Then & Now: The Kerner Report & Media Diversity
Perhaps before I even realized it, my interest in storytelling has always been tied back to wanting to see myself in the stories I loved, or even just hearing them from my perspective. I often think of this in terms of entertainment-style mediums -- novels, television shows, movies, and even social media. But the same yearning exists for many people in news and traditional journalism.
We’ve seen many instances of the holistic truth of a story suffering because of the messenger chosen to deliver it. Personal biases combined with the inherently prejudiced nature of almost every institution in society make for a skewed view of everyday happenings, especially as it relates to stories involving people of color (specifically Black people).
Reading the Kerner report was eye-opening, affirming, and disappointing all at the same time. Eye-opening, because no matter how much I know that racism and lacking diversity exists in most fields, I didn’t realize just how extreme it was. I read an article from 2018 in USA Today, highlighting the results of the Kerner report 50 years later and comparing it to the status of media diversity today. The article mentions that before 1960, American newsrooms were almost completely white and male. It later highlights a “then vs. now” example of diversity in media using studies and statements made by the American Society of News Editors or the ASNE (formerly known as the American Society of Newspaper Editors). In 1978, the ASNE proposed a 22-year timeline to increase racial diversity and more specifically, have the diversity of their newsroom reflect that of their communities. In 2000, when that goal wasn’t reached, it was pushed back an additional 25 years - according to ASNE officials, they aren’t projected to reach that goal in 2025 either.
It is affirming and even, to an extent, comforting to hear stories about companies and organizations committing to expanding racial diversity in newsrooms. It is even more affirming to actually see this expansion in action. During the 2020 summer protests, we saw influxes of opportunity being presented to Black writers, creators, activists, and more, as companies and organizations were called out not only for their lack of support for the movement but for their failure to uplift and provide opportunities to their Black peers in their respective industries. Though a lot of these changes may have come around under “forced” circumstances, it still resulted in the presence of POC at many more tables than before.
However, the disappointment comes in when we realize that the changes we are so happy to see have just been a drop in the bucket when you look at the bigger picture. According to a 2017 study by the ASNE, minorities make up just under 17% of newsroom employees. After almost 40 years of “committing” to bringing racial diversity to their own offices, it is clear that this initiative didn’t take the priority it was made out to have -- the same can be said for any company within media or otherwise. There is no shortage of qualified Black people or POC looking to break into the world of media. If newsrooms truly wanted to champion diversity, statistics like the one mentioned above would be a thing of the distant past.
Looking at this from another angle, perhaps diversifying each individual newsroom isn’t the path forward. Much like many other things in America and really the world, if people of color have been excluded from something, it was done purposefully and will take a lot of fighting to change. But by creating our own spaces within media, we give ourselves and those after us the opportunity to not only flourish in our professional lives but to be able to tell our own stories truthfully.
Even as my professional path shifts away from the newsroom, I will continue to make it a priority to create media that centers girls and women who look like me. One of my longstanding goals has been to launch a digital community and publication by and for young Black women, a demographic in media I feel has been overlooked. We have major publications like Ebony and Essence for older Black women, and Teen Vogue and Seventeen for teens and young adults - I hope to create something for the overlap between both of these groups of media.
