Journalism is still overwhelmingly White. But that won’t change if news organizations don’t talk about it.
It was in that spirit that Gizmodo Media Group on Wednesday sent a report to employees that included a detailed breakdown of racial and gender diversity across the company. Gizmodo Media Group, a subsidiary of Univision that owns all of the former Gawker Media brands plus Fusion and The Root, broke down diversity at various segments within the company.
The analysis is “a good way for us to all to feel accountable” about building “a staff that reflects the diversity of the audiences we want to continue to serve,” Gizmodo Media Group CEO Raju Narisetti wrote in a note to staff accompanying the report.
“There is a lot to be very proud of here, especially in comparison to many of our digital journalism peers, thanks largely to all the amazing talent all of you recommend and attract to GMG,” he wrote.
“And, as it always should be, workplace diversity will remain a work-in-progress and a key priority — from our paid interns to our staff hires — and one where we can strive to do even better than how we are collectively doing now,” he said.
The report shows:
- Fifty percent of the employees identified themselves as White. By comparison, 83 percent of employees at daily newspapers and digital sites identified themselves as non-minorities in the 2016 American Society of News Editors Survey. Seventy-two percent of Vox Media employees identify as White, and 64 percent of BuzzFeed’s U.S. staff is White. (Although Poynter does not release a regular diversity report, our staff is overwhelmingly White.)
- Gizmodo Media Group’s editorial employees are slightly more diverse than the company as a whole. Forty-eight percent (85 employees) of the editorial staff is White; 11 percent (20 employees) identified as Black; 10 percent (17 employees) identified as Asian; 9 percent (15 employees) identified as Hispanic; 16 percent (29 employees) were “not specified.”
- There are slightly more women than men at Gizmodo Media Group. The company is 51 percent (125 employees) female and 49 percent (120 employees) male. That gap widens slightly among editorial employees (52 percent female) and decreases somewhat among non-editorial staff (49 percent). By comparison, Vox is 52 percent male; BuzzFeed is 45 percent male.
- Non-editorial employees are 53 percent (23 employees) White. Fifteen percent (7 employees) are “not specified,” 13 percent (six employees) are Hispanic, 9 percent (four employees) are Asian and 4 percent (two employees) are Black.
- New hires are 62 percent White. Among new hires, 13 percent are “not specified,” 7 percent are Hispanic, 7 percent are Asian, 7 percent are Black and four percent are two or more races. Fifty-three percent of new hires are female.
Here’s the full report:
Benjamin Mullin is the managing editor of Poynter.org. He previously reported for Poynter as a staff writer, Google Journalism Fellow and Naughton Fellow, covering journalism innovation, business practices and ethics. He’s also reported for USA TODAY College and The Sacramento Bee, and he was editor in chief of The Orion, Chico State’s student-run newspaper. An Air Force brat who grew up around Northern California, he’s still adjusting to the Florida sunshine.
