Working toward newsroom diversity is worth the effort to better reflect Palm Beach County
“Nothing worth having comes easy.” — Theodore Roosevelt
I often find myself bragging to visitors that one of our community's greatest strengths is its diversity. Geographically. Environmentally. And most especially, demographically.
The racial and ethnic mix of people who choose to call Palm Beach County home make it a wonderful place to live, work and play. You can see it in the variety of small businesses, art and culture.
More:Gannett newsrooms making steady progress in overall diversity
Post employment by race and gender:Diverse newsrooms critical to covering news in PBC. Our staff must reflect that.
On one street – Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach – you can sample food influences from Cuba to the Deep South, New England to New York City, and Mexico to Greece.
At The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News, we want you to know that we consider this rich diversity a strength of our community. But we also consider it a challenge, because we have tasked ourselves with better representing that diversity in our newsrooms.
It has proven a daunting task thus far. But as President Roosevelt said, it is indeed worth it.
According to an analysis by Gannett, parent company of both newspapers, our Newspaper Designated Market (NDM) is 58.7% white, 15.1% Hispanic, 19.9% Black and 2.6% Asian.
These figures, combining Gannett Consumer Sales NDMs with the 2020 U.S. Census, largely reflect our reach in Palm Beach County.
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As with last year, Gannett's analysis also examines the makeup of the combined newsrooms and how we match up to our market.
No surprise that we're still nowhere near where we want to be. Our current combined staff of 50 full-time journalists is 74.1% white, 13% Hispanic, 9.3% Black with no Asians. That compares to 73.6%, 15.1% and 9.4%, respectively, in 2021.
We know we have to be better than this. To that end, we approach this effort toward newsroom diversity not as static, but dynamic. For example, since July 1, when these figures were compiled, the Post has hired four Hispanic-American journalists – one of whom also identifies as Arab-American. Three of these journalists are also women, an invaluable perspective that will further bolster the quality of our community coverage.
We have expanded our emphasis on coverage of race and equality issues by designating one of our reporters to take the lead and keeping our newsrooms accountable. We've gone deeper into our communities to find those rich stories about individuals and small businesses that highlight our diversity. Stories that for too long were either ignored or viewed only through a certain lens. We've published them throughout our print editions, as well as online, not just in certain sections.
Let me be clear: A great part of our continued mission now must include the need for our staff to more closely mirror the face of our community.
We know that many of you have heard this before. For decades our industry has been inconsistent in this effort, too often offering excuses when we fell short instead of just doing the right thing.
No more. In fact, this is part of a company-wide commitment for the 200-plus Gannett publications. The goal is for our newsrooms to reflect the communities we serve by 2025. To track our progress, we are publishing the makeup of our newsroom staff every year.
We ask not only that you – our community – hold us accountable, but we ask for your help. Let us know when we fall short in our coverage. Or better yet, let us know when things are happening in your community.
We can't promise to be at every event or write every story, but we can and want to do more.
As Palm Beach County grows, U.S. census figures likely will show an even more diverse population. We need to prioritize this mission by connecting to our communities. A diverse workforce is a key to consistent coverage and stronger engagement in the future.
It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.
The Palm Beach Post's employment by race and gender
Rick Christie is Executive Editor of The Palm Beach Post and Deputy Regional Editor/Southeast Florida for the USA TODAY Florida-Georgia Network. You can reach him at RChristie@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.