The Benefits of a Diverse Newsroom

 Henry Jost

hj574419@ohio.edu

Official White House Photo Joyce N. Boghosian

Our country is full of many diverse and opinionated people who come from various backgrounds. Still, many voices that represent America aren't represented in journalism as well as they should be. That is why many newsrooms do not accurately reflect America's diversity. 

One of the biggest hurdles journalists face during this political climate is earning the public's trust. To earn their trust, we must represent the public in our newsrooms. Every journalist has a different life experience, which is optimistic that many newsrooms have yet to take advantage of. I think journalists must understand that certain journalists better tell specific stories because they have a different life experience that is more useful for covering particular communities or stories. While a journalist must try and look past their own life experiences and report on stories as fair and accurate as they can, having a diverse newsroom that represents America positively affects the stories told.

One of the reasons there is such a significant disconnect with the media because they don't understand the people they are covering. When we give people a voice that usually doesn't have one, it doesn't just result in more interesting stories, but it also benefits the people who pay attention to our work and the ones who have now been given a voice. According to Pew research, more than 8 in 10 Americans get their news from social media. I think this is because people can follow and read stories put out by people that they feel better to represent themselves and their communities.

When diversity in the newsroom is at its utmost importance, it appears that in many newsrooms, it is declining, according to A Status of Women in Media Report. This report found that in 2017, only 37 percent of opinion pieces on abortion were written by women. I believe that specific issues deserve to be told by certain journalists who better understand the issue because it more appropriately pertains to them. Journalists, publishers, and media corporations need to learn that having a diverse team of journalists is better for their brand and journalism as a whole because it brings in new consumers and enhances their way of communication.