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Under pressure from @latimes staff, our bosses today released newsroom diversity numbers. Our newspaper embarked on a historic hiring spree under a new owner in 2018. The result? Our Latino, Black and Asian figures hardly budged.
This is crushing considering the context. At a time when newspapers are struggling, the @latimes invested millions to build a new legacy. This was a rare opportunity to make a difference, but our leaders' hiring efforts, in essence, upheld the status quo.
They upheld the status quo in L.A., where people of color make up 75% of the population.
They upheld the status quo though many colleagues, including myself, recommended dozens of impressive Latino & Black candidates who could have elevated our newsroom culture & our coverage.
They upheld the status quo though many colleagues, including myself, recommended dozens of impressive Latino & Black candidates who could have elevated our newsroom culture & our coverage.
Screenshot is from today's @NPR story on the @latimes uprising over race, equity and #GeorgeFloyd coverage: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/15/874530954/rancor-erupts-in-la-times-newsroom-over-race-equity-and-protest-coverage
For years, the greatest disparity at the @latimes has been with Latinos. Black journalists are incredibly scarce.
Our bosses hired 168 people since 2018:
29 were Latino
11 were Black
94 were white
10 of those Latino/Black hires came in through a “minority” training program.
Our bosses hired 168 people since 2018:
29 were Latino
11 were Black
94 were white
10 of those Latino/Black hires came in through a “minority” training program.
One of the first things I fell in love with as an immigrant kid was the @latimes. I saw so much potential for storytelling. As a grown-up, I’ve found something is deeply broken at our paper & we owe it to the community to move heaven & earth to fix it. https://twitter.com/papayathemariah/status/1272735873260376065?s=21 https://twitter.com/papayathemariah/status/1272735873260376065
