Diverse newsroom that reflects communities we serve is key to telling Burlington's stories
Aki SogaI’m new to this job of editor of the Burlington Free Press, but I’m hardly new to Vermont or our newsroom.
I’ve lived and worked in the Burlington area for more than 30 years – almost half my life and nearly my entire journalism career. Over those years, a lot has changed in our community as well as how we do our jobs at the Free Press.
Through it all, the core mission of the Free Press journalists has remained the same – tell stories that reflect, reveal and inform our readers. We want to chronicle who we are today, but also how we got here and where we may be headed.
To make sure we deliver to our readers the news they need and want, we are committed to a diverse newsroom. The goal is to reflect the community we serve with the journalist in the newsroom and the stories we bring to our readers.
Some of the stories we’ve done this year include:
In May, Lilly St. Angelo wrote about Dr. Julees Wetchi,who uses his radio program showcasing upbeat African tunes to deliver public health messages in French to his fellow Congolese in the Burlington area. St. Angelo took the extra step of having the story translated into French to reach the people who rely on Wetchi’s show.
Read it in EnglishHow one Congolese public health leader uses radio and TV to reach his community
Lire en français:Un leader congolais de la santé aide sa communauté de Burlington à la radio et à la télévision
In June, Brent Hallenbeck wrote about an exhibit that looked at the history of neighborhood markets. The exhibit traced “the arrivals of French-Canadian and Irish immigrants to Vermont, followed by Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Italians. More recent arrivals to Vermont have included immigrants from Vietnam, Bosnia, Somalia and Nepal.”
“I was once a store.”'More Than a Market' exhibit explores food, culture of Burlington, Winooski
And in July, April Barton reported on the Black Lives Matter flag that flew from the pole at Bellow Free Academy in Fairfax the divided this small, nearly all white rural community.
Education in Vermont:A contentious flag pole policy means Fairfax school will bring down the BLM flag
Our efforts to ensure diversity in our newsroom are part of a company-wide effort to address a critical need in the journalism profession. The USA Today Network, a group of more than 260 local publications that includes the Free Press, is committed to reflecting its communities in newsroom diversity by 2025.
Who we are shapes how we see the world. That’s why creating a news staff that represents a range of backgrounds, views and life experiences is a necessary part of delivering stories that are relevant to our readers.
In the end, what matters is the stories we deliver to our audiences.
More: Gannett newsrooms making steady progress in overall diversity
As we strive to build a diverse newsroom, we also work we listen with open minds to the conversation we have in person and online with our readers. That’s how we tell your stories.
You can find the contact information for each reporter at the bottom of the stories they write. Or reach out to us at metro@freepressmedia.com.
Aki Soga is editor of the Burlington Free Press. You can reach him at asoga@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @asoga.