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Poynter’s Irby urges new thoughts on newsroom diversity
At a time when news organizations are focused on matters of sheer economic survival, Poynter’s senior faculty member for visual journalism and diversity, Kenny Irby, says it’s no surprise that newsrooms are experiencing diversity fatigue. However, Irby says journalists need to change their thinking about the issue. “Ideas about diversity have been so associated with people and hiring and the cost associated, that when you’re in a hiring freeze, if you’re only thinking of diversity in terms of hiring, you can’t do anything,” said Kenny Irby. Instead, Irby suggests that journalism organizations broaden their understanding of diversity beyond people and into content. “Diversity is a catalyst to innovation,” said Irby. ”When you have mixed groups and more voices and perspectives it can help you. There are lots of examples of how having a diverse workforce and talent pool leads to more innovative ideas.” Irby points to the Santa Fe New Mexican as having diversified its coverage of a changing community by focusing on Latino, Hispanic and Native Americans. By covering issues of change as they relates to the audience, Irby says the paper has tapped into potential new readers. “Publications need to stop and think about their unique audiences – not the national […]
Read More →Video journalism tips from a pro
Darren Durlach left television almost two years ago to try something new. He’d won two consecutive NPPA TV Photographer of the Year awards and, unbeknownst to him, was on the verge of winning a third. He’s now senior multimedia producer at the Boston Globe, where he shoots and edits stories both alone and in collaboration with the newspaper’s reporters. It’s a different world. Durlach spent six years in local TV newsrooms at WVIR in Charlottesville, Va., and WBFF in Baltimore, Md. Now he’s learning to meet the demands of a print newsroom that’s still relatively new at the video game. Durlach sums up his approach to storytelling with three Cs: Character Connect Collect What makes a great character? “Access,” Durlach says. It’s not a person who’s quick with one-liners or the loudest person in the room, it’s someone who will let you in and reveal what really makes them tick. “People have walls, but when you get the feeling they may open up, stick with them,” he advises. “When you find someone to be compelling, most likely, you audience will also find them to be compelling.” Once you’ve made a connection with a character, collect the elements you’ll need to […]
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