In an opinion piece this week, the Managing Editor at Eugene’s Register-Guard says the newspaper- and its corporate owner- have made a pledge to diversity in staffing and reporting.
Michelle Maxwell said, for too long, many newsrooms, including her own, “have not reflected the communities they serve.”
She said the killing of George Floyd and the social justice protests that followed prompted a commitment from The Register-Guard -and parent company Gannett’s other 260 local publications- to increase diversity by 2025.
Maxwell writes the current percentage of multi-racial journalists in her newsroom reflects and even exceeds demographics of the communities. However, they “falter on gender.” Only 27% of full-time RG newsroom staff are women.
The Register-Guard reports plans to annually publish the gender and racial makeup of the news force and management. In a snapshot from July 31st of this year, graphs show over 60% of the newsroom and 100% of leadership “declined to answer” or identify a race.
Link to Register-Guard, August 20, 2020 online article:
https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/2020/08/20/eugene-register-guard-2020-diversity-inclusion-newsroom-results/3396321001/