2008 Woodie Awards
Point/Counterpoint: Newsroom Diversity
Issue date: 4/15/06 Section: Opinion
A recent study by the Knight Foundation of 1,410 daily newspapers discovered that newsroom diversity is decreasing, as fewer minorities entered the newspaper industry in 2005. Some theorize that newspapers will technically not become "diverse" until the percentage of minorities in a newsroom is representative of the community that the newspaper covers.
POINT
Newspapers should reflect the community they cover.
Lack of diversity undermines a publication's journalistic credibility. When newspapers ignore a segment of the community, they give an unbalanced and biased perspective.
Newspaper staffs need to be more culturally and ethnically diverse in order to appeal to a broader audience, as residents essentially connect with their local newspaper., expecting it to accurately relate the news of the day and the community's particular interests.
Reporters working in a community of their ethnicity may be more approachable by readers, may have an easier understanding of the issues, and may be able to spot trends and develop theories easier than someone from a different ethnicity.
In this multicultural society, newspapers should reflect their communities if they want to continue to grow and remain relevant and credible. No paper can ignore groups of people and their lives simply because they do not fit a certain demographic.
Those who live in a community have several dimensions; racial, financial, religious, and cultural. If the media ignores those dimensions, they have the potential to lose their audience.
If the media wants its customers to stay loyal and attract more readers, they should represent a community as a whole with various viewpoints and angles. They must respect and reflect diversity; if not, they are practicing biased reporting. Although everyone comes from different ethnicity and culture, we still live together in one world.
If the newspaper industry wants to grow amid the barrage of new age media, it must respect and represent its community.
POINT
Newspapers should reflect the community they cover.
Lack of diversity undermines a publication's journalistic credibility. When newspapers ignore a segment of the community, they give an unbalanced and biased perspective.
Newspaper staffs need to be more culturally and ethnically diverse in order to appeal to a broader audience, as residents essentially connect with their local newspaper., expecting it to accurately relate the news of the day and the community's particular interests.
Reporters working in a community of their ethnicity may be more approachable by readers, may have an easier understanding of the issues, and may be able to spot trends and develop theories easier than someone from a different ethnicity.
In this multicultural society, newspapers should reflect their communities if they want to continue to grow and remain relevant and credible. No paper can ignore groups of people and their lives simply because they do not fit a certain demographic.
Those who live in a community have several dimensions; racial, financial, religious, and cultural. If the media ignores those dimensions, they have the potential to lose their audience.
If the media wants its customers to stay loyal and attract more readers, they should represent a community as a whole with various viewpoints and angles. They must respect and reflect diversity; if not, they are practicing biased reporting. Although everyone comes from different ethnicity and culture, we still live together in one world.
If the newspaper industry wants to grow amid the barrage of new age media, it must respect and represent its community.
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