San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Diversity in newsrooms leads to diversity in news
The recent San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists audit that shed light on a dearth of Latino anchors at local TV news stations is disheartening, but it’s only fair to look within.
When I left my reporter position at the Express-News in 2009, the newsroom looked and worked differently than it does now, but diversity struggles persist. In December 2019, the SAAHJ sent an open letter to Hearst, which owns the Express-News, demanding more newsroom diversity.
Newsrooms have work to do. The Express-News masthead features the names of three white men, and the executive team is only 30 percent people of color — although, a little more than 18 months ago, that was zero.
The progress shouldn’t be minimized, albeit more work remains.
In December 2020, Hearst announced a $50,000 donation to SAAHJ for scholarships. And a shift began this past year at the Express-News, especially after Mark Medici was named publisher in February 2020.
A majority of the Express-News editors and managers who drive most daily coverage and hiring decisions are people of color — out of five newsroom managers, three are Latino. About 70 percent of columnists are people of color.
Of about 240 Express-News employees companywide, there is an even split of women and men and 44 percent are people of color. There is now an active diversity and inclusion committee. Still, the demographics are disproportionate with San Antonio, where people of color make up 75 percent of the population.
I am grateful to be a member of the Express-News Editorial Board, a small, diverse team that includes one white man, one Black man, a Hispanic man and me, a Latina.
We all have work to do. The diversity picture of TV news is unnerving. The SAAHJ audit, released May 24 and endorsed by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, examines local English language television stations, not including KLRN or Spectrum News. The report looks at 55 San Antonio anchors. It found a quarter of San Antonio’s TV news anchors are Latino.
KSAT anchor Isis Romero tweeted about the audit: “San Antonio can — and must — do better.”
Her words matter, but those in power to hire and retain journalists of color have to listen and act.
Interwoven in journalists’ expertise is their ability to reflect the communities they cover. As a Hispanic woman, I practice some aspects of journalism differently from a white man. My values and experiences shape the stories I tell. It’s true for all journalists. No matter their background, every member of the media must strive to be fair and ethical. But we all have filters that affect what we cover, whom we interview, what questions we ask, and what facts and opinions we include.
If journalists don’t look like their communities, they risk missing stories of significance or grasping meaning to the audience. They risk getting the story wrong, or not telling it at all.
Locally, the forward-looking nonprofit SA2020 calls for responsible, race-conscious data analysis and storytelling in its 2020 Community Impact Report, urging media to consider: “Does this story highlight institutional barriers? Does it showcase how change requires institutions across sectors working together?”
The diversity struggle in American journalism is as old as its roots. According to the Pew Research Center, newsroom employees are less diverse than U.S. workers overall and are more likely to be white men. They also found an alarming 53 percent of Americans say news organizations do not care about the people they report on.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio native and Democrat who led the Hispanic Caucus, has been meeting with media executives to advocate for greater
Latino representation. “Not only are Latino faces too often missing in American media — the Latino narrative is missing as well,” Castro said. “I’m convinced most Americans don’t know who we are, what we’ve contributed or where we fit into the country.”
Clearly, more must be done to train journalists about diversity and inclusion, and to recruit, train and nurture more diverse journalists.
Here’s what I see as vital for the Express-News going forward: Transparency is improving, and there’s purpose and value found in having a team that reflects its community. Many executive leaders won’t even discuss diversity
— but our publisher embraces it. He welcomed an interview but did not review this column before publication. Medici addresses diversity, answering questions from staff and the community. He doesn’t shy away from accountability, and he’s committed to deeper diversity.
“Our work is not done,” Medici said.
Honest, accurate journalism begets a resilient democracy. It also sparks imperative social change. Without journalists of color helping to craft powerful stories, we risk all of it.