From the editor: A diverse newsroom is key to The Enquirer's success

Chances are you or someone you know took part in the Great Resignation. 

Coined by a professor at Texas A&M University, the term describes the surge of people who quit their jobs in early 2021 – a trend that continued into this year.

The Enquirer newsroom was not spared. At one point last year, we had six open positions, turnover I had not experienced in 15 years of leading newsrooms. 

Despite the challenges of recruiting during a global pandemic, I’m pleased to report that The Enquirer did not lose ground in its mission to have a diverse newsroom that reflects our community.

Two years ago, The Enquirer, along with more than 200 local news organizations that are part of the USA TODAY Network, published the results of our first comprehensive diversity census. We’ve pledged that by 2025, our newsrooms will reflect the racial, ethnic and sexual orientation of the communities we serve. 

Why is this important?

For The Enquirer to succeed, we must have an inclusive workplace where employees are valued and feel empowered. We are committed to building and sustaining a workforce that is reflective of the diversity in the communities we serve. As part of that commitment, we are annually publishing the makeup of our newsroom staff.

At The Enquirer, we enjoy the benefits of one of the more diverse newsrooms in the network, but we still have work to do.

Some highlights:

People who identify as Black make up 13% of our readership area*, according to census data. The Enquirer’s staffing is slightly under, at 11%.

In 2021, The Enquirer had no newsroom employees who identify as Latino or Hispanic, compared with 3.5% in the community. Here we made modest progress.

Another area that needs attention is our gender gap. While women make up 51% of our readership area, female staffers account for 42% of our newsroom, a slight increase over last year.

We know that meeting our goal to better reflect the diversity of our community will require a sustained effort – Great Resignation or not. You have my pledge that not only will we stay committed to task, we will be transparent to our readers who are counting on us to succeed.

As always, I value your feedback and suggestions. 

This information, a snapshot as of July 1, 2022, includes the gender and racial makeup of our news workforce and our coverage area, as well as for managers within our newsroom.

The American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau asks two separate questions, one about Hispanic origin and one about race, allowing individuals to self-select from multiple options. However, to compare with internal Gannett employee information that asks individuals to mark only one option, we used the following categories: Hispanic or Latino (for ACS, regardless of any other race selected), White (not Hispanic or Latino), Black or African American (not Hispanic or Latino), Asian (not Hispanic or Latino), American Indian or Alaska Native (not Hispanic or Latino), Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (not Hispanic or Latino), or two or more races (not Hispanic or Latino). All information on racial identity is provided voluntarily by employees. Gannett also allows an individual to not disclose their race or ethnicity.

* The Enquirer serves just over 2 million people in Greater Cincinnati, covering all of Hamilton County and significant portions of Butler, Warren and Clermont counties in Ohio; and Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties in Kentucky. 

Beryl Love is executive editor of The Enquirer. Email him at blove@enquirer.com.