Spelling out ways to talk about race

Commentary

By Wanda Lloyd
Executive director, Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University

11.26.01

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How do you spell race?

Easy, one letter at a time.

That's not only a good idea for spelling the word, but for having conversations about race in newsrooms: One step at a time.

Yet another survey — this one a look at past surveys — has documented the fact that people who work in newsrooms have a hard time talking about the delicate issue of race. That's not good.

According to the research analysis recently conducted for the American Society of Newspaper Editors by Larry McGill, "Journalists of color are not convinced that they have equal opportunities for advancement or that they are being judged by the same evaluative criteria as white journalists."

McGill reviewed 13 surveys of minority journalists conducted from 1989 to 2000.

"Journalists of color feel strongly that they have made their concerns known, but that they haven't yet been heard," McGill said.

Haven't been heard? For more than a decade, journalists of color (and in some cases, whites) have given voice to the disparities for people of color in promotions and high-profile assignments. Now comes the ASNE survey, funded by The Freedom Forum, which documents once again why, proportionately, more journalists of color than whites are leaving their jobs in daily newspaper newsrooms.

(An April 2001 ASNE newsroom census showed that more journalists of color left the business in 2000 — 698 — than were hired in first-time positions — almost 600.)

According to McGill's analysis, the key reasons journalists of color give for leaving the business are a lack of professional challenge and limited opportunities for advancement.

Except, perhaps, for a few souls who still may be living in the mental age of hot type and manual keyboards, this is not news. Why would editors and the industry not know this? Maybe they're just not listening.

This we know:

In 1993, the National Association of Black Journalists' "Muted Voices" report documented the perceptual gap between African-American journalists and white managers in how they viewed the climate for newsroom hiring and advancement. In that report, 97% of newsroom (mostly white) managers said black reporters were as or more likely than other journalists to be given the chance for career advancement opportunities. Only 24% of NABJ members agreed.

The 1990 Asian American Journalists Association's report "Why Asian American Journalists Leave Journalism and Why They Stay" said its members who were likely or very likely to leave the business cited "lack of advancement opportunities" as the top reason.

More recently, a survey linking commitment to diversity and journalistic excellence conducted for the Poynter Institute found that lack of conversations about race leads to frustration among people of color who work in newsrooms. In that survey, conducted by a team led by Utah State University journalism professor Ted Pease, an unnamed black female newspaper journalist addressed the issue this way:

"I was very excited when I landed this job at what I considered one of the country's top-tier newspapers. Now, I thought, I could really make a difference. But I soon discovered that I'm nothing more than window-dressing here. They want to show a black female face in the newsroom, but they don't really want to listen to the perspectives I bring … Changing the faces in the newspaper business is not the same as changing the rock-solid culture of what defines news. I won't be in the business much longer."

So, how DO you spell race? Try this:

R: Raise the race issue not just when there is a crisis, but have periodic conversations about some non-traditional issues, such as neighborhoods that don't get routine coverage or groups whose traditions may be a mystery to most local readers.

A: Assign stories creatively. Do some non-traditional thinking about who gets high-profile assignments, which ultimately lead to promotions and other advancement opportunities.

C: Celebrate the differences among us. Ask people who work in your organization to share their cultural history and traditions.

E: Eat together. When was the last time you asked someone of a different race to have a conversation over a sandwich and soda? You'll be surprised at what you'll learn — and like — about each another.

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