News Leaders Association Affirms its Commitment to Newsroom Diversity; Pilots National Transformative Transparency Project
Organization Builds on Legacy Diversity Survey To Support Newsrooms In Structural Reform Around DEI Culture
June 14, 2021 — News Leaders Association announced today the pilot of the Transformative Transparency Project, a comprehensive update to the former ASNE Diversity Survey. Since its inception in 1978, the survey has served as the news industry’s authoritative source of demographic data collection. Newsrooms including Indianapolis Star, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Buzzfeed and the Texas Tribune have participated in the pilot of the revamped survey.
As the nation has dealt with its own racial reckoning over the past two years, the news industry also is grappling with its biased legacy and how better to amplify the voices of more communities. Diverse newsrooms are essential to the success of those efforts.
A revitalized and deeper newsroom survey assesses where we are now, helping point us to where we need to be. NLA has developed a strategy to improve on the legacy of the former census that saw declining levels of newsroom participation over the past decade.The first phase of the research will be launched in July with organizational data collection continuing through August. In early 2022, a new element will be rolled out to allow individual journalists to self-report their demographic data and have their voices heard regardless of whether they are affiliated with a news organization, or if their newsroom otherwise chooses not to participate.
“We have worked for more than a year to develop a comprehensive strategy that is grounded in reality,” said Meredith D. Clark, who is coordinating the project. “Through an expanded organizational level survey, a new individual-level survey, focus groups and interviews, we will continue to keep the perspectives of journalists from marginalized groups at the forefront of the programming we develop to address the power dynamics that have limited meaningful newsroom integration for decades.”
The new demographic census includes a number of key changes:
Expanding multiple racial and ethnic identities
Open-ended options to allow participants to designate identity on their own terms
Expanding the definition of diversity to explicitly include social class and social mobility
Formal inclusion of data points to recognize LGBTQIA+ identifying journalists, journalists with disabilities, and journalists with military backgrounds
Providing individual journalists with the ability to self-report, while maintaining confidentiality
Centering the narratives of journalists from marginalized groups to contextualize the numerical data
Katrice Hardy, chair of the NLA Diversity Committee, said, “NLA’s new census approach is dynamic and responsive to the industry’s needs. In addition to the core census, the Transformative Transparency Project now includes the creation of tools to assist newsrooms in improving the DEI culture in their newsrooms and the launch of a new program to provide support and space for underrepresented journalists.”
As part of the changes, NLA has launched the Transformative Transparency Exchange, a monthly facilitated group that offers an open dialogue about news media’s failure to meaningfully integrate. The first three sessions have centered the narratives and needs of women in leadership, caregivers, and journalists who identify as Asian American and Pacific Islanders. The next event will focus on LGBTQ+ journalists, register here.
In the coming weeks, NLA will be working with partners in the media and DEI space to ensure a wide level of industry participation in the survey. Stay tuned for the launch of the survey next month, and sign up here for updates.
We invite you to keep up with our efforts by visiting the NLA website at www.newsleaders.org, or following us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Please email us at contact@newsleaders.org with any questions.