The disparity of diversity in newsrooms is still prevalent in 2023

  Flint, MI - The Flint & Saginaw Association of Black Journalists (FSABJ) received submissions from non-white media professionals on discrimination, workplace bullying, and harassment. An anonymous first-year reporter shared her experience working for a broadcast media outlet. She described an uncomfortable, unfriendly work environment. She felt she was not wanted and was there for diversity purposes alone. She was the only African American representation at the news station. She was given the “grunt” work and felt she was not taken seriously as compared to non-black first year reporter colleagues. Could it be that she simply did not have the skills required to be assigned more desirable stories to move her career forward? Although roughly 40% of the U.S. population is non-white, a fraction of that percentage is represented in newsrooms across the nation. This delayed transition of societal representation confirms a seemingly continued lack of urgency or understanding to support a newsroom that represents what the country looks like today. The most common ethnicity of journalists is White (70.8%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (12.0%), Asian (8.5%), and Black or African American (5.4%). This is a 50+ year discussion and in all these years, people of color are still the topic of conversation, but why is that? African Americans graduate with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees each year; those graduates studied mass communications or journalism. For students to gain industry experience before graduation, most universities require internships as a part of their degree programs. Lack of experience can be crossed off the list for the many reasons why there are not a greater percentage of Black journalists working in newsrooms across the nation. In the fall of 2022, the University of Michigan Flint reported that African Americans made up of 13.36% of their student body enrolled in arts & sciences. People of color are interested in the arts & sciences. Is it enough to move the needle forward and hire more people of color in newsrooms, be it broadcast or print? Michael H. Cottman is an African American award-winning journalist and program editor for NBC Universal News Group's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team, he is on record saying, he felt unsupported by the institution of journalism while covering stories about Black people. He further said, “one way to make change is to hire more people of color, particularly in the rooms where decisions happen.”