As we approach the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death, we must still ask where we are headed with diversity efforts. Diversity takes work and commitment and must come from the top of an organization. Without that, your company will never have an effective long-term approach to recruiting and retention. more

Dr. Sherri Williams, who has led an effort to educate young Black journalists and others to diversify newsrooms, has been honored with the “Journalism Educator of the Year” award by the National Association of Black Journalists. Williams is an assistant professor in race, media and communication at American University and has worked as a newspaper reporter for a decade in three newsrooms, including The Associated Press in Jackson, Mississippi. more

In this 124th episode of “E&P Reports,” Publisher Mike Blinder interviews Larry Graham, founder and executive director of The Diversity Pledge Institute, along with Doris Truong, Director of Training and Diversity at The Poynter Institute, about the importance of achieving more diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the news publishing industry and what resources are available now to help executives accomplish those goals. more

Will Sutton is a columnist and editorial writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune & The Advocate, a Harvard University Nieman Fellow and a member of the NABJ, AEJMC, ONA and SPJ. In 2020 Mr. Sutton penned this OpEd for E&P. more

One of the biggest demands coming from inside newsrooms around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is for leaders to take ownership of the harm they’ve committed or overseen. They also need to hold themselves accountable for future strategies and behaviors, and their newsrooms teams are asking them to. more

Community newspapers are more likely to succeed with readers, advertisers and the community when all residents’ voices are heard. One of the challenges faced by the News + Record was to determine how to cover the county’s increasing Latinx American population, even though a substantial portion of those potential readers didn’t read or write English. more

A new study — "Who’s At The PrimeTime Table" — reveals that Black women — especially older Black women — are sorely underrepresented as hosts, contributors and experts during the coveted primetime hours at the three major cable news networks. more

Creating diverse newsrooms requires more than recruitment. What’s the culture of the organization? What are the plans for retention? Are diverse journalists leading newsroom discussions? How will their unique backgrounds, experiences and perspectives contribute to coverage? Are their opinions valued? The true test of a newsroom’s commitment to diversity is retention. more

In 2016, the Tennessean formed a Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Task Force, which built a foundation for Black Tennessee Voices’ launch. The D&I group reported on issues related to diversity in staffing and housing and covered other Nashville communities, like the city’s Kurdish population. Black Tennessee Voices now provides a model for newsrooms across the country. more

For too many years, reporting on gender, politics and policy and their effect on overlooked segments of society have not been seen “above the fold.” So the 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom, was created and is working hard to push these issues forward. more

Diversity isn't just about numbers. It’s about real people. It’s ongoing, messy and requires candid and sometimes uncomfortable conversations. Moreover, too often, the formal responsibility of diversifying newsrooms rests solely on the shoulders of Human Resources, when it should instead be a priority for everyone in the news organization, including those with “editor” in their job title. more

An intense, 10-day media sales and operations training program is preparing its graduates for immediate advertising and operations sales jobs with major broadcast media companies. And, through its partnership with the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters Foundation and the National Association of Broadcasters, it's helping to bring diversity to the media workforce. more

News Leaders Association has announced a comprehensive update to the former ASNE Diversity Survey, renamed the Transformative Transparency Project. It will provide the numbers, narratives and knowledge to assist news media stakeholders in undertaking reforms that address the lack of newsroom diversity. more

Ten Black newspapers have joined forces to create Word In Black, a platform to “amplify the Black experience by reporting, collecting and sharing stories about real people in communities across our country,” according to its website. more

According to Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor for The Washington Post, diversity has long been a “watchword” for the newspaper industry. But the Post is putting their words into action with its recently launched Voices Across America, a platform that showcases writers from across the country “who are uniquely positioned to provide on-the-ground points of view.” more

Just days before the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd in May, USA TODAY introduced a yearlong network project, “Never Been Told: The Lost History of People of Color.” The project is a multimedia series that seeks to “elevate, through deeply reported investigative and explanatory journalism, the people, places and ideas that are often excluded from history books,” according to a press release. more

The Salt Lake Tribune, along with the nonprofit Amplify Utah and Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), have partnered to write and publish stories that highlight the state’s diverse communities and engages with young readers. more

This past year was a remarkable one for women journalists who are breaking barriers and leading the charge in local and national news. Although most of the women on our list of "10 Women to Watch" were recently promoted or hired to their current positions, make no mistake—they have the experience and fortitude to carry their newsrooms and the industry into a bright and successful future.  more

Following a summer of protests against racial injustice, the Sacramento Bee was inspired to launch an Equity Lab, which includes a team of community-funded journalists focused on serving communities neglected by the mainstream media. According to the Lab’s website, it operates with two pillars: producing accountability journalism that will elevate the stories that most affect the livelihood of residents, while “holding people and institutions accountable for fair practices..." more

Following the racial justice uprisings last year, S. Mitra Kalita, the former head of digital programming for CNN and a 2021 Nieman Visiting Fellow, and Sara Lomax-Reese, the president and CEO of WURD Radio, knew they wanted to collaborate on a project to meet the historic moment. From there, URL Media was born as “a decentralized, multi-platform network of high-performing Black and Brown media organizations.” more