Nebraska City News-Press

DIVERSITY INDEX 10,000-and-under CIRCULATION  [Chart]

Tammy Pearson
Executive Editor
Nebraska City (Neb.) News-Press
 
Please describe your approach to achieving high diversity in your newsroom. When hiring a new employee, I look for candidates with qualities not easily reflected on a resume. Rather than focusing on educational background or job experience, I look for someone with the personality to be a good reporter and for someone whose goals fit our organization. We look for people with ties to the community, a dedication to the community and a desire to work hard and make a positive impact. This means having an open-minded approach to hiring and interviewing candidates that, on paper, may not seem ideal. As a result, I have found great employees who otherwise would not have been considered, including an 80-year-old woman with no journalism background.
 
What is the toughest obstacle to success, and how have you worked to overcome it? The toughest obstacle in small towns is getting applications from minorities. That is difficult to overcome when you hire from within the community (which I find beneficial because so much of a reporter’s initial success depends on knowing the coverage area). However, making “help wanted” ads that encourage even inexperienced candidates to apply can be helpful. Of course, it means weeding through applications and doing more interviews, but some of my best employee finds have been unexpected.
 
What are the benefits/paybacks of greater diversity? Certainly a diverse newsroom has many benefits. The more viewpoints and the more varying backgrounds, the better. When a newsroom considers itself a team — devoted to collaborating with and supporting each other — the more diversity, the richer the experience. Having a diverse staff also sends a message to our readers that we respect and embrace diversity. That helps make minorities feel welcomed to share ideas and submissions.
 
How does greater diversity in your newsroom affect content? A diverse newsroom has different interests and priorities. Stories one staff member might be motivated to write might not interest another. A diverse group leads to great new story ideas. And, certainly, an increased awareness of diversity on the staff and an increased comfort with diversity lead to staff members seeking out minority viewpoints and photos that include minorities.
 
Please cite one example of a story that was impacted by diversity in your newsroom. We have included more photos of minorities. But diversity goes beyond racial and ethnic differences. I’m quite proud of a series of stories about different religions. The stories explore the beliefs of religions practiced in our community. Stories have included features on religions that are followed by only a few people in our area to those that have large local followings.
 
We also are sensitive to issues related to people with disabilities and have run several stories that feature the accomplishments of those with disabilities. We have extensively featured the work at the local Nebraska Center for Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired.
 
What advice do you have for editors seeking to improve diversity in their newsrooms? Editors need to explore their own comfort levels. We tend to want to hire people we feel comfortable with. Those who have little experience interacting with minorities may find themselves uncomfortable interviewing minorities. Acknowledge your feelings and work on overcoming them. Most importantly, look at your newsroom as a “team” and build a team that has varied skills, attitudes and backgrounds. If the team members complement each other rather than mirror each other, your newsroom will be richer and more dynamic.
 

Back to top