Diversity in Journalism

Cassidy Wilson 

cassidyleighhh@gmail.com 

 

Diversity and inclusion has been a prevalent issue within the world for far too long. One of the main places where we could improve is in the workplace. 

With it being 2020, you would hope to see diversity everywhere. Unfortunately, that is still not the case. 

In an article written by Clark Merrefield, titled, Race and the newsroom: what seven research studies say, within the first paragraph it states, "The message is clear: whether national outlets or hyperlocal brands, journalism has a race problem."  

It is important to address the problem because most importantly, racism is wrong, period. But also, as journalists, we want to make sure we are reporting all sides of a story.

How could I, a white woman, voice my concerns about the hardships faced as a black person when I have no experience with what a black person goes through on a day to day basis. 

Again, this is just another reason why discrimination in the workplace should not be tolerated at all. It should be crucial to hire journalists with different race/ethnic background in order to have various points of view. 

I think a lot of older people tend to get uncomfortable when racism is brought up and I often hear the line, "well that's just how times were back then." 

That makes me absolutely sick to my stomach because that should not matter anymore. People need to realize that times have changed and there is no reason to tolerate discrimination or defend it. 

While many issues in the world take time, I am glad to see that people are at least having more conversations about race. I am hoping we will still fight for Black Lives Matter and everyone in the world will be seen as equal one day. 

I am also hopeful in the younger generations to fix how nasty the world can be and continue striving for change. 

There are some news organizations that are committed to working on news diversity. The American Press Institute released their goals in what I believe was a well-written article.   

Picture source: Josh Stearns 

Journalism is a field that is constantly evolving, and as time goes on I am looking forward to hopefully seeing more diversity in not only journalism, but every career path. 

It is important to me when seeking a job, diversity is prevalent in the newsroom I represent.