Nomination: Sharon Rosenhause

10.12.06

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Sun-Sentinel

Dear Judges:

In any way you choose to measure, Sharon Rosenhause has posted impressive results. She has had an enormous impact in every category of the criteria that has been established for this honor. In journalism circles, she is known throughout the United States for her passion, her commitment and her ability to create positive change for minority journalists. Whether she is at work or on her own personal time, her commitment to diversity is unwavering.

From the very first day she walked through the door at the Sun-Sentinel more than five years ago, Sharon became a force of change in the newsroom. Through her efforts, she has moved newsroom diversity from below 19% to more than 29%. She initiated a system for hiring and has been steadfast in her commitment to alter the makeup of our staff to better reflect the region we serve.

Our candidate pools must be diverse and, for some positions, Sharon insists on bilingual candidates only. In doing so, Sharon is molding our staff to better serve our community — located in one of the most culturally diverse regions of the United States. In addition to her daily duties, Sharon personally attends nearly every minority journalist convention, their locally sponsored events and has involved every senior editor and every person available to recruit as part of an action plan to identify and hire minority journalists. She has been able to recruit top-level minority senior managers such as Pat Thompson, our deputy managing editor for business, Sunday and foreign and national, and Tony Marcano, our Sunday editor. She has created opportunities for other diverse staffers to be in line for further advancement.

These efforts have not gone unnoticed in the industry. In its statement following the release of the 2006 Newsroom Employment Census, the National Association of Black Journalists said: "…the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has delivered remarkable change over the past few years, showing a dramatic increase in newsroom diversity from 14.9% in 1998 to 29% in 2006."

Development
Sharon has created newsroom programs ranging from mentoring to specialized training for minorities who demonstrate an ability to lead and assume additional duties. One of these is our newsroom Diversity Committee. Its subcommittee on mentoring has successfully pair senior managers with diverse staffers to provide a connection to the senior staff as well as help prepare minority staffers for higher-level positions. We have more managers of color since Sharon's arrive, up 5% to 22.5%, and they are making a difference in the way we pursue the news.

Sharon's concern for developing young people is evident in our newsroom and in the industry. She is a keen supporter of the Sun-Sentinel's summer program for minority high school journalists and our college intern program, which is regularly more than 50% diverse. Sharon proposed and found funding for a Florida Society of Newspaper Editors multimedia scholarship for diverse college students. And when the American Society of Newspaper Editors had trouble finding a Florida sponsor for its annual diversity job fair, Sharon intervened, bringing together ASNE and the Poynter Institute. The first such job fair will be held in November at Poynter.

Content
Content audits by our Diversity Committee identified areas for improvement and a race and demographic team — formed by Sharon — has created richer content for our readers. The team works under the supervision of an editor and includes specialty writers for African American affairs, Caribbean affairs, Hispanic affairs, exile community issues, gay and lesbian issues and immigration.

We have stories about people of color in our paper virtually every day. These stories help all our readers better know their changing community. Sharon has initiated several major projects in South Florida highlighting the unique diversity. Several of those efforts have been nationally recognized, including our package on Holocaust survivors — South Florida has the second largest community in the United States — and a series on AIDS in the Caribbean and AIDS in South Florida.

Commitment and Involvement
Let's take a look at some of Sharon's past associations, initiatives and examples of her level of involvement in diversity issues:

• Board member, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, and the advisory board of the Race and Diversity Workshop at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

• 2005-06 chair of ASNE's Diversity Committee

• Member, National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association; Asian American Journalists Association; National Association of Black Journalists; National Association of Hispanic Journalists

• Attended the Race and Diversity Workshop at Columbia University and was recognized with the "Let's Do It Better!" Career Achievement Award.

• Former board member, Associated Press Managing Editors; Journalism and Women Symposium; California Society of Newspaper Editors

• Hosted third annual ASNE Diversity Leadership Institute at the Sun-Sentinel in 2006

In paying tribute to Robert G. McGruder, a colleague said of him: "He so believed in the richness of diversity that he made it part of the way we think and act … not some self-conscious afterthought."

I read this statement and I think of Sharon and what she brings to our newsroom. The Freedom Forum and APME could find no better model to illustrate the power of commitment and dedication to diversity than Sharon Rosenhause.