OPINION

Burlington Free Press newsroom strives to reflect community we serve

Portrait of Aki Soga Aki Soga
Burlington Free Press

For The Burlington Free Press to succeed, we must have an inclusive and diverse 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 our commitment to an inclusive culture, we are annually publishing the makeup of our newsroom staff. That same commitment is being carried out across the USA TODAY Network, which is made up of more than 200 local publications and USA TODAY.

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.

A diverse and inclusive workforce helps us better connect and serve you, our readers and our community partners.

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