D IV E R SIT Y M AT TE R S
Would the
2016 election
coverage change
if newsrooms
utilized more
journalists of
color on the
campaign trail?
By Eric Burse
STUDENTS NEED TO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT
HOW THE LACK OF DIVERSITY IN NEWSROOMS
AFFECTS WHAT WE HEAR AND READ ABOUT THE
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
H
uffington Post executive
editor Liz Heron posted this
photo to Twitter in late May,
sharing a glimpse inside their
editorial meeting with her 52,000
followers. “Notice anything about this
@HuffingtonPost editors meeting?”
the caption read. It seems Heron
intended to highlight the large number
of women making editorial decisions.
However, she received an immediate
internet backlash attacking the lack
of males or people of color on the
Huffington Post editorial staff.
Angry response tweets ensued, and
of course, news articles highlighting
the situation were published and
shared thousands of times. I believe
this situation is the perfect teachable
moment for students to understand
how a newsroom full of people, which
might not be racially diverse, can affect
what stories are covered and how
they are told. Specifically, I argue that
this phenomenon is awfully evident
in the media’s coverage of the 2016
presidential campaign so far.
The numbers speak for themselves.
America’s most diverse electorate ever
will vote in November, but the people
writing stories about the candidates,
deciding what questions to ask them
and analyzing their speeches is not at
all reflective of the population. Thirty
percent of the United States currently
is a racial minority, but you would not
notice that by looking at the endless