Diversity in the Newsroom: The Most Pressing Discussion That Needs to Take Place

Ayden Crowley 

ac893419@ohio.edu

    In our current environment, many are much more open to discussion on race and the importance of diversity in every aspect of our daily lives. Diversity and inclusion is something that can help us build empathy and understanding of each other. It can help to educate us on other's plights and experiences. However, we seem to be behind on diversity in the newsroom. For an institution whose main focus is to serve the public, it is imperative to represent and value everyone's voice to better not only ourselves but our work in turn. 

Image courtesy of Pew Research Center

    

    

    The SPJ informs journalists that they should, "examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting." Everyone has bias whether implicit or explicit. Unfortunately, as discussed in previous blog posts, objectivity is simply not a reality. No matter how hard we try, reporters will always subconsciously carry their experiences and their world views into the stories they choose to tell. With this in mind, to be more faithful to the people we are trying to serve, change needs to take place. The American Press Institute puts it this way, "journalism, in its truest form, should be produced for the benefit of all, not only those who wield a particular power, class or authority." When you have newsrooms that are severely lacking in diversity you fester the very thing you hope to diminish. Conversation tends to be much more one sided and you are less understanding of the opinions of minority groups. We can see this take place, most notably, in our discussion about the Carson King case. Our discussion included the question: How would this situation change if the newsroom were more diverse? Our group concluded, that with a more diverse newsroom, the decision would more accurately reflect the concerns of those affected by the content of the tweet. 

    However, it does not stop there. It goes beyond just the reporters themselves. Those in the decision making process need to see change as well. Those in the decision making process create an echo chamber effect leaving those without an outlet to express their concerns. This is a problem that has been pervasive for a while. Forbes includes the number of damaging mistakes those in the decision making process could have avoided with a more diverse group. They concluded that, "Good people make mistakes. Good people apologize for them. But there needs to be a sustained pattern of improvement." And that hits at the heart of the issue. There needs to be a more concrete movement towards growth.