The Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal

PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN MINORITY STAFFING: 100,001 to 250,000 CIRCULATION  [Chart]

Don Lindley
Executive Editor
The Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal

Please describe your approach to increasing diversity in your newsroom. Creating an internship program that involves a historically black college in Daytona Beach, Bethune-Cookman College. Convincing the front office that an investment in building diversity is an investment in a better newspaper. Recruiting at as many diversity job fairs as possible. Requiring editors involved in hiring to have at least one qualified diverse candidate among the three or four finalists normally considered for an opening. Networking with diversity leaders in the industry and in academia to let them know about our commitment. Encouraging key editors to attend such programs as ASNE’s Diversity Leadership Institute.

What is the toughest obstacle to success and how have you worked to overcome it? Larger newspapers competing for the same candidates and hiring away promising diverse staffers. We don’t always overcome these problems, but senior editors do all they can to make this a great place to work and to build a career.

What are the benefits/paybacks of greater diversity? A more diverse staff enables us to do a better job covering the increasingly diverse communities we serve. It makes us more accurate and credible. It makes us better.

How does greater diversity in your newsroom affect content? Diversity brings different ideas and perspectives to every aspect of producing a daily newspaper. These ideas and perspectives inevitably find their way into the content of the paper.

Please cite one example of a story that was impacted by diversity in your newsroom. Patricio Balona, a bilingual police and courts reporter, received a tip from a bilingual source to check out a criminal case involving a Cuban man. The Spanish-speaking man was assigned a court-appointed interpreter in 2004 when he accepted a plea deal from prosecutors. Our reporter found out the man thought he was pleading no contest to stealing a toolbox, a misdemeanor, and would receive probation. In fact, he was pleading guilty to a felony — the theft of a large dump truck, valued at $125,000 — and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Our coverage prompted a national expert to write in a report to the judge that the court interpreter was not fluent in Spanish and her translation was incomprehensible. That led the judge to throw out the man’s plea and sentence. The case helped spur enactment of a new state law last year requiring minimum standards for certification, discipline and training of court interpreters. Reporter Balona’s fluency in Spanish not only helped him get the initial tip but also allowed him to interview the man in jail, evaluate the interpretation for himself and follow all the proceedings.

(Postscript: The man asked for a jury trial in June 2006, was convicted of third-degree felony grand theft and sentenced to five years — not 15 — in prison.)

What advice do you have for editors seeking to improve diversity in their newsrooms? Perseverance.

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