By Shannan Bowen, Executive Director
A text from my sister-in-law over the weekend hit home in a professional sense:
“We’ve tried to shield them from the news lately.”
She was talking about her young kids, who are biracial and have recently learned how people are sometimes treated differently because of the color of their skin. As the Trump administration issues executive orders targeting DEI programs, immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, many North Carolinians have a lot of questions about how those actions and policies play out at home. Some are also worried about their future, their opportunities, and even their safety. My sister-in-law, like many people we’ve heard from around our state through our community listening initiatives, is worried about how her children are represented by media, and how actions at the federal and state level will impact their lives where they live.
I come from a family with many racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, which has shaped my understanding of representation and equity in journalism. My grandfather, my dad’s stepfather, is Pacific Islander. He was born in American Samoa, a U.S. territory where people are U.S. nationals but not automatically granted citizenship—a legal distinction that has long been challenged by activists. I have many other close family members who are Samoan, Latino, Black and multiracial. I am so grateful for the perspectives I’ve gained from an extended family that teaches me daily about the importance of diversity and representation of people who look like them in our newsrooms and through our journalism. They’ve also taught me about the importance of equity through their personal challenges—challenges that I don’t experience as a white woman, despite being in the same family.
When I talk to journalists about community listening practices, I highlight the importance of listening to people whose lived experiences differ from theirs. It can be uncomfortable work, but listening is a foundational skill for any journalist—one that ought to be practiced regularly beyond interviews with sources. Representation and inclusion of those voices and meeting their information needs so everyone can improve their lives and communities also should be foundational skills. That’s why the NC Local News Workshop has focused on diversity, equity and inclusion since our beginning in 2020 with our Media Equity Project. We’ve held a leadership training program for early leaders of color in newsrooms. We’ve convened news leaders on policies, coverage and sourcing. We’ve held community listening sessions to elevate voices of people of color, people in rural areas, people from low-wealth communities and more. And this week we’re hosting an event to help newsrooms commit to antiracist values and plans.
At a time when some have politicized diversity, equity and inclusion and educational institutions and corporations are eliminating programs in response, we’re leaning in. We will continue to strengthen our commitment to supporting newsrooms’ work—and our own—to represent and engage communities through listening, relationship-building, reporting, editorial strategies and staff development. When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, our work isn’t political. These are core values of the NC Local News Workshop—and of many newsrooms here in our state.
We’re continuing that support, and we welcome you to join us. Cierra Hinton is hosting an upcoming Anti-Racist Table Stakes workshop for newsrooms. We’ll also have an open conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion topics that news leaders want more support around, and we’ll then launch circles of practice around those topics that anyone working in the news and information ecosystem in our state can join going forward.
Our upcoming 2025 NC News & Information Summit will include additional programming to help newsrooms commit to their own DEI work. Emma Carew Grovum, a leader in DEI work in media, will host a workshop at our Summit on how to make DEI part of the everyday focus in newsrooms. We’ll also have a lunch roundtable for our Women in Journalism group, plus much more on the agenda to support newsrooms and their work to serve their communities. It’s time to commit or recommit to ensuring all North Carolinians have access to news that they can trust, that helps them understand how they’re impacted by local, state and federal issues, and that equips them with the information and resources they need to build safe, healthy and equitable communities.
