alyssa Lanier
al634616@ohio.edu

As journalists, we need to kill racial stereotypes along with all of the other stereotypes in the world, especially if we want true equality in America. Adding diversity in the newsroom and news articles will begin the change for the rest of the jobs going towards a more diverse environment.

(Photo: Andy Piper)

One thing that always comes to my mind when I think about diversity and journalism is police harassment. The media are always covering stories where a white male cop was manhandling an African American citizen. For example, an African American student at the University of Cincinnati recently visited Ohio University’s bars and argued with some of the staff at the J Bar. Police showed up and tackled this man to the ground, punched him, and tazed him. Obviously, we do not know all of the events that occurred that evening, but I am writing this to show an example of a white cop being a bit rougher on an African American student.

People do not really hear as much about fights between a white cop and a white man. These stories are covered sometimes, but when it is two different skin colors, people hear about it much faster.

It will take an effort to make the different races stereotypes go away, and it will take time. But, I think that if journalists are willing to cover things equal and fair, more citizens of America will begin to disagree with the stereotypes placed among minorities in the United States.

A step in the right direction for diversity in journalism could be diversity in the newsroom itself. More views about different stories would be taken into consideration when publishing an article, which could help tremendously.

(Photo: American Society of Newspaper Editors)

Being diverse in journalism would reach new audiences. More people may be willing to read or listen to what a journalist has to say if the journalist is covering something that applies to their everyday life. Journalism gives a voice for the voiceless, so are they just covering the people whose voices matter more? This goes back to equality. If Americans want an equal country, journalists need to include everyone in the news, not just who journalists think they need to cover.

Young journalists give me hope for diversity in the newsroom. Elizabeth Grieco said, “Younger newsroom employees show greater racial, ethnic and gender diversity than their older colleagues, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.” So when the older white men begin to retire (they are the majority in the news), we may see an increase in diversity in news articles.

As young journalists begin their jobs as journalists, the percentage of white males in the newsroom is decreasing and the percentage of other groups of people such as females, African Americans, Hispanics, and more is increasing. I believe this will bring in new perspectives on stories and wider coverage of stories. There are more things that need to change in the newsroom to make it more diverse and cover different types of stories, but hiring younger journalists has started the change.