The Importance of Diversity in the Media

Emilee Caudill

ec217717@ohio.edu

 

The lack of diversity and the lack of accurate representations of minorities in the media are hot button issues today, and for good reason. Without people of different races, sexual orientations and gender identities there is no way to have well rounded news or advertisements.

What role do Journalists play?

Journalists often like to think of themselves as objective, but to truly be objective they must first admit to themselves that they have biases. Whether they are aware of it or not, most people have implicit biases that affect the decisions they make, but if journalists were able to learn what biases that affect them then they could produce more truthful and well rounded work.

Journalism is supposed to be fair, accurate, and unbiased coverage on true pieces of news, which is impossible without the inclusion of all different kinds of people. It is the responsibility of journalists, news organizations and readers to demand a change.

News organizations need to make an effort to hire a diverse group of people, interview people from all backgrounds and listen to the voices of those who the news directly affects. In a Forbes article, it says, "Firstly, they need to increase the diversity of the newsroom to increase the reference points available for decision-making in the moment, and decrease the risk that comes with homogeneous in-groups."

Picture source: stearns.wordpress.com

 

Representation in Advertisements

Marketing and advertising impact most of our lives on a daily basis, influencing what we buy and who we buy it from, but what is often overlooked is who is being represented in these ads. A lot of people in the United States turn on the television or scroll on Instagram and never once see a person that looks like them in an advertisement.

Without a diverse range of people in advertising there will be groups of people who feel excluded from certain markets and this creates a difficult position for consumers and brands. In a business.com article it says, "It has been proven that diversity offers many benefits to businesses, and marketing is no exception. Having a diverse marketing strategy gives your business several advantages, including helping you delve deeper into the minds of your customers."

The Benefit of Diversity 

In journalism, news that is created by a diverse group of people will not only be more interesting, because of collaboration of different ideas, but it will be more truthful because it represents all people. If readers see themselves and people like them displayed accurately in the media, they would most likely trust these sources more.

In advertising, both companies and consumers would benefit from more diversity. People deserve to see themselves represented in the media they consume.

It needs to be a collaborative effort of everyone who produces and consumes media to make sure every single person is represented in the way they deserve.