A new initiative to survey US newsroom diversity
The Diversity Pledge Institute (DPI) has initiated a US newsroom diversity and inclusion survey and also launched a new website ”with hopes that it becomes a hub for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility work across the journalism industry.”
The initiative comes after Nieman Lab earlier this year reported that the News Leaders Association’s diversity survey, the biggest diversity survey of the industry that has been conducted since 1978, is going down the drain because of the strong resistance the news organisations are showing against answering.
The survey was paused in 2020 for a couple of years, due to low participation from the newsrooms and resumed this year, with renewed energy and ambition, led by Meredith Clark, a professor at Northeastern University – who ended up resigning due to the lack of responsiveness.
Clarks’ goal was to reach at least 1,500 responses in order to produce a statistically solid report and worked hard to get them: unfortunately, no more than 303 responded.
Larry Graham, DPI founder and executive director says:
“When I founded DPI, I knew having a website that introduced journalists from diverse backgrounds to news industry leaders ready to invest in DEIA and funders for this work, was paramount. The launch of our new website also coincides with the start of exciting new initiatives at DPI — including the kickoff of a newsroom diversity and inclusion survey. It also positions us to achieve the ambitious goal of establishing our organization as a leader in transforming how DEIA work is approached in journalism.”
The Diversity Pledge Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to research, analysis and education related to diversity in journalism. The goal ”is to solve the diversity pipeline problem; improve retention rates associated with diversity, equity and inclusion; and support journalists’ career growth. We prioritize peer-to-peer training and career learning for journalists while offering ongoing organizational support for diversity and inclusion efforts in media.”
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