9 begin Diversity Institute training on their way to newsroom jobs
By Catalina Camia
Freedom Forum diversity fellow
05.29.02
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When the police scanner squawks, Roxye Arellano usually is the first person at the Greeley (Colo.) Daily Tribune to alert an editor or reporter that news might be in progress.
Arellano does some writing as a news assistant. But she yearns to be a reporter so she can tell the stories of the community she calls home.
She will get some journalism training this summer at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University, which will help newsrooms develop talent in their own circulation areas. The goal is to train people of color for a second career in journalism.
"I could sit here and be a typist all my life, but I don’t want to do that," said Arellano, a mother of four. "I've got the eyes and ears to be a good journalist, so why not me?"
The nine fellows in the institute's inaugural class each have been nominated by a newspaper, which has agreed to hire them as full-time journalists after 12 weeks of training. The Freedom Forum pays all expenses of the training — tuition, housing, travel to and from the institute in Nashville — and provides a small living stipend during the program.
"Homegrown talent is important," said Charles L. Overby, chairman and chief executive officer of the Freedom Forum. "Newspapers will get the benefit of having people with knowledge of the community and the commitment to stay and grow with the newspaper."
The first class begins June 2 and runs through Aug. 23. It will include instruction in newsgathering skills as well as discussions about journalistic values, such as credibility.
The fellows also will get a chance to write for Davidson A.M., a zoned edition of The Tennessean in Nashville, as part of a mini-internship.
The inaugural class includes a retired pipefitter, whose career was cut short by a disabling accident; a former machine operator, who has dreamed of working at his local newspaper since sixth grade; a secretary with a flair for graphic design; and a one-time newspaper circulation manager.
Some fellows have done free-lance work for their local newspapers, submitting restaurant reviews or feature stories. A few have done internships at their sponsoring newspapers to get a taste for journalism and see if they would like to make a career change.
But none has formal training in interviewing sources, writing on deadline, capturing breaking news on film, or the other skills needed for successful careers at daily newspapers. All nine share something with working journalists everywhere: a passion and desire for the business.
"I'm excited because I’ll get professional instructions in the ways of journalism," said Margaret Bailey, who spent 20 years as a pipefitter at a paper mill near her Savannah, Ga., home. "I'll be with others who, like me, need answers to questions on how to become a good journalist and won’t feel out of place."
My-Ly Nguyen, who recently earned her master’s in business administration from Binghamton University in New York, says she wants to pursue a journalism career because it’s exciting and challenging.
"I want to be part of the action," said Nguyen, who will join the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton after completing her training. "There’s nothing like being in a newsroom when there’s breaking news ... . It’s enough to keep me coming back again and again."
The news industry has had a tough time identifying, training and keeping talented journalists of color in newsrooms. Slightly more than 12% of the journalists working at daily newspapers are black, Hispanic, Native American or Asian-American, according to the latest survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. But that figure lags far behind the 30% of people of color who live in the United States.
Wanda Lloyd, executive director of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, said newspapers must go beyond identifying and training young people of color if the industry is going to keep pace with America’s diversity.
"We've got to expand our reach for potential candidates to fill this pipeline," she said. "The beauty of our program is finding people who are changing careers and are a little older. We’ve got to use that group to boost the numbers."
For journalists of color, the traditional route to a newsroom looks something like this: A journalism or communications degree, work on the campus newspaper, several internships, an entry-level job at a small- or medium-size newspaper or, perhaps, a couple of years in a training program, such as those sponsored by the Tribune Co., Hearst Newspapers or Knight Ridder.
Michael Chihak, editor and publisher of the Tucson Citizen, said the Diversity Institute was different because it involved people with a stake in the community and was targeted specifically at increasing newsroom diversity.
"There’s nothing wrong with traditional journalism schools, but the focal point is a bit different than it is in a newsroom," Chihak said. "The institute will offer a foundation of thought and discussion about diversity, so the participants can come to their sponsoring newspapers armed with that as part of their culture."
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