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THE FUTUREOF DIVERSITYIN THE NEWS

The future of diversity in the news

A REPORT to THE FORD FOUNDATION from theAMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEWS EDITORS

2011-2012


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News diversity is an even bigger challenge now than it was nearly a half-century ago,

when its landscape in the United States was mostly black and white, when ink-on-

paper held a more dominant role in the delivery of news and when the newspaper

industry was in its nancial heyday.

In the ensuing four-plus decades, legacy newspapers newsrooms have become decidedly

more diverse in both their make-up and their output. Yet, many of the same coverage, ac-

curacy and credibility issues that sparked the initial concerns remain among communities of

color. More and more minority journalists are leaving the news businesssome by chance,

others by choice. Organizations fear that progress on many fronts is in full retreat. Yesterdays

goals, unfortunately, were never reached, and tomorrows are even higher.

We must resume the march forward.

The vocabulary and the indices of news diversity must progress. Minority stafng, train-

ing, retention and advancement remain essential. What is most important in the future, how-

ever, is the impact they have on news contentthe principal driver of audience, engagement

and the interactive experience of news consumption.

In addition, news diversity must be seen to support a business model. That model needs

to reect the ability of relevant content to reach target audiences willing to pay for more effec-

Executive Summary

E X E C U T I V E

S U M M A R Y

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tive and essential news and information and a more essential experience.

The urgency of the moment favors those who already value diversity over those yet to be

convinced. For those who see diversity as a core value, it will require the identication of new

resources to fund special efforts, while at the same time making diversitys basics a cost of

doing business. Knowledge of diverse communities, including their many nuances, will need

to be a core competency in the newsroom, around the business-side tables and in the board-

room as well.

There are programs that work to address diversity challenges old and newprograms

to knock down silos and make diversity something we talk about and something we do, too.

There are ways to develop news managers and leaders of color; and to identify talent early

and nurture it well. There are programs that constantly seek to improve the depth and sophis-

tication of news of diverse communities. There are programs on entrepreneurship, as well ashow to approach the new media. There even are monitors of diversity in online news.

The Old Guard will need to cede some ground. Daily newspaper newsrooms reect diver-

sity in the news industry less so than they did 30, 40or even ve or 10years ago. Nearly all

of the larger daily newsrooms (which accounted for most of the diversity in the industry) are

downsizing.

The growth shows up in smaller digital operations and in niche product start-ups, many

of which are aimed expressly at minority communities or even niches within the niches. And

E X E C U T I V E

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diversity is being dened and identied in a plethora of non-ethnic ways.

As part of its new role, the legacy daily news industry will do well to turn more to

others for lessons in diversity success:

to the U.S. military, for whom necessity has proven to be a mother of innovation

for human resources managers;

to cable television networks, which have found ways to reach diverse audiences

with creative programming;

to management trainers, who have linked impediments to diversity to more

fundamental workplace traits.

Younger journalists of color are more entrepreneurial than their predecessors. They

exhibit more independence. They are less likely to covet long-term careers with legacy giants.

They inhabit the online and social media world. Blacks and Latinos have emerged as the most

frequent users of mobile media for news and information.And diversity has taken on a more generic identity, even seen as a way to drive the cov-

eted process of innovation. It can improve the news, the welfare of the community and the

business bottom line.

News diversity is a 21st-century imperative.

Milton ColemanASNE PRESIDENT, 2010-11,

THE WASHINGTON POST

E X E C U T I V E

S U M M A R Y

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C O N T E N T S

Introduction 7

A look back at diversity in the newsroom 12

Projects for diversity: A look at success 16

Where we are with diversity 29

Voices from the new media generation 34

Where diversity discussions might be headed 36

Diversity drives innovation. Innovation drives dollars 38

New business models at work 40

The media, minorities and mobile 46

Recruiting for diversity 48

The future of diversity in the news 51

V I D E O S

MILTON COLEMAN 6

ALY COLN 6

MEI-MEI CHAN 52

DORI MAYNARD 52

MIKE ORESKES 52

DORIS TRUONG 52

C H A R T S

Employment at daily papers 15

Mobile device usage by ethnicity 47

Strategies for mobile audiences 47

Chart notes from the conference 53

Diversitys future in the news media

C R E D I T S

Written by ALY COLN

Designed by SARA QUINN

Photos by KENNY IRBY,MICHAEL LUTZKY, JIM STEM,

AND ISTOCK

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If you are viewing this as a

PDF le on your computer,

you may view videos from

the key players in the project.

Click on the images

to the right to hear from

former ASNE President

MILTON COLEMAN and the

author of this report, ALY

COLN.

(The videos may take

a moment to load,

please be patient.)

Video messages from

Milton Coleman and Aly Coln

MILTON COLEMAN (CLICK ON IMAGE)

ALY COLN (CLICK ON IMAGE)

6

RONNIE AGNEW,Mississippi Public Broadcasting;Co-Chair, ASNE DiversityCommittee

BOBBI BOWMAN, ASNE

DANA CANEDY,The New York Times

MEI-MEI CHAN,The News Press, Ft. Myers, FL

MAE CHENG, amNewYork, NY

MILTON COLEMAN,President, ASNE

ALY COLN, ASNEDESIREE DANCY,The New York Times

JEANNE FOX-ALSTON,NAA Foundation

JOANNA HERNANDEZ,Unity: Journalists of Color

KENNY IRBY,The Poynter Institute

KAREN MAGNUSON,Co-Chair, ASNE DiversityCommittee

DORI MAYNARD,The Maynard Institute

ARLENE MORGAN,Columbia University GraduateSchool of Journalism

MICHAEL ORESKES,The Associated Press

MICHELE SALCEDO,National Association ofHispanic Journalists

VIRGIL SMITH,Gannett Company

ERNEST SOTOMAYOR,Columbia University GraduateSchool of Journalism

WALT SWANSTON, ASNE

HOLLIS TOWNS, AssociatedPress Managing Editors

DORIS TRUONG,Asian American JournalistsAssociation

LEADERSHIP IN DIVERSITY COORDINATING COMMITTEE


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The future of diversity in the newsmay manifest itself increasingly in new and varied ways: A website. A blog.

A tweet. A Facebook update. Mobile phone access. And in outlets and media

emerging and not yet known.

These opportunities presented themselves during diversity conferences held

under the auspices of the American Society of News Editors in 2011. They rep-

resent new options for pursuing an old goal that the news media began pursu-

ing more intently toward the end of the 20th century to diversify their staffs,

and by extension, their coverage.

The promise these new tools offer is a shift in approach to the diversity discussion, as well

as how it takes place and what it involves. This shift may open more paths for those who

seek novel opportunities for journalists of color and for those who desire creative options for

connecting with diverse communities.

What it signies about how the future of diversity in the news may be framed became ap-

parent during a conversation between Milton Coleman and Aly Coln in July, 2011. The

conversation occurred at a place with its own diversity elements and suggested by Coleman,

a senior editor at The Washington Post, a past president of ASNE, and the current president

MILTON COLEMAN, ASNE

PRESIDENT, 2010-11,

THE WASHINGTON POST

ALY COLN, REPORT AUTHOR

INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST,

ASNE CONSULTANT

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of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). We met at the Mio restaurant, which spe-

cializes in diverse Latin American urban cuisine in Washington. D.C. and is managed by a

Puerto Rican.

During that lunch meeting, we talked about what Coleman wanted from the group of

journalists he had assembled to put on two diversity conferences. Funding for the conferenc-

es and other work associated with them came from the McCormick Foundation, the PhilipL. Graham Fund, Gannett Foundation and The New York Times. Our discussion that day

focused on how we wanted to shape the report being nanced by the Ford Foundation that

would draw upon these conferences and industry interviews and research.

We agreed we needed to document the outcome of ASNEs goal to increase minority

representation in daily newspapers, an effort that began in 1978. We also wanted to high-

light diversity programs that worked. And we reected on what had changed with regard

to diversity in the news media, why it changed and the impact. Diversity, as we knew it, isover, Coleman said.

What has also become clear is that while the size of the legacy medias newsrooms

diminish, the digital side keeps growing. But unlike the growth of minority representation

that had taken place in traditional newsrooms in the past, once reaching almost 13 percent,

minorities make up less than 2 percent of the digital staff. And traditional newsrooms began

experiencing a decline in diversity that has been documented by the annual census of news-

rooms surveyed by ASNE.

While there was progress over the past three decades, the progress doesnt match the

Newspapers wont occupy

the same position of power andinuence they once did

Newsrooms are not as large

as they once were.

Newswhere it emanates

from, who produces it, and who

receives itis more

democratized

New jobs are emerging and

being handled by a smaller

newsroom

The atomization move

Milton Coleman notes signs of

changing diversity in the news

M

ichaelLutzky/WashingtonPost

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U.S. population as a whole, said Karen Magnuson, editor and vice president/news of the

Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y., and co-director of ASNEs diversity committee.

In fact the newspaper industry is now losing ground, she added. This year, minorities

in newsrooms accounted for 12.7 percent, a decline of .47 percent. And this marks the third

year in a row of declines.

The focus on increasing minority representation in newsrooms may no longer carry thesame imperative it once did. It may require a change in the way we frame future discussions.

We need to try to change the newsroom argument, Coleman said. We need to move it

away from numbers to content.

That content can now be created and distributed in distinct ways that have emerged with

new technological tools, increasing the number of outlets accessible to individuals and orga-

nizations. These new communication tools make it possible for minorities and non-minor-

ities, for legacy media and new media, to zero in on diverse communities and inform themabout news and information that matters to them.

When you consider that the U.S. Census shows that minorities made up almost half of

this countrys births in 2009, and minorities will become the majority population within the

next four decades, the business imperative for diversity becomes even more appealing.

We need to nd the diverse audiences that will make money, said Coleman, who worked

with others dedicated to diversifying the news to bring together professionals from news,

diversity and social media to talk about where wed been and where we needed to go.

Two conferences took place this year under Colemans leadership, focusing on New

This year minorities in

newsrooms accounted for

12.79 percent, a decline of

.47 percent. And this marks

the third year in a row of

declines.

KAREN MAGNUSON, Editor,Vice President of the Rochester

Democrat and Chronicle, and

co-chair of ASNEs Diversity

committee

Diversity, as we knew it, is over.MILTON COLEMAN

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Models for Growing Audiences, Talent and Revenue.Walt Swanston, the former direc-

tor of diversity at NPR and an ASNE consultant on diversity, and Mei-Mei Chan, president

and publisher ofThe News-Press Media Group in southwest Florida, helped direct and co-

ordinate a group of journalism volunteers representing a variety of news organizations and

social media representatives.

A June conference in Orlando, Fla held in conjunction with the National Associationof Hispanic Journalists conference, explored where diversity in the news media stood, what

needed to be done to cover todays diverse communities and what new models might be

considered.

Diversity is not a consideration but an expectation, said Hollis Towns, executive editor

and vice president of news at, The Asbury Park Press in New Jersey.

We need to keep diversity top of mind, especially when the publisher calls and asks to

meet numbers. Someone took a chance on me, Towns said, making it possible for him tosucceed. Diversity is the business of what we do.

In September, a conference in New York Citysought to reframe the diversity dis-

cussion. It dealt with the organizational, business and technological benets for those who

want more thats different, rather than more of the same.

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., publisher ofThe New York Times and chairman of The New

York Times Company, welcomed participants to the Times conference center. We must see

our audiences and know them. But how do we reach them? he said. The timing is right.

TONJA BROWN, CNN senior

editor for strategic integra-

tion talks with SWEET-JOY

HACHUELA at the SeptemberASNE Leadership in Diversity

Session at The New York

Times.

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These days we have the ability to know more about them than ever before. We use Facebook

to know who they are, location-based apps like Foursquare to know where they are and

Twitter to know what they are saying. We must embrace diversity.

Magnuson made her own appeal. When it comes to the industrys survival, it becomes an

issue of accuracy and credibility, rst and foremost, but we need to make urgent progress in

serving minority communities with better and more targeted journalism, she said.As the discussion of diversity took on new ideas and different frameworks, one thing

stood out. What happens next on advancing the concept of diversity in the news media can-

not be dependent on legacy institutions alone. They nd themselves struggling to redesign,

reorient and revive themselves.

Instead, diversitys future must now embrace:

Those individuals who believe diversity matters to their success Those individuals who see opportunities in the technological frontier where new

tools allow communication to take place with diverse communities

Those individuals who want to connect with diverse communities where they are

And those individuals who seek ways to provide news in a manner that diverse

audiences want to receive it.

Diversitys future in the news media must be built upon its past successes, its present ef-

forts and its future innovation.

We must see our audiences and know them.But how do we reach them?ARTHUR SULZBERGER, JR.

While the size of legacy

medias newsrooms

diminishes, the digital side

keeps growing. Less than

two percent of the digital

staff, however, includes

people from different races.

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A look back at diversity in the newsroom

To appreciate what the future holds regarding diversity, it may help to see what ignited

the issue in the 20th century. Racial issues, conicts and riots erupted in the U.S. during the

1960s and brought a spotlight to the news medias role in its coverage of them.

The Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, better known as

the Kerner Commission report, delved into the news medias coverage of the 1967 summer

riots.

While the Kerner Commission concluded that the news media tried to provide a bal-

anced, factual account of the 1967 disorders, it also asserted that it failed to report ad-

equately on the causes and consequences of civil disorders and on the underlying problems

of race relations.

Among its recommendations, the commission urged that reporters familiar with urban

and racial issues be assigned to the black communities. It also suggested more recruitment

of blacks into newsroom ranks.

A decade later, ASNE began an annual census of newspaper minority employment. It did

so to offer a reliable baseline against which future progress can be judged, wrote Jay T.

Harris, then assistant dean of Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He

introduced a summary of the report in the spring of 1978.

The study reported that in the 10 years since the Kerner Commission report the percent-

Key reports on newsroom

diversity done in 1968 and

1978 show signicant trends

over time, with a current

downward turn in employ-

ment over recent years.

Photos above give a glimpse

of the past, in the newsrooms

of The New York Times and

the front page of the Topeka

State Journal. Photos from

the Library of Congress.

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age of daily newspapers with a minority journalist had only risen to 32 percent from 20 per-

cent. It also noted that minority journalists accounted for only 3.95 percent of the staff, com-

pared with minorities totaling 17 percent of the population. Minorities are underutilized

and underrepresented in newspaper management, the study said, totaling only 1 percent.

The report also noted some other key ndings: The best minority employment records occurred at newspapers that set objectives

and strove strongly to meet them

Minority coverage excelled when integrated with total community coverage

The lack of jobs among minorities in cities turned out to be the biggest non-

reported story about minorities of the decade

The ASNE committee issuing the report cited guidelines for newspapers seeking how torecruit, train and retain minority employees. The committee urged newspapers to keep the

pressure on, develop personal relationships and make sure minority candidates have an op-

portunity to succeed. It pushed for the creation of appropriate standards, and for training on

basic requirements and sharing expertise.

The passion for change involving diversity became especially apparent when the com-

mittee worked with the staff associated with the staff of the Summer Program for Minority

Journalists at the Institute for Journalism Education, which began as the Michele Clark

Summer Program for Minority Journalists at the Graduate School of Journalism of Colum-

1967 The Kerner Commis-

ion Report advocated that

reporters familiar with urban

and racial issues be assigned

to the black communities. It

also suggested more recuit-

ment of blacks into its ranks.

1978 The ASNE annual

census of newspaper

minority employment pushed

for the creation of appropri-

ate standards and training.

Early reports on diversity made

strong recommendations

Racial issues, conicts and riots during the1960s brought a spotlight to the news mediasrole in its coverage of them.

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bia University and which would later become the Maynard Institute. Robert Maynard, a

director with the program spoke frankly to committee members. The committee members

reported that Maynard has also suggested that if the news business does not further deseg-

regate newsrooms on its own initiative, there are those determined to use the full force of

law to attempt to bring it about.

When it released the study, ASNE set several goals for minority employment, includingurging the industry to aim for newsrooms that mirrored minorities percentage of the popu-

lation as a whole.

The ASNE annual census became an annual snapshot of minority employment in news-

papers. It captured successes and setbacks. The percentage of minorities inched up incre-

mentally, from 3.95 percent in 1978, to 4.22 percent in 1979 to 4.89 percent in 1980, to 5.27

in 1981. By 1982, the rate of growth began slowing, reaching only 5.51 percent. In 1983, it

ground to a near halt, the study reported, topping out at 5.60 percent.

The next year it began growing again, making modest gains that continued until about

2007. The urge to diversify the American newsroom manifested itself in a variety of ways.

Newspapers created diversity committees. A number of news organizations made a concert-

ed effort to seek out, recruit, train and promote minority journalists.

Groups including the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association

of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Associations, and the Native Ameri-

At a peak in both 2006 and

2007, the percentage ofminorities employed in U.S.

newsrooms was estimated

at 7,400.

The ASNE workplace census

began in 1978

More than 6,000 journalists gathered inAtlanta in 1994 for the rst Unity convention.

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Minority employment at daily newspapers

Projections based on responses to annual employment census (numbers rounded)

SOURCE: ASNE

can Journalists Association sought to help their members receive training and invited news

organizations to their annual conventions. In the mid-1990s, NABJ, NAHJ, AAJA and NAJAbanded together to hold the rst of their periodic Unity Conventions.

The minority associations began projects that sought to increase opportunities for their

membership to move into leadership positions and partner with news organizations to

improve diversity. AAJAs executive leadership program and NAHJs Parity Project were

just two examples. The Maynard Institute, the Freedom Forums Diversity Institute, ASNEs

Diversity Leadership Institutes and the Poynter Institute were among those offering oppor-

tunities to educate and train journalists and news organizations about diversity.

TOTALNEWSROOMWORKFORCE

MINORITYNEWSROOMWORKFORCE

YEAR 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10

1,700

1978

1990

4,500

5,300

2011

41,6007,400

2007

7,400

2006

53,60056,900

43,000

55,000

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Projects for diversity and how they work

The latter part of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st century saw a number of

organizations engaging in projects aimed at improving diversity in the news media. Here is asampling of them, as articulated by those most familiar with how they worked.

Mei-Mei Chan, President and Publisher, The News-Press Media Group, Fort Myers, FL

I brought together nearly 60 individuals across departments in a strategic plan-

ning process last summer. This included line employees up to department heads.

Some had never worked with or even spoken to folks in other departments. Most had

not been involved in strategic development. The objectives and outcomes included:

Gaining diverse perspectives to help develop our strategic plans.

Educating staff about our organization in its broad scope.

Breaking down silos and building new relationships.

Energizing staff with a strategic vision and a call to innovation.

More substantive results because of our inclusive process, helping inform a

more robust strategic roadmap

MEI-MEI CHAN, THE NEWS-PRESS MEDIA GROUP

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Joanna Hernandez, President, Unity, Journalists of Color

New U: News Entrepreneurs Working Through UNITY is a competitive program

for journalists of color who want to become news entrepreneurs. Founded in 2010

with a grant from The Ford Foundation, New U has helped increase the number ofinnovative thinkers and product developers who are of color, providing them with a

forum in which to develop and express innovative ideas.

In addition to offering a unique formula based in training and one-on-one mentor-

ing, New U includes a competition for start-up funding to assist media entrepreneurs

in realizing their ideas. It is a project with tremendous energy, driven by committed

volunteer mentors and speakers and motivated competitive applicants.

Earlier this year, The Ford Foundation renewed its commitment to the program

with a grant to run the program for an additional two years. This enables selected

journalists of color to participate in a 2.5-day boot camp and includes a competition

for start-up funding to assist news entrepreneurs in realizing their ideas.

The winning entrepreneurs are awarded seed money to help fund their business

ideas; four news entrepreneurs were awarded $5,000 each in 2010; the start-up fund

for the class of 2011 is $10,000 each.

New U is implemented out of the UNITY: Journalists of Colors headquarters in

collaboration with UNITYs alliance partners.

JOANNA HERNANDEZ,PRESIDENT OF UNITY

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Rhonda LeValdo-Gayton, President, Native American Journalist Association.

The Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) hosted a program called

New Media in Indian Country last spring 2011 at the University of Oklahoma

(where our ofces are). The program was to introduce tribes to different forms ofmedia that were being used by tribes and maybe get them to be more involved.

The program though was not only for Natives it was open to everyone, and I think

a lot of our guests were quite surprised to learn that tribes are using technology to

help keep their culture alive.

For example, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma worked with Apple to have the

Cherokee Language be an option on the iPad, iPhone, and computers so that their

tribal members could type and text in Cherokee.

This not only engages the user to keep using their language, but also keeps the lan-

guage alive in our younger generation, who likes to text and be on computers.

Another example was a tribe who was using the Internet to broadcast their own

newscast about their tribe. It not only gave their own tribal members news about

their tribe, but also, outsiders who wanted to watch as well.

The whole program was broadcast via livestream to those outside of Oklahoma

who wanted to view the workshop. We are hoping we can do this again in the spring,

I think it showed many people that tribal members are engaging in technology.

RHONDA LEVALDO-GAYTON,

NATIVE AMERICAN

JOURNALIST ASSOCIATION

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Marian Liu, Community Manager at Storify.com

There are two programs that I was involved in that I think worked out. First

Voices that I directedits a multimedia program for minorities where we train them

in all the different disciplines. The other one was one I worked with Knight Ridderona leadership forum for employees under 30, to share their ideas with the execu-

tives. I think the most important is not only to count diversity in race, but gender and

ageand to make sure its reected in their coverage and in the voice the employees

have the organization. These two programs were successful because they strove to

represent and to reect.

Its a difcult path these days. I have a lot of friends who have left the business.

The usual statistic I hear is that minority journalists leave after 5 years after seeing

there is little chance of advancement. I think that the number of years is even less

these days. Now, media often cut the ones with less seniority rst - and this often-

times means the minority journalists, so numbers are real low. Looking into the next

wave of journalismin the entrepreneur arena, the minority numbers still look very

bleak. I think organizations, like ASNE, need to hold old media as well as new media

accountable for hiring and growing minority journalists.

MARIAN LIU,

STORIFY.COM

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Dori Maynard, president, Maynard Institute

Our organization has a four-decade history of training journalists of color to work

in and lead news organizations across the country. Currently, our training offerings

include digital training and management/leadership training. Even in this treacher-ous climate, our graduates are continuing to lead and innovate in the industry. Some

of those who have been laid off credit us with giving them the skills to start anew as

entrepreneurs.

We attribute our success to the focused and immersive nature of our programs

that allow us to fully ground our participants in the skill sets we are teaching. The

residential programs also give our participants the opportunity to bond with each

other, creating a life-long support network. Many have reported that these networks

have helped them through the rough patches we all endure in our careers. This bond-

ing does not stop with their fellow participants. Maynard Alums also forge strong ties

with the faculty and grads from previous and successive years.

Arlene Notoro Morgan, Associate Dean of Prizes and Programs,Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University

For 10 years, beginning in 1999, the Ford Foundation sponsored the Columbia

DORI MAYNARD,

THE MAYNARD INSTITUTE

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School of Journalisms Lets Do It Better! Workshop on Journalism, Race and Eth-

nicity at Columbia. That led to the creation in 2007 of a text book/DVD/ and website

project called The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity that

is now widely used in journalism programs in college and high school.

First, the workshop enabled Columbias School of Journalism to convene an

important annual event to recognize good work and to use that work to teach otherjournalists how to adapt the projects to the racial and ethnic coverage needs of their

own newsrooms. The workshop also helped top editors and news directors to get over

their fear of conducting conversations about the coverage of race and ethnic issues.

I have used the book and the workshop template in journalism schools and orga-

nizations in China, Spain, New Zealand, including with the Maori, and for custom-

ized workshops targeting international journalists who have come to the school from

Germany, Denmark, and Italy, as well as in my own classroom.

The New Zealand Journalism Association now runs a competition similar to Lets

Do It Better.

I think the investment Ford made in sponsoring these workshops and the book re-

sulted in a long-term payoff that I have not seen with many other journalism training

initiatives. I still hear periodically from editors and reporters who would like me to

resume the workshops because they were of such high value. We are now fund rais-

ing to create a Center on Race and Ethnicity that would include an academic chair, a

fellowship program for professionals and the resumption of Lets Do It Better.

ARLENE NOTORO MORGAN,COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

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The value added here is the book because it allows journalism educators to bring

these stories and the interviews with some top journalists in the eld into the class-

room; many of which have no other way to talk about the coverage of race and ethnic

issues that these students will have to tackle in a changing society, not only here but

globally. This misunderstandings, biases and prejudices about race are global issues,

not just American ones.

Virgil Smith, Vice President/Talent Acquisition and Diversity, Gannett

Gannetts Talent Development Program (TDP) is a model diversity program with

the goal to recruit and retain the highest performing individuals and grow them as

future leaders of the company. Our goal is to ensure Gannetts workforce will reect

our communities.

The TDP strategy is to recruit the highest potential college graduates, place them

in a job at Gannett and have them complete a 10-week orientation- style-training

program. Following the completion of the program, the successful participants are

awarded a full-time position at a Gannett newspaper, television station, digital opera-

tion, or USA TODAY. Currently there are 72 graduates in the program. The program,

which is in its sixth year of existence, has a retention rate of 68%. The ethnic and

gender composition is 36% minority; 64% non-minority; 83% female and 17% male.

The employees work as journalists, sales account executives, marketing specialists,

VIRGIL SMITH, GANNETT

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JEANNE FOX-ALSTONVICE PRESIDENT/NAA FOUNDATIONNEWSPAPER ASSOCIATIONOF AMERICA

Jeanne Fox-Alston, Vice President/NAA Foundation, Newspaper Association of America

Oftentimes, discussion of diversity in the news media focuses on the newsroom. But programs

offered by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation encourage diverse leadership

among those responsible for revenue, audience development and strategyaka the business

sideas well as the newsroom. Indeed, just about every executive or senior manager of colorin the newspaper industry including corporate executives, publishers, advertising and circula-

tion directors, executive editors and more have participated in leadership development pro-

grams offered by NAA and NAAF over the years.

Our current signature program is PowerMind. Over six months, the PowerMind fellows all

managers of color participate in monthly webinars and small group discussions in addition to

talking with their advisers (senior industry executives) and completing assignments.

Further, halfway through the program, the fellows all attend mediaXchange, NAAs annual

convention. For three days, they hear and participate in discussions of current industry issues and

trends while sitting in on sessions on new revenue models, digital strategies, customer engage-

ment and more.

But one of the best things about PowerMind is what they learn from each other. While shar-

ing insights on how to improve specic leadership skills, business-side managers gain a better


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understanding of newsroom culture while those in the newsroom learn about business plans and

return on investment.

When the 2011 PowerMind class graduated last summer, they all talked about increased con-

dence, more clarity about their career goals and how to achieve them, and new and more produc-

tive relationships with colleagues throughout their companies.

One editor, asked about successes because of her participation in PowerMind, shared that shehad supervised a news project that resulted in more than $62,000 in new money. She added,

Thanks to the many tips offered by PowerMind, I teamed up with colleagues in the marketing and

advertising departments to sell ads and sponsorships for the publication of news products in print

and online tied to a single event: the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion. More prots are

anticipated by the end of the year.

These days, nding ways to protably meet the news and information needs of a multicultural

and multigenerational society is a complex task. But as that success story shows, programs like

PowerMind help to break down the silos at news organizations so that the combined expertise of

everyone can be tapped.

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Keith Reed, Senior Editor ESPN The Magazine; Treasurer, National Assoc. of Black Journalists

In 2010, NABJ instituted its Executive Suite program, aimed at preparing African-

American journalists for leadership roles in news organizations. The program runs

during the NABJ convention and is run in partnership with the Executive Leadership

Council, a nonprot organization whose mission is developing African-American corpo-rate leaders. Participants attend classes which have focused on maximizing technology

to engage readers, budgeting, personnel management and successfully navigating their

way into executive roles.

The sessions have been led by leaders including as Mark Whitaker, executive vice

president and managing editor, CNN Worldwide, Jonathan Rodgers, former president,

TV One, and Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman, The New York Times Co. The principleunderlying Executive Suite is that diversity in media companies is a bottom-line busi-

ness imperative and is most efciently achieved when there are diverse executives who

make it a company priority. NABJ, then, must continue its leadership role in developing

a pipeline of African-American journalists ready for executive roles.

26

KEITH REED,SENIOR EDITOR,

ESPN THE MAGAZINE


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As a primary distributor of information, media organizations shape public policy, eco-

nomic trends and every other signicant facet of American life. A homogeneous news me-

dia in an increasingly diverse society, then, is doing a disservice. Recent instances of the

news medias coverage of itself to illustrate the point: industry journal TV Week recently

released its annual list of the most powerful people in television news, which included no

nonwhites.

Likewise, Forbes annual 30 Under 30 list of important media gures included only

one nonwhite person. If the media believes that only whites inside its own ranks who

are noteworthy, how can it be fair or accurate in reporting and shaping a diverse pub-

lics opinions on critical issues? Media companies now and into the future will be more

entrepreneurial organizations in which new content and technologies will be tested and

launched at a rapid pace. Those companies must make sure that a pipeline of diverse tal-ent is working on every initiative from the executive level down.

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Doris N. Truong, President, Asian American Journalists Association

The Asian American Journalists Association started its Executive Leadership Pro-

gram in 1995 to address a lack of our members in newsroom management positions.

ELP helps Asian Americans address cultural issues that might be holding them backin U.S. newsrooms, which have tended to be dominated by Caucasian men who had

a certain expectation of how their managers should look and behave. ELP has nearly

400 graduates, and a large majority of them report that after the program training,

they have earned promotions or moved on to jobs that are more professionally

fullling.

We still have a lot of work ahead of us. Only four publishers of American newspa-

pers are Asian American; two of them are ELP graduates. Only a handful of general

managers at news stations are Asian American. And we dont have data on who is in

charge in digital newsrooms.

We all know that news is more accurate when people who make the decisions

are aware of the many nuances of diversity, which increasingly goes well beyond

ethnicity.

DORIS N. TRUONG, ASIANAMERICAN JOURNALISTS

ASSOCIATION

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By 2010, continued economic turmoil, the deterioration of the traditional news business

model and an uncertain future for newspapers led to belt-tightening and continual rounds of

layoffs. Eventually, the minority employment percentage began to fall.

Magnuson, speaking at the September, 2011 New York City conference on Leadership in

Diversity discussed how that downturn had affected the annual newsroom census.

While there was progress over the past three decades, the progress doesnt match theU.S. population as a whole. In fact, the newspaper industry is now losing ground, Magnu-

son said. This year minorities in newsrooms accounted for 12.7 percent, a decline of .47

percent. And this marks the third year in a row of decline.

There are no gures that report percentages of minorities working for online-only news

websites as adequately as those the annual ASNE census has used to report daily newspaper

newsroom diversity for nearly three decades.

That stems from several factors. The number of online-only news sites participating in the

ASNE survey represents less than fty, compared to several hundred newspapers included

each year. Size plays a role, too, with many of the online-only news sites having fewer than

15 employees. Also, part-timers and freelancers often provide the content to such news sites,

and ASNE hasnt counted them in their surveys. In addition, some larger online organiza-

tions that provide newssuch as AOL-Patch and Yahoodeclined to give out numbers.

In an effort to expand its survey, ASNE has decided to include those of mixed race as part

of their census. That will establish a new baseline.

It may speak to the chal-

lenges faced by onine newsorganizations when it comes

to minority participation. Or it

may simply mean they dont

see diversity as a priority.

Minority jobs among online news

sites are more difcult to track

29

Where we are with diversity


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Whatever the numbers and percentages maybe in the legacy media, or the online me-

dia, Coleman noted that the news media as a whole no longer has the presumed credibility

it may have had at one time with communities of color. No clear business model exists to

support those who specialize in certain types of news, he added. And he pointed out that the

newspapers no longer enjoy the same easy access to people that they once did.

Whats clear is that relevant content is important, Coleman stressed, which means thatdiversity will play an important part of any successful media outlet.

To understand what role diversity can play in the news medias future, the discussion of

that role needs to be reframed, suggested Howie Schaffer, a vice president at Cook Ross

Inc, a rm that specializes in diversity issues.

Schaffer told conference participants that diversity conversations have focused on:

The U.S., race, gender and cultural assimilation

Reparative, us vs. them, equal opportunity, afrmative action, political correctness

Event-based and training-oriented approaches

The diversity discussion needs to be reinvented, he said, to deal with:

Globalism, cultural exibility

Unconscious perceptions and behaviors

Future-oriented, system-based, cultural change

We have culturally competent people working in culturally incompetent organizations,

Schaffer said. They think that if they just hire enough people it will work out. But it doesnt.

Schaffer pointed out that industry research shows that employee performance is declin-

Organizations think that if they just hireenough people it will work out. But it doesnt.HOWIE SCHAFFER, VP AT COOK ROSS, A FIRM THAT SPECIALIZES IN DIVERSITY ISSUES

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ing, with high levels of extra effort declining by 64 percent since 2005; that the disengaged

were 31 percent less likely to quit in 2009 compared to with 2006; that 25 percent of high

potential employees plan to quit in the next 12 months; and employee commitment is up

for grabs, with about three-fourths neither fully committed or uncommitted.

Making people feel included could change that. But the road to inclusion requires people,

and organizations, to move from being blind about their biases to cultural competency, headded. Bringing in diverse people isnt enough. Schaffer used the example of pouring choco-

late syrup milk into a glass of white milk. The chocolate descends to the bottom of the glass.

You need to stir it to get inclusion, he said.

Any lasting change requires moving from awareness to becoming operational to transfor-

mation, Schaffer said. Without knowing the unconscious bias that exists, it becomes difcult

to deal with it. Its easy to miss something youre not looking for, he said.

Recognizing a bias not only enables news people to address it, but also to use it, even

exploit it. The Root, a website owned by the Washington Post Company, focuses on black

news, politics and culture. Founded by the Harvard University professor Henry Louis

Gates, Jr. in 2008, The Root wants its audience to know it provides news and commen-

tary from an African-American perspective.

Why a black website? The Internet is segregated already, said Joel Dreyfuss, The Roots

managing editor. What we see ourselves doing is lling in the gaps, in news coverage.

Root assumes people are getting info from other sources, and we bring the black per-

spective, he said.

MULTI-DIRECTIONAL

CONVERSATION

It becomes important to

recognize the diversity

discussion is not a linear

conversation. Today it

includes many different

groups with discussion

going on between them, as

well as the one that might

take place between just

blacks and whites.

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Dreyfuss noted that most of the diversity discussion in the news media involves hiring,

not coverage. Thats the fundamental issue for African-Americans who want to know whats

happening in their community, he added. For us, were interested in the intellectual life of

Black community, Dreyfuss said.

Launched at the time of the 2008 presidential election, The Root beneted from the

attention generated byBarack Obama. It learned that a strong voice about the newshelped the website become increasingly popular.

We take news and give it an opinionated twist, Dreyfuss said. We take a lot of time to

nd the Root angle on a story. For example, the Arab Spring prompted us to focus on a

Black man who lived in Egypt and how Black people were regarded.

This conscious approach to creating a Black conversation catapulted The Root to become

the No. 1 online destination for a Black audience, Dreyfuss said. The Root draws almost two

million unique visitors a month, he noted, with non-Blacks accounting for between 20 to 30

percent of its users.

While some see opportunities for diversity by narrowcasting, others wonder what it will

take to imbue their own organizations with diversity initiatives that work. In addition, to rec-

ognizing the dimensions of diversity, speaking truth to the diversity, or lack of it, must take

place as well, Schaffer, a VP at the diversity consulting rm of Cook Ross, Inc., said.

We need conversations for accountability, he said, We need true accountability that ts

your organization. Ultimately, its about trust.

The major difference now compared with 20 years ago is the environment in which such

Root assumes people are getting info from oth-er sources, and we bring the black perspective.JOEL DREYFUSS, MANAGING EDITOR OF THE ROOT

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conversations take place. Previously, news organizations seemed solid. They had a history to

overcome and a future to create. They seemed stable. But how do conversations about diver-

sity take place today when no organizational stability appears to exist?

While some may call it an environment of scarcity, others see it not as an issue of resourc-

es but of core values. So whats in it for the organization to overcome organizational bias?

The Assistant Secretary to the U.S. Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Juan M. Gar-cia III told conference participants that one way the U.S. Navy addresses organizational bias

is by letting its commanders know that if they cannot lead as diverse a crew as possible, they

wont be promoted. His advice for creating a more diverse organization involves casting a

net thats as wide as possible.

We did so, without lowering the bar, Garcia said.

How does that compare with whats happening in the civilian world?

Commonalities include enlightened self-interest, Schaffer said. But individuals con-

tinue to hold on to individual self-interest. People in scarcity will operate differently than in

abundance. Scarcity breeds self-interest and paranoia.

Organizational budgets are an articulation of their values, he added, and if diversity fails

to occupy a place on the budget, its not a priority. Diversity requires a longer strategy, and

longer strategies are often eschewed in time of scarcity, he said.

Recognize the risk, Schaffer said. Theres risk. But there is reward. Small gamble, small

result. Big gamble, large result. Doing the same thing and expecting different results is the

denition of insanity.

Start thinking what you can do.Dont be looking at others.MEI-MEI CHAN, PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER, THE NEWS-PRESS MEDIA GROUP

MEI-MEI CHAN,

THE NEWS-PRESS MEDIA

GROUP

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Regarding news

Emi Kolawole: I tweet while Im

talking. This is the fastest way

to communicate.

Robert Hernandez: Brand is

dead.Now we all have the pow-

er to have our own brand. But

what matters now is relevancy.

If the information is relevant, I

dont care where it comes from.

Kolawole: Gawker is my

favorite site. It aggregates andentertains.

With regard to creating new

products, if youre interested in

creating a new print product,

youre barking up the wrong

tree. If you want to create a new

The Millennial Mindset:

Voices from the new media generation

An excerpt of a panel discussion

featuring comments from

Millennials on consumer news,

news relevance, career paths and

newsroom culture.

ROBERT HERNANDEZ,

USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL

EMI KOLAWOLE, PRODUCER,

POSTPOLITICS.COM

website, you need to be careful.

My goal is to get a new commu-

nity to talk about itself.

Hernandez: Its web culture to

teach yourself things. But its

not true that (young people)

know everything. They know

technology. But not how to use

it for storytelling. Young people

know about the problems with

the journalism world, but they

do it because they feel they can

have an impact. Im an aca-

demic who wants to guide the

young people. Its an excitingtime. When older people started

in the industry, the pay was

bad. Its still that way today. But

thats not why people do go into

media roles.

Kolawole: I had a double

major, theater studies and

international relations. What

excites me right now is that Ive

gotten all this experience and

excited about where I could go,

and the endless possibilities. I

work at The Washington Post.

Some of the best ideas come

out of random conversations.

We have random pods (work

groups). We have young pro-

ducers sitting at different desks

and talking to each other. Its an

incredibly organic experience.

Hernandez: More young

people are willing to go to astartup, or start their own

(business). My success is when

I go rogue. You have to know

your place, but also that (most)

othersin the room dont know

how to use Twitter, html, Face-

book, etc.

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On career paths

Kolawole: Career paths?

Theres a path? Where is it? I

think that the career ladder is

nonexistent. Its a really inter-

esting garden maze. You need

to smell the owers. Youd be

surprised where you end up.

I want to expand my educa-

tional horizons. Pour myself into

everything I do. I started in poli-

tics. Now Im doing innovation.

Hernandez: (Its) empowering.And scary as well. Because

theres no career path. Were

like someone with a machete,

slashing our way through.

People are trying to gure out

how to do what we do. What we

want to do is this and survive.

Kolawole: The Post is good at

setting up mentors. (My mentor)

is fantastic at the Post. Shes

opened doors for lot of commu-

nication. At the Post, they invest

in you. Its not that the model is

not suffering as much its not as

open to ideas. At the Post, Ive

never been dismissed outright

because of my professional

status.

Hernandez: For me, I am

the product of Unity mentor-

ship program in 1999. I made

everyone a mentor, whether

they knew it or not. Web cultureis to put it out there. I dont care

if you dont give me credit. I

share above and share below.

The point is to gure it out in

teaching. Go nd out. Thats the

beauty of it.

Kolawole: My friends are pri-

marily New York Times readers,

more Sunday readers. News is

a salon experience. I Facebook

the (stories) I want to share.

Then we have a conversation.

Feed and ow of commentary.

My Facebook feed is a mix of

different data. Brands speakwith a louder voice.

Hernandez: My Facebook is

about my kid for my mom. Twit-

ter is for news. When I see a lot

of people citing the same thing,

it gets my attention. Theres

not one place to go to. Tumblrs

are the new rage. We innovatemore in storytelling, but not in-

novative in advertising. Youre

not going to be everything for

everybody. You should not be

the Daily Show. Do what you

do best and link to the rest,

said Jeff Jarvis.

On diversity

Hernandez: It was me and a

Korean who knew Spanish at

The Seattle Times.

Kolawole: I do care (about

diversity.) The idea of holding

diversity close to your heart is

the way my parents did and

their parents did. But I focus on

how I can do my work better.

Im not thinking about furthering

diversity. But I know that people

before me worked hard so Icould do what Im doing.

Hernandez: (Diversity) is a part

of you, but it doesnt dene you.

Weve heard this conversation

for so long we got it. Were out

there doing it.

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Where diversity discussions might be headed

When we look at a statistical portrait of the diversity of the U.S., what would we see?

In the last U.S. Census, there were 308 million people, of which one-third were minori-

ties. Hispanics amounted to 16 percent, becoming the largest minority group, totaling 50.5

million. African-Americans followed, with 13.9 percent, or 38.9 million. Asians accounted

for about 5 percent, or 14.7 million and American Indians/Alaska Natives came to 0.09 per-

cent, or 2.9 million. Native Hawaiians and Pacic Islanders were the smallest of the major

race groups with 500,000 people.

The growth ethnic/racial groups continue outstripping the white population and are pro-

jected to do so in the future. At the ASNEs conference in New York, Towns urged the news

industry not to hesitate in its pursuit of diversity initiatives. We cannot keep dithering,he warned. We cannot fail. It should not merely be a part of a singular business model but

rather reect the essence of our core values. He added, Lets fulll the promise beginning

today.

Sulzberger urged the news media to address the increasingly diverse population by look-

ing inward. Without a diversied workforce, he said, the industry will lack other elements

that matter.

How to stay true to our mission and audiences?By better connecting with them via thechannels that matter to them. ARTHUR SULZBERGER, JR.

36

ARTHUR SULZBERGER, JR.


37/56


The platform for journalism

will continue to change.

Yet communities of color

still need and want journal-

ism that holds governments,

institutions and peopleaccountable and provides

insight and understanding on

issues that reect the totality

of their lives.

MILTON COLEMAN

Why havent we also diversied our workforces so they represent the audiences they

speak to every day? Without a diverse group of journalists crafting the news that people

want to read, there would be no audience; no monthly uniques to measure, no subscribers or

followers on Twitter, he said. We just stay true to our mission of delivering the news and

information that matters to our audiences by better reecting their communities and con-

necting with them via the channels that matter to them.

Coleman remembers what it was like when the push for minorities in journalism began.

That memory, and the recognition that diversity in the news media needed to be reframed,

moved him toward the 2011 initiative that he led through two conferences. In an article he

wrote for Nieman Reports that focused on fresh strategies and news goals, he reected on

what he saw taking place.

The dominance of newspapers is fading or gone. They are less essential to broader clus-

ters of readers, replaced by the trimmed down, sped up digital news, he wrote. Yet com-

munities of color still need and want journalism that holds governments, institutions and

people accountable and provides insight and understanding on issues that reect the totality

of their lives. Thats what we hope the entrepreneurial talent and mindset of the children

and grandchildren of the post-Kerner era will produce.

In short, Coleman said, We need to nd the diverse audiences that will make money.

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FRANS JOHANSSON, author of

groundbreaking bestseller,

The Medici Effect: What

Elephants & Epidemics Can

Teach Us About Innovation,

spoke at the conference.

Diversity drives innovation.

And innovation drives dollars.

Frans Johansson delivered that message at the New York City conference. Johansson,

author of The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts

and Cultures, believes that when you change the rules, differentiation takes place.

We must break new ground, Johansson said. Diversity drives innovation. Diversity of

cultures, gender, race, functions, disciplinesanything that gives you different takes on op-

portunities.

Better ideas, and more of them, take place at the intersections, he stressed. Diversity does

that. When you create diverse teams, surrounding yourself with people who are different

from you, it becomes easier to come up with creative ideas, Johansson said.

Since you create new ideas based on what you know, there is a need to leverage existingdiversity.

The world we live in is getting more diverse, he noted. But Im making a different argu-

ment: if you bring different people together you come up with better ideas. The world is con-

nected. You need someone make those connections. And that somebody should be you.

Johansson used the Medici family of Florence and its contributions to the Italian Renais-

sance as an example of how creativity came out of the sponsorship of different types of art

and humanism.

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THE FUTUREOF DIVERSITYIN THE NEWSWe are attracted to people similar

to ourselves. So we need to makecombinations occur. FRANS JOHANSSON, AUTHOR

He sees the Medici Effect as a way to advance diversity through three facts:

Fact 1:All new ideas are combinations of existing ideas. Johans-

son noted that not all ideas are created equal. Consider the bikini and

the burqa, he said, noting that a Muslim woman designed the burquini, a styl-

ish, full-body bathing suit for Muslim women.

Fact 2:People that change the world try for new ideas.Johansson

said we are horrible at predicting what will work. So we have to keep on trying.

The story were told is how ideas are brilliant and successful. But Wikipedia fol-

lowed Nupedia, which was created to reach out to experts and put their knowl-

edge online. Nupedia got only 20 posts. So Wikipedias founder decided to open

it up to everyone.

Fact 3:Diverse teams can unleash an explosion of new ideas. This,

Johansson noted, is a mathematical argument. Rock musicians connecting with

classical music result in new ideas in rock music.

JOEL DREYFUSS listens to

Johansson during the wrap

up session at Septembers

conference.

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New Business Models at Work Excerpts of a panel discussion:

1. Map the landscape

2. Test drive your idea

3. Wire frame the project

4. Pick a business structure

5. Develop a plan

6. Craft an elevator pitch

(gure out Whats your Ask)

7. Build a Website

8. Gather content

9. Launch with fanfare

10. Tell your Story

Jan Schaffer, executive director, J-Lab, The Institute for Interactive Journalism

Stories about how Latinos were being frisked by police, how African-American men were

being jailed, stories gotten from the communities themselves. The Seattle Times Net-J Proj-

ect, which had no marketing, had readers thanking The Seattle Times for letting them con-

nect with niche communities. This improves their brand and it encourages more advertising.

Here are our 10 tip new entrepreneurs interested in new models:

Tonja Brown, senior director, strategic integration, CNN

No matter who you are, you want to see your interests in the news. You need to pay atten-

tion to what it is your audience is paying attention to when they arent paying attention to

you. Its how you attract the audience that will make your brand more valuable.

Dont allow challenges to get you stuck. Getting stuck is one of the major challenges. Lati-

40

JAN SCHAEFFER, J-LAB,THE INSTITUTE FORINTERACTIVE JOURNALISM


41/56


nos being fragmented. That challenge causes people to stop there. So you need to be agile. In

the movie, No Country for Old Men, I like the clip where the guy makes the character Call

it. Is it ever easy to call it? But should that stop you?

Need is also a need for people behind the scenes who know the community and the

structure. We focus on whos behind the microphone, but also would benet from knowing

executives, too.

Paul Cheung, project director, OurChinatown, New York,

and Interactive and Graphics Editor, The Associated Press Headquarters, New York

We applied for McCormick Foundation grant for Our Chinatown. 30,000 Chinese in New

York City area. We saw a niche between Chinese newspapers and mainstream media.

How do we develop a platform for the phone since minorities use mobile to get informa-

tion? So we are having news reporters using mobile phones to gather, report and upload in-

formation and send it to a mobile audience. We send out brief reports, or digests in Chinese.

We wanted to make it easy. We use Wordpress. Most of our users are not app users. So we

wanted to make it simple and easy. The concept will run from April to December. No adver-

tising. We average 7,000 unique visitors a month. Were covering just Chinatown right now.

Imagine if we expand to Brooklyn and Queens.

We got involved right away with community. Town meetings. Asked what they wanted.

Later we want to do it in Chinese and Spanish. Content is free. But were looking at an e-

41

PAUL CHEUNG,

ASSOCIATED PRESS


42/56


commerce platform. We want to build a Chinese version of Craigs list for Chinese Americans.

Our focus is 100 percent online and were looking toward mobile. Were targeting new wave

of immigrants as well who are familiar with technology.

Maritza Puello, executive editor, NY1 Noticias

We made sure we brought on people who represented the fragmented population of La-

tinos. We looked at how whats happening in community affects the Latino community.

Education is a great example. We want something more exclusive to the Latino population.

Hyper-local. Priority is what effects New Yorkers, then how it affects Latinos, others. Were

advocating for our viewers.

We need people who t with start-up models, who can produce things in an unstable

work environment in addition to their news credentials. Need people who are pioneers

and ready to load the wagon and say lets go.

Glenn Burkins, editor and publisher, Qcitymetro.com

We have a Black-oriented news website in Charlotte, NC. Started Qcitymetro.com. Being

African American, I know African Americans care about certain things more than others.

Like church.

We heard about a trial of black minister with regard to money. Heard the mainstream me-

GLENN BURKINS, editor and

publisher of Qcitymetro.com

talks with SARAH LUMBARD,

senior director at National

Public Radio.

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dia was covering opening and closing. I decided to cover it gavel to gavel. The response was

incredible. We did morning upload laying it out, something before lunch, then at 3-4 p.m.,

and then at end of the day. People were pegged to our updates.

Charlotte Observer missed out on 37 percent of the population of Charlotte. Our Busi-

ness plan: I approached banks and health care companies about sponsorship. We want to go

beyond banner ads.Financial partnerships are the next step. Talking to a young man, who has spent his

career editing alternative newspapers, and I have spent it in serious news. But I hope he can

bring an edgier approach. I think niche markets are the way of the future. I think the day is

gone when we look to anyone as the one source. Go to different places for different reasons.

Like restaurants, we have favorites but we dont go there every day.

Joel Dreyfuss, managing editor, theRoot.com

We do sponsored content, which is for journalists a delicate balance. Were near 2 million

unique visitors per month. Breakdown between blacks and non-Blacks. Non-Blacks number

20-30 percent. But we cant sell that to advertisers who want a niche market so only inter-

ested in Blacks.

43

JOEL DREYFUSS,

THEROOT.COM


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Tips offered by panelists

Dreyfuss: Once a day, run a story you dont

think your readership will be interested in.

Schaffer: Treat your community as your

partner. Be intellectually curious. Journal-

istic ethics are changing. New issues and

new spaces to make judgments. New ethical

challenges.

Puello: Use your newsroom staff to encour-age connections with the community. Young

journalists focus on technology, moving

stories quickly, lling the website. Encour-

age them to form relationships. With young

people its like shampoo, lather, rinse and

repeat.

Brown:Value different opinions. Find dis-

senters, people who will poke holes in things

you do. Dont lean back but lean forward withpeople who disagree with you. The cultur-

ally curious was a term I coined to identify

people who are interested in other cultures,

races, etc. Include those people in process.

This is a long haul. Takes time for a payoff for

the multicultural project to catch on.

Burkins: You need to focus on revenue

from day one, as well as content. You have to

do both. Were seeing double-digit increases

month-to-month, but revenue is not

keeping up.

Cheung: Dont be afraid to fail. Test and try.

With more than 130,000

unique visitors in the last 12

months, Qcitymetro.com was

started in 2008.

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Schaffer: Collaboration is the new competi-

tion. Its a thought I think people have, and it

worries me.

Brown: The mainstream doesnt under-

stand the value of multiculturalism. It

doesnt understand such a separation be-

tween regular culture and multicultural. Its

already multicultural. What gets me excited

in the morning is the challenge of working in

our business, talking to people who are ery

and demanding change.

Burkins: Money keeps me up at night.

What gets me up are the readers.

Dreyfuss: Competition keeps me up at

night. New competitors every day. What Im

excited about is what we do is not what any-body else is doing. We look for media part-

nerships, new things to explore and grow.

Puello: I sleep as much as I can. Sister The-

resa said get a good night sleep. How to do

more with less worries me, but it also makes

you leaner, meaner and keeps you re-invent-

ing with only a nickel and dime.

Cheung:What concerns me is that the

American community is one-sided in its

coverage. What excites me are those who are

trying to create new products.

What keeps the panelists awake at night

Our Chinatown is a

hyper-local project for the

New York City Chinatown

community created by the

Asian American Journalists

Associations Executive

Leadership Program.

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The Media, Minorities and Mobile

Mobile communication devices offer news organizations another way to reach diverse

audiences. A variety of studies already indicate that minoritiesespecially Latinos and

Blacksuse their mobile phones more often than whites to get information. The Mobile Ac-

cess 2010 Pew report noted that 64 percent of African-Americans and 63 percent of Latinos

access the Internet through wireless devices. It also reported that 87 percent of blacks and

Hispanics own a cell phone compared with 80 percent of whites.

Minorities consistently come out ahead in every mobile engagement, saidAaron

Smith, a research specialist who has written for the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Some of that may be related to economics: mobile phones cost less than laptops or desk-

top computers. But another factor involves the frequency with which minorities want tokeep in touch with members of their community. News organizations that want to reach di-

verse audiences could seek ways to distribute news through mobile phones aimed at minor-

ity communities.

Smartphone penetration is

higher among mobile users

who are part of ethnic and

racial minorities in the U.S.

than White mobile users

THE NIELSEN COMPANY

With 16 hours of connected

time a day, the mobile phone

represents the technology

with the broadest reach pos-

sible in the world today.

MASTERING THE MOBILE

MEDIUM BY HADEN

KIRKPATRICK SOURCE

Research shows tremendous

change in news habits.

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Minorities consistently come out ahead inevery mobile engagement AARON SMITH, RESEARCH SPECIALIST

18 Percent of blacks and

16% of English-speaking

Hispanics are cell-only

wireless users, compared

with 10% of Whites.

In total, roughly half of

African-Americans

(54 percent) and Hispanics

(53 percent) go online from

a mobile phone

PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN

LIFE PROJECT, 2010

Publishers offer mobile audiences a variety of content

Mobile device penetration by ethnicity

SOURCE: Audit Bureau of Circulations and ABC Interactive

SOURCE: The Nielsen Company

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MICHELE SALCEDO, NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION OF HISPANICJOURNALISTS

MIKE ORESKES,

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Recruiting for diversity

Recruiting young and diverse talent involves strategic planning that includes both old-

fashioned techniques and the latest social media tools.

Virgil Smith,Gannett vice president for talent aquisition and diversity, sees building

relationships with people as an effective recruitment tool. That means not only forming re-lationships with them in the company but also in the communities they are assigned to work

in, he said. He also values such social media tools as the LinkedIn recruiter package.

Chrystal Johnson of CBS News noted that it was important to identify diverse young

people and to think ahead about nances and to help them pinpoint places to cultivate re-

lationships. Michele Salcedo, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journal-

ists, emphasized the need for a commitment to do training and to follow minorities from the

student to the executive level. Michael Oreskes, senior managing editor for The Associated

Press wants those they recruit to be able to think journalistically, to want to break news.

He sees opportunities to help juniors and seniors in high school by creating news by creat-

ing news oriented to their peers and by getting reporters and editors to to guide teenagers

toward journalism.

Once you identify people, you want to keep them, Smith said.

But recruiters dont have much time to cultivate and keep young, diverse talent, said

Keith Reed, treasurer for the National Association of Black Journalists. The reality is that

this young generation will not stay with you if they dont see opportunities for advancement.

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Gannett employee, AMBER

GUYTON, multimedia specialist,

WXIA TV/WATL TV, Atlanta,

expresses her appreciation for

her organizations commitment

to diversity, along with fellow24-year-old DANIEL TRACH, key

account digital sales executive,

Enquirer Media Group, Cincinnati.

You have to show somebody from the day you bring him or her in the door that there is op-

portunity for investment. Your time frame is six monthstops.

Daniel Trach, a key account digital sales executive at the Enquirer Media Group in Cin-

cinnati warned Nobody is too small to be taken seriously in your organization.

Amber Guyton, a multimedia specialist at WXIA-TV/WATL-TV in Atlanta, noted that

her cohort of young professionals is hungry for a challenge.

Trach and Guyton offer tips for hiring young professionals

Once you identify people, you want to keepthem. VIRGIL SMITH, GANNETT VICE PRESIDENT, TALENT ACQUISITION AND DIVERSITY

1. The incubator effect.

(Do I have opportunities to grow? Is there

a clear future in the company? Is promo-

tion realistic? What can I contribute?

2. Double O Seven

(Ownership and opportunity. Can I do

things above and beyond my level?)

3. SuperEmpowers

(Are you empowering us? Asking us for

advice? Care about our opinion? Or what

we can contribute? Be a mentor. Take us

under your wing. Can I shadow people?)

4. The Art of Entry Level

(Do we have opportunity to rise? Will you

pay attention to us?)

5. Investment & Indispensability

(Letting us know were valuable assets.

Executives look good if we have success

(who likely consider the following when they are being recruited):

49

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too. Were cheaper labor but reason to

invest beyond our salaries. Send us to

conferences where we might not look like

we belong there.)

6. Einsteinolgy (Permission to think

big and be heard. We take a unique ap-

proach to things. A lot more has changed

in the last 15 years than has in the past

50 years. In our generation, technology is

our rst language, we didnt have to learn

it. Ability to embrace new ideas. Get their

opinion.)

7. I have a degree in communica-

tions. Now what?(Communication is

key. Dont be distant if you are in the top

ranks. You may not appreciate how valu-

able it is to us to hear from you. We have

an open cube policy. My manager gives

me feedback and I need that. Feedback is

so important.

8. Benets and Benjamins

(Im 24 years old, and have a ways to go.

If you work for money you work for mon-

ey but if you work for success you work

for more. We want to be compensated

with travel, which is huge. Virgil, Gannett,

works with us.

The reality is that this young generation willnot stay with you if they dont see opportunitiesfor advancement. KEITH REED, SENIOR EDITOR @ESPN MAGAZINE

KEITH REED,

SENIOR EDITOR,

ESPN THE MAGAZINE

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What is the future of diversity in the news?

In some ways, it will be the same as it was beforean important goal for any news organi-

zation that cares about covering diverse communities.

In other ways, it will be completely differentin approach, in the tools used and in how it

targets diverse communities.The Leadership in Diversity conferences sought to review and refocus the medias atten-

tion on the future of diversity in the news. If nothing else, we sent a message that diversity

is alive and well. How it can be applied in the new, new age. And how it applies to the fu-

ture, Coleman said.

The news media must move on from focusing on multicultural headcounts. In the future,

success for those who care about diversity involves seeking content that conveys something

of interest about, for, and to all types of communities.

It will require a more strategic approach to identifying and then serving diverse audienc-

es. New technological communication tools must be employed. More sophisticated distribu-

tion channels will be essential. Fresh outlets must emerge.

Diversity in the future will require more than it did in the past. Instead of conversation, it

will require commitment. Instead of reaching down, it will require reaching out. Instead of

being transactional, it must be transformative.

Diversity must go beyond being a goal.

It must become an act.

51

ALY COLN, REPORT AUTHOR

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52If you are viewing this as a PDF le on your computer, you may view

videos from some of the key players in the project. Click on the images

to hear from these leaders in journalism diversity.

Videomessages

MEI-MEI CHAN (CLICK ON IMAGE)

DORI MAYNARD (CLICK ON IMAGE)

MIKE ORESKES (CLICK ON IMAGE)

DORIS TRUONG (CLICK ON IMAGE)

RHONDA LEVALDO-GAYTON (CLICK ON IMAGE)

VIRGIL SMITH (CLICK ON IMAGE)

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53

Chart pad notes from the conference

Diverse audiences include

Differences within groups, no monoliths

Latin American segments

Old vs. new Floridians

Black segments

Ethnicity and race Military: who joins? Why?

Mining community

Migrant workers

Mining communities

Gated communities

Sexual orientation

Those interested in other cultures

Those skeptical of change

Socio-economic diversity Religious diversity

Age diversity

Technological preference diversity

Geographic diversity

Employed vs. unemployed

Underemployed

Political perspective

Limited but still valuable technocrats

Storytelling

More collaborations and partnerships

Voice as an asset

How do you pay for it?

Opinion vs. News in communities

of color

Millennium mindset

Relevant content/understands

audience/doesnt talk down

Inform and entertain

Dont be all to all

Randomness

BrandR.I.P.?

Focus on learning environment

and crank it out

Go rogue respectfully

Mobile, mobile, mobile

Great ideas were captured during

the brainstorming sessions at the

Leadership in Diversity conferenc-

es. You will find some of the notes

on these pages.

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54

A virtual Welcome Wagon

Target newcomers, most of who are of color

Can also be a mobile app

Site can also have video, bloggers

Advertising bases and coupons

Year of understanding (The new America)

A public service project

Bring together diverse communities

Part of virtual Welcome Wagon Initiative

Millennial mix

Millennials in the newsroom put their spin

on the news of the day

They become newsroom ambassadors

Millennial network

Advertising link to millennial audience

Mobile partners, ethnic papers

Could help new residents and travelers too

Could attract advertisers

Newsmaker TV shows that can later be

podcast (for a fee)

Use community newsmakers andnewsroom staff

U.S. Navy and diversity

Cast a wide net

Go lots of places

Dont overlook any city

Honor high standards Higher echelon accountable for mentoring

Cant afford to overlook any talent

Proactive replacement policy for pipeline

Howre they doing? Assessment 2 x a year

Brainstorming new modelsMore chart pad notes from the conference, June 15 session

Health connect

Through the Smartphone

Aggregate information

Push it out over various

platforms

Advertising businessmodel

Target underserved

communities

Train ad reps to better

sell mobile apps

Arm them with too

the future of diversity in the news

Documents