As journalists strive to regain the public’s trust, one trend they must take into account is their own remoteness. Newsrooms in general lack racial and ethnic diversity, the majority of sources quoted in stories are white and male, and most journalists have a college education. All of these factors can distort the public’s perception of the news media and lead to a lack of trust.
Lack of diversity is an issue news organizations have grappled with for years. According to an American Society of News Editors 2017 study of employees at 661 news organizations, 16 percent identified as minorities. In the same study, women made up more than a third, 39 percent, of newsroom staffs. Comparing those figures to census data for the country as a whole shows that minorities, who make up 29 percent of the U.S. population, are substantially underrepresented in newsrooms. According to NiemanLab, the percentage of women in newsroom has increased only 1.75 percent since 2001, despite over half the population being women, and most college graduates also being women.
Even in diverse areas like New York City, whites are overrepresented and minorities are underrepresented in major newsrooms, according to an analysis by Columbia Journalism Review.
When it comes to newsroom leadership, the 2017 ASNE study found minority journalists hold 13.4 percent of supervisory jobs and women hold 38.9 percent.
This means that in most cases, white males are making all of the editorial decisions, and stories that would be pursued by women or people of color are often left out. This can alienate readers that feel their stories aren’t being told by journalists. For example, in a 2011 literature review on the effect that media and communications has on black men and boys, reviewers found “the overall presentation of black males in the media is distorted in a variety of ways, relative to the real-world facts.” Reviewers attributed distorted portrayals to things like producer bias, incorrect assumptions and lack of input from black constituents.
Along with race and gender, there are other ways lack of diversity can affect trust. In the current political climate, many Americans believe journalists are a “liberal elite” and feel they cannot trust the news. According to a Gallup/Knight survey, 67 percent of Republicans see a “great deal” of political bias in news coverage compared to 26 percent of Democrats. Republicans’ lack of trust is linked to the idea of the “liberal elite,” and the fact that most major news organizations are located on the coasts rather than middle America is a part of it—they have accused mainstream media of inhabiting a liberal “bubble” for years. Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight, argues that this bubble really exists. Silver cites a study by two Indiana State University professors that found, as of 2014, only 7 percent of journalists identify as Republicans.
A side effect of this lack of racial, sexual and political diversity among journalists is their sourcing methods. With small newsroom budgets, journalists have to cover more stories in a shorter period of time, so they end up reaching out to people who are the most accessible sources. Sharon Beder of the University of Wollongong says news is often shaped by the people journalists choose to study and interview. Beder says because journalists often choose from a small pool of sources they deem to be experts, or the most important people to interview, this can create bias in the journalist and in their work. She also argues that journalists who have access to important political and corporate figures feel they have to avoid reporting adversely about these sources if they want to maintain access.
As the United States becomes more diverse, newsrooms must do a better job of reflecting the diverse communities they serve. How are journalists supposed to produce stories for the people if they don’t represent the people, if they remain remote? As a start to regaining public trust, journalists must prove that they are of the people, by making newsrooms more diverse and diversifying their sources.
Alina Sturgess is a student at the University of Montana School of Journalism, focusing on written reporting. She hopes to pursue her love for food and culture after graduation and utilize her education to become a travel journalist. Outside of school Alina enjoys reading celebrity gossip, hanging out with her cat, and enjoying the many breweries around Missoula.
