Diversity Audit for NC Newsrooms: Recommendations from the analysts

Recommendations for individual journalists

Note: For this section, analysts were invited to provide recommendations that could be helpful to journalists navigating difficult situations, rather than individual solutions to systemic problems.

🤝 Build meaningful connections

HOW: Spend more time pursuing meaningful digital and social media engagement. Develop a list of people to follow who offer insightful comments.
WHY: To amplify the work
– Adriana Chavela

🖱️ Look behind the clicks; Don’t ignore online chatter

HOW: Dismissing the standpoints of underrepresented people in media contributes to further division between people who make news and those who need it most. Analyze digital traffic as an indication of cultural success or failure.
WHY: The context behind each click, share and “favorite” tell a much richer story than can be conveyed by numbers alone.
– Adriana Chavela

❌ DO NOT take on the work yourself if you are a person of color in the newsroom unless you are allowed to perform it full-time with compensation.

HOW: Say, “No.”
WHY: Additional diversity work is often placed on people of color and is often unpaid and a thankless task. It can quickly lead to burnout and resentment.
– Tony Elkins

👏 Don’t give up! Your voice matters.

HOW: Find the right newsroom for YOU.
WHY: While unsustainable and discouraging, trying different newsrooms and journalism mediums could prove beneficial. Just because the first newsroom you land in doesn’t feel right, even if it’s “your major,” doesn’t mean another kind of medium won’t work out for you either.
– Laura Brache

🪜 Create a path of upward mobility for yourself.

HOW: Ask in advance what opportunities are within the organization for your growth in the company. Also, keep a document of the work that has been done throughout the years.
WHY: This will help you, as a journalist, to see the growth you have accomplished, and will also hold you and your mentors accountable salary-wise.
– Eileen Rodriguez

🗣️ Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.

HOW: Speak in advance and investigate how much the person who was in your position before was earning, what are some of the perks available in the organization and do some research about how much other people in your position are earning — but do not be scared to ask for more.
– Eileen Rodriguez

🌐 Media leaders of color should seek out networks of support or form their own informal networks.

HOW: Join fellowship programs such as the Media Transformation Challenge; networks like NABJ; or reach out to others who you believe are navigating similar circumstances.
WHY: Leadership can be an isolating experience for anyone. That can be even more true when you are a person of color. Finding networks of support are critical for affirming and normalizing your experiences, getting advice or mentorship, and otherwise not feeling alone. There is also the opportunity to share resources and build collective power.
– Cierra Hinton