How can newsrooms create a more inclusive and sensitive culture?

Newsrooms are often under pressure to produce timely and accurate stories, but sometimes they may overlook the impact of their words and images on diverse audiences. How can journalists and editors foster a culture of sensitivity and inclusion in their work environments and their reporting? Here are some tips and best practices from experts and practitioners in the field.

1 Define your values

One of the first steps to creating a more inclusive and sensitive newsroom is to identify and articulate your core values and ethical principles. What are the goals and standards of your journalism? How do you respect and represent the diversity of your sources, subjects, and readers? How do you handle sensitive topics such as race, gender, religion, disability, and trauma? Having a clear and shared vision of your values can help you align your policies, practices, and training with your mission and audience.

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Shalom Kasim

Writer-editor
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One thing that I have discovered over time, is that the culture of inclusion begins with reporters on the field. An editor or publisher is limited to only what their person on the field brings. To develop a culture of inclusion, let's forget about those in the newsroom and focus on those on the field —they are out first and only access to the stories out there.

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Claudia Vaccarone, MSc

Inclusion Strategy & Inclusive Communications Consultant | Gender Equality & Diversity in media expert | Inclusive language | Global Marketing & Communications executive | Keynote Speaker | Author | Advisor | ex Netflix
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Assuming most workplaces wish the most inclusive experience for their employees, I would say one of the first steps is analysing the perspectives that are currently present in the newsroom. Conduct an objective assessment and analysis of which identities are currently represented along the dimensions of gender, sexual orientation, race, ability, languages, and any other dimension that is relevant to the publication's mission and core audience. Then be honest in assessing whose voices and perspectives are missing from the newsroom. Without this lucid, candid and honest assessment, any additional initiative will miss the target of creating a more inclusive and sensitive culture - if it's always the same majority defining what constitute news.

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2 Listen and learn

Another key step is to listen and learn from your colleagues and your communities. How do they experience and perceive your newsroom culture and your coverage? What are their needs, expectations, and feedback? How can you improve your communication and collaboration? How can you diversify your staff, sources, and perspectives? Listening and learning can help you build trust, empathy, and understanding among your team and your public.

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3 Check and challenge

A third step is to check and challenge your own assumptions, biases, and blind spots. How do you select, frame, and verify your stories? How do you use language, images, and data to convey your message? How do you avoid stereotypes, generalizations, and sensationalism? How do you acknowledge and correct your mistakes? Checking and challenging can help you improve your accuracy, accountability, and credibility as a journalist.

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Claudia Vaccarone, MSc

Inclusion Strategy & Inclusive Communications Consultant | Gender Equality & Diversity in media expert | Inclusive language | Global Marketing & Communications executive | Keynote Speaker | Author | Advisor | ex Netflix
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The focus on #language has become crucial, especially in gendered languages prone to masculine generic. News framing and the language used can have immense repercussion on gender representation. That is why I enjoy working with innovative newsrooms such as @SWI Swissinfo.ch which have future-proofed themselves by analysing their output and trained their writers, editors and translators on gender neutral language. Shifting the language to include everyone also shifts the perception of the audience and their engagement with the brand. But it is a fundamental step in making sure journalism and news are non-discriminating and represent all identities and experiences, and not just the new of the dominant group.

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4 Educate and empower

A fourth step is to educate and empower yourself and others to practice inclusive and sensitive journalism. How do you keep up with the latest trends, research, and resources on diversity and inclusion? How do you access and share best practices, guidelines, and tools for covering sensitive issues? How do you support and mentor your peers and juniors to develop their skills and confidence? Educating and empowering can help you enhance your professionalism, creativity, and quality as a journalist.

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Claudia Vaccarone, MSc

Inclusion Strategy & Inclusive Communications Consultant | Gender Equality & Diversity in media expert | Inclusive language | Global Marketing & Communications executive | Keynote Speaker | Author | Advisor | ex Netflix
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It is important to understand the difference between the internal and the output dimensions. One should focus on the actual experiences and working culture in everyday interactions among the members of the newsroom: are different perspectives heard ? Are women listened to ? Are all identities respected ? And the other dimensions concerns the content, the output (articles, published news items) which should be keeping up with a rapidly shifting society and at the same time helping society in advancing and changing old stereotypical beliefs. Both dimensions are correlated, of course, but require different types of expertise.

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5 Celebrate and reward

A fifth step is to celebrate and reward the achievements and efforts of your newsroom and your colleagues in promoting a more inclusive and sensitive culture. How do you recognize and appreciate the contributions and innovations of your team and your partners? How do you showcase and share the stories and voices that reflect the diversity of your audience? How do you measure and evaluate the impact and outcomes of your journalism? Celebrating and rewarding can help you foster a positive, supportive, and inspiring work environment and reputation.

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6 Adapt and improve

A final step is to adapt and improve your strategies and actions based on your feedback, results, and challenges. How do you monitor and review your progress and performance? How do you identify and address the gaps and barriers that hinder your inclusion and sensitivity goals? How do you learn from your successes and failures? How do you adjust and innovate your approaches and methods? Adapting and improving can help you stay relevant, responsive, and responsible as a journalist.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can newsrooms create a more inclusive and sensitive culture?

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1 Define your values

2 Listen and learn

3 Check and challenge

4 Educate and empower

5 Celebrate and reward

6 Adapt and improve

7 Here’s what else to consider

Journalism

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