Diversity increases pool of good story ideas
By Christy Mumford Jerding
freedomforum.org
08.09.01
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| Caesar Andrews |
WASHINGTON — Gannett News Service reporters and editors had received the latest U.S. census data and were ready to assign stories. Many of the articles were "predictable," according to GNS Editor Caesar Andrews.
But one idea stood out. A young reporter noticed that the number of Asian Indians had risen dramatically— in fact, it had doubled. The group also enjoyed high incomes. The reporter noted, however, that in his experience, Indians had little political power.
Andrews liked the idea, the reporter wrote the piece and GNS had a story that other news agencies hadn't thought of.
"That's the kind of story that you only get if you have people sitting in the room with a certain amount of insight [and a] grasp of the issues involved," Andrews said.
Andrews, along with three longtime journalism educators, talked about why newspapers need diverse talent at a Freedom Forum panel, "Strengthening Diversity on Campus," at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication convention yesterday.
"Part of what it means to me when I think of diversity and multiculturalism … is the ability to tell a story," Andrews said. "How can we develop a staff and a mindset to tell all the different kinds of stories that need to be told?"
Newspaper journalists of color make up around 12% of all working journalists, while minorities make up 30% of the general population.
But diversity isn't just about having a certain number of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos or Native Americans in the newsroom.
"We're really not talking about race or ethic connections, we're talking about talent," Andrews said. "Who has the ideas, who knows how to respond to breaking news, who can gather facts and impressions, who can write a story, who can present it … so that it's understood by readers. … For me, as with any editor, this is a very practical issue. It's not a philosophical discussion."
For newspapers to find diverse talent, colleges and universities must produce the type of journalists that editors seek. Andrews called on journalism educators to come up with innovative ideas on how to entice talented students of color into journalism and mass communication programs.
"We rely on journalism programs to … engage in a discussion and debate on [diversity]," he said. "The more you can reflect on this topic and do it the right way, the better off [the newspaper industry is] going to be. All of this contributes to helping the industry achieve its goals … more readers, more circulation, more reader satisfaction, listeners, viewers, market share [and ultimately] more profit."
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| Trevor Brown |
Trevor Brown of Indiana University said his program recognized the need to increase the number of minority journalism students as well as make student journalists more aware of the need for diverse coverage.
"Diversity is synonymous with good journalism," Brown said. "The values we associate with accomplished journalism — balance, accuracy, context, relevance — incorporate notions of diversity. [The faculty wondered how to] embed these values in our students from the first moment we encounter them."
So Brown and his colleagues turned to the Poynter Institute for help.
Two trainers "helped us from the bottom up think about how we can incorporate diversity across the curriculum," he said. One trainer was particularly concerned with establishing a system that would exist even if the department's leaders were not as committed to the idea.
"The problem with leadership is that leaders come and go. Individual leaders bring their own particular agenda, and often that agenda leaves with them," Brown said. "[The trainer's] argument was that if we have any prospect of achieving our goals in diversity in this society, those values have to be embedded in the newsroom all the time."
At Indiana, the Poynter staff conducted a workshop for the student newspaper staff. "He got the students to define what they understood, as beginning journalists, were the key values of journalism. He was able to tease out of them the importance of diversity. They took ownership very quickly of that notion."
The students and the Poynter group developed "two or three innovations that I think have significantly enhanced the coverage," Brown said. The trainers also worked with the Indiana faculty to help them "strengthen the incorporation of diversity throughout the curriculum."
Terry Hynes of the University of Florida said that while this systemic approach was important, she believed that leadership remained relevant.
"There is a very important role for leadership, even though leaders may indeed come and go. … There are things that simply will not happen in a newsroom or a department or a school … without leadership," she said. A leader must "set as a priority that diversity is of major importance to … being a real, solid, good program of journalism and communications. [Such a leader] has the power to make a difference. …
"But leadership must be exercised at all levels by people who have the power to persuade," Hynes added. "Without leadership at all levels, then indeed when leadership goes, values have not been embedded."
Hynes also said she was frustrated that progress has been so slow. "Some of us have been talking about this subject longer than even one or two of the people in this room have been alive. I hope it's not the same for you 20 or 30 years down the road. …
"I was thinking, why is this such a pervasive, tough issue? … And [a friend] said to me, well, you know Terry, this is a racist society."
Moderator Wanda Lloyd of The Freedom Forum Institute for Newsroom Diversity (FIND) asked the panelists to offer a few "best practices" to encourage diversity in journalism programs. The suggestions included:
Brown is the winner of The Freedom Forum Journalism Administrator of the Year for 2001. Hynes is a previous winner.