USA TODAY International Edition
USA TODAY must better reflect US to tell full story
We must do better. To authentically and consistently tell the stories of our nation, our newsroom must reflect our nation.
Journalists bring their whole selves to their jobs – in pitching ideas, in finding sources, in noticing details and in explaining why something is happening, not just what is happening.
By having a team that mirrors the U. S. in gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, we can better surface, report and tell the full story of our nation.
We can create a gathering place where readers can nod and say, yes, I’ve experienced that, I’ve seen that, or that is so true. I can see myself in these stories.
Today, we have two announcements toward that end.
First, we are publicly sharing data on the gender, racial and ethnic diversity of USA TODAY Network newsrooms. Our goal is simple: parity with our communities by 2025. We’ll report our progress annually.
And second, we are announcing the creation of 60 jobs to expand coverage of inequities in our country, 20 at USA TODAY and 40 around our local news network. About one third of the jobs will be new hires; the others will be reassignments.
How are we doing at USA TODAY? We’ve made progress, but there’s still much work to do.
A little over 30% of our newsroom staffers are Black, Indigenous or people of color. That is up from 21% in 2017. The nation is around 40% BIPOC.
As for our newsroom leaders, we are about 23.3% diverse, up from 14.7% in 2017. In gender, our newsroom is 48.1% women, 51.9% men. In 2017, women were only 36% of our team. We’ve made even more strides in female leaders. Currently, 56.7% of our managers are women, up from 44% in 2017.
It’s also important to look at parity within our diverse communities. For example, according to the U. S. Census, the nation is 12.5% Black. Our staff is 13.3%. However with Hispanics, the nation is 18.5%, our staff is 8%. With Asian Americans, the nation is at 5.8% and our staff at 5.7%. With Indigenous people, our country is 0.7%; our newsroom is 0.4%.
When we talk about parity, we’ll be looking at the newsroom makeup overall and also at a more granular level, including our leadership and the parity within different racial and ethnic groups. We’ll also look at the data in each newsroom department.
Our internal data currently does not include a full picture of LGBTQ numbers; however, we are planning on a companywide survey to collect anonymized data. We will begin deeper conversations around how to balance privacy concerns expressed by some employees with ensuring equitable representation of this group.
Additionally, we must continue training and accountability at all levels to make sure everyone truly embraces inclusivity. We must create environments where all staffers, at all levels, are empowered to speak up, challenge and lead. We need leadership that listens and acts.
When we fall short, we must own it and address it.
Parity in staffing is just the start. Our content must deliver. Covering racism and inequality is part of every reporter’s beat. And now we’re adding even more help.
We’re creating or hiring for 20 positions that help us get to the root of systemic racism – the politics, policies and systems that have led us to where we are. To help us remember the history that tragically keeps repeating itself. To introduce us to the leaders and movements pushing for change. We’re adding jobs to our news, sports, investigations, entertainment, money, opinion and audience teams.
We’re also connecting reporters and editors with similar beats across our 260 USA TODAY Network properties so they can share story ideas, connect dots and provide local context to national stories. We have eyes and ears in 47 states, Guam and the District of Columbia.
Our managing editor for sports, Roxanna Scott, is hiring an editor to help shape coverage of athletes, race and equality.
“Nelson Mandela said, ‘ Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does,’ “Scott said. “I think it’s especially true at this moment, as we see the athletes and coaches speak out on issues of social justice, police brutality and racism. Sports are often a reflection of society.”
Managing editor for national news Kristen Go is looking for reporters to cover inequities in education, housing, health and the environment “to highlight not just the challenges but also the solutions and successes that readers across the nation deserve to see.”
The ability to build and pass on wealth are key to having a comfortable life in our country, said Philana Patterson, managing editor for money and consumer tech. That’s why she’s adding a reporter to look at the causes of economic disparities who will “provide more coverage on the obstacles that a diverse range of people are facing, and also the opportunities that they may not realize exist.”
We also must examine how we got here. Nichelle Smith, enterprise editor for racism and history, will work across the newsroom and the network to find and share stories. “Our country was stamped from the beginning with racism in every corner of our society,” Smith said. “It is so insidious and ingrained that we don’t always recognize what we see. Yet uncovering this history of racism – finding it, analyzing it, reckoning with it – is key to how we move forward together.”
Diversity and inclusion have long been a cornerstone of our values. However, this summer’s events have pushed us to move faster with our plans, be bolder in their scope, be louder in our commitment.
And that’s a good thing.
“As a Latina and the daughter of immigrants, it pains me that people of color are so often treated with indifference and contempt by the news industry,” said Cristina Silva, national enterprise editor and co- chair of the USA TODAY Diversity Committee. “I am thrilled that USA TODAY is taking steps toward creating a more diverse and inclusive environment.
“You cannot have a successful newsroom if marginalized people are not given an equal voice.”
Thank you for supporting our journalism. To receive this column as a newsletter, visit newsletters. usatoday. com and subscribe to The Backstory.