Diversity in newsrooms becomes focus during coverage of George Floyd protests

NEW YORK - Famed publisher Philip Graham is credited with describing journalism as “the first rough draft of history.”

How we in the media tell stories of major events is remembered forever in history books and museums, but it starts with who is telling those stories. 

According to Pew Research, black Americans tend to be under-represented in U.S. newsrooms, and experts say the framing of large scale events in news coverage is as simple as who is in charge of the newsroom.

“It’s important to have the people in your newsroom, to be able to represent the diversity of perspectives in your audience,” said Doris Truong, Director of Training and Diversity at the Poynter Institute. “And you can’t ensure that you have those diverse perspectives unless you have people from a variety of different backgrounds.”

Not having diverse voices, or diverse voices in a newsroom who feel comfortable speaking up, to speak about cases like George Floyd can lead to unintended steoretypes, according to Bob Butler, the Former President of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Terms like "mobs, gangs and thugs," all of which have been used to describe George Floyd protesters based on the actions of a small minority of demonstrators.

"People are out there protesting peacefully, but you always have these people that want to come in and take advantage of the situation. They're not protesting, they're rioting," Butler said. "It's the use of the terms that I think really is a problem."

Moreover, Butler says that times of cultural crisis shouldn’t be the only time issues facing minority communities are on the news or experts from black and brown communities appear on TV.

“If you’re in a town that’s 45 percent minority and there are no minorities on your staff, that’s a problem and something that needs to be fixed,” Butler said. 

Just this week, employees at the Philadelphia Inquirer staged a walkout after the paper ran the headline “Buildings Matter Too,” comparing vandalism to the Black Lives Matter movement.

According to the NY Post, at least 44 “Journalists of Color of The Philadelphia Inquirer" signed a letter saying “On June 4, we’re calling in sick and tired."

 “Sick and tired of pretending things are OK,” added the letter, "The carelessness of our leadership makes it harder to do our jobs, and at worst puts our lives at risk.”

Taking it all in, current NABJ President Dorothy Tucker, said this on behalf of her members  across the country in a video posted to YouTube.

"Allow them to report from their perspective," Tucker said. "Going forward, ensure there are newsleaders that look like them and understand their experience."

 A time in america when many problems are being exposed and the truth of centuries old wound is ripped open.

How it's put back together...we'll find out together.

"There's something different about this one," Butler said. "We're on 8 or 9 days straight of protests. I think people are listening."