Racial Diversity in the Newsroom and its Impact on Content

Sarah Volk 

sv673116@ohio.edu 

 

The issue of race in the journalism profession has been examined for many, many decades. In recent years, there have been increased efforts to reexamine the issue. 

It's no surprise that the number of white journalists heavily outnumbers the amount of racial minority journalists. Consequently, many news organizations lack a diverse staff.

These news organizations are deprived of diverse perspectives necessary for reporting on certain topics and establishing a range of viewpoints for readers. 

In a Slate article titled "The Media's 'Bubble' Problem is Really a Diversity Problem" by Will Oremus, he writes, "The problem is that a homogeneity of viewpoints tends to produce uncritical consensus, leading groups of otherwise intelligent people to collectively overlook or downplay evidence that might counter their perceptions." 

Many news organizations, such as NPR, have released data on the diversity of their staff for several years. Doing so has opened news organizations' eyes to the reality of the lack of diversity in newsrooms.

Picture source:

PNPR.com

Hypervigilance among white reporters

There has also been an increased effort by journalists to be hypervigilant in their coverage of sensitive topics, such as race and gender inequality. 

While this effort is necessary and has been overall beneficial to objective reporting, it may also cause reporters to experience "confidence crisis" in which they may overthink/doubt their ability to cover certain topics.

Despite some journalists doubting themselves and their abilities, this hypervigilance has aided many news organizations in their reporting on topics and issues related to race and gender.

It is important to note that white journalists' participation in the coverage of minority issues and potentially sensitive topics is essential to the acknowledgement of the issues and may be a big part of a solution.

The race of a newsroom and its effect on the content

The lack of diversity in newsroom staffing also has a major impact on the content a news organization publishes. 

According to an an article by Jenni Cobb for The Guardian titled, "When newsrooms are dominated by white people, they miss crucial facts," mostly-white media tend to neglect the cause of unrest in their reporting and instead look at the unrest itself.

It isn't just news organizations with a lack of diversity in their staff that often fail to report on the bigger picture of certain issues. A lot of national news outlets contribute to problematic coverage of unrest. 

According to Michael Bowman, associate professor of media at Arkansas State University, "While good journalism still exists, too often intense coverage by national broadcast and cable news mesmerizes audiences with scenes of riots in the streets, burning building, and clashes between citizens and law enforcement."

With the events the have unfolded since March of 2020, namely the extreme surge in the Black Lives Matter movement, white journalists are likely struggling to figure out their role in the coverage. 

While minority journalists have a leg up on white journalists when it comes to reporting on issues relating to minorities, it is extremely important for white journalists to participate in the coverage as well. 

In a lot of ways, white journalists staying quiet and letting minority journalists take the lead on the coverage of Black Lives Matter protests and other related issues can come off as ignorant or even racist.

White journalists may not bring in the same perspectives or personal connections that minority journalists might, but their active participation in the coverage of these issues, if done correctly, may be more important.

According to an article titled "Racial Profiling in the Newsroom" by David Pritchard and Sarah Stonbely, "Having minority journalists writing mostly about relatively powerless segments of society, while white journalists write mostly about powerful institutions, may have a certain logic, given that people of color are overrepresented among the powerless and whites overrepresented among the powerful" (p. 232).

White journalists and minority communities

Any time a journalist covers a story about a community or group of people, establishing rapport and gaining trust is crucial to creating accurate and truthful content.

When it comes to reporting on minority issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement or LGBTQ+ events, there's no doubt that minority reporters usually have an advantage over white reporters.

White journalists often need to spend more time establishing rapport and trust. White journalists, and journalists in general, cannot just walk into a community or neighborhood and start asking questions without gaining trust.

Establishing trust within minority communities is a major part of repairing the distrust in media many people have developed. The way a white journalist approaches these communities and issues is critical to the accuracy and truthfulness of the story.