Newsroom diversity: A matter of challenge, not discouragement

Commentary

By John C. Quinn

04.25.06

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John C. Quinn

The American Society of Newspaper Editors announced the results of its annual Newsroom Employment Census this week. As newspapers across the country consider this latest measurement of newsroom diversity, John Quinn trumpets diversity as a principle of a free press.

The time has come to take news-staff diversity off the special-projects agenda and make it the way of life, as the Founding Fathers intended.

“We the People” still means just that. As the complexion and backgrounds of our nation become more diverse, so must the staffing and coverage of the free press to fulfill its obligation to all free people in all quarters of their communities.

This is happening in steady — albeit slow — ways with many successful, if unadvertised, steps toward making staff diversity a key in the newsroom management culture.

The progress is modest but very promising, and it should negate the naysayers and put to rest their diversity fatigue ailments. (By the way, that term — diversity fatigue — should be relegated to the hell box along with hot type and linecaster boxes.)

Granted, the numbers are not where they should be. But this is not a numbers game of tokenism; it is matter of professional principle that must be pursued with smart diligence. And in many communities it can be a key to survival in this age of multimedia mania.

That principle is coming to pass.

Two reasons:

• A growing and impressive pool of diverse young talent of color is flourishing, ready, willing and able to bring their professional training and personal backgrounds into the newsrooms and news columns of strong community newspapers;

• A steady commitment by editors across the USA is making the proper diversity mix a basic tenet of news-staff recruiting, training and, very important, advancement.

Many programs are helping to build the talent pool and helping caring editors to get the right mix.

Consider just one:

The Chips Quinn Scholars internship and scholarship program for college journalism students of color was started in 1991 with six Scholars. This Summer it will pass the 1,000 mark of alums, with 64% of those working in newspaper newsroom roles. They represent 6% of all newspaper-newsroom staffers of color in the USA. The Spring and Summer orientation programs, which identify 75 Scholars a year, have recruiting editors waiting at the door offering internships and career opportunities.

Chips Quinn and programs like it and their participating editors are leading the way to the Founding Fathers’ intent and should be a strong motivation to make news-staff diversity totals a matter of challenge, not one of discouragement.

Rick Rodriguez, president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and executive editor of The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, wrote in a recent column about the secrecy threats to a free press. His wise words also apply to the march for full diversity.

“We can’t wimp out,” he said. “We need to work continuously to become the institution that our readers and our communities trust.”

And need.

And want.

Onward and upward.

Amen.

John C. Quinn is a retired editor of USA TODAY and a retired chief news executive of Gannett Co. He was president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1982 and 1983. He and his wife, Loie, (who passed away last year), co-founded the Chips Quinn Scholars program in memory of their son Chips, who was striving for a diverse news staff as editor of the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal when he died in a car crash in 1990.