(Toronto) A recent survey of diversity in newsrooms in Canada suggests that news organizations have a long way to go if they want to diversify editorial teams, particularly in terms of full-time positions and leadership positions.
National data released last month by the Canadian Association of Journalists on the composition of newsrooms shows that 78% of journalists identify as white, 4.6% as Indigenous and 17.5% as belonging to a visible minority. .
The survey, conducted between March and August 2022, is based on voluntary responses from 242 print, radio, television and digital media, representing a total of 5,012 journalists.
The report says about eight in 10 newsrooms had no reporters who identified as Latino, Middle Eastern or Métis, and eight in 10 had no black or Indigenous reporters. Nearly eight in 10 companies also said they had no visible minority or Indigenous representatives in their top three management positions.
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) acknowledges in the report that the data and the snapshot it provides have their limitations — including the fact that not all newsrooms participated in the survey, and that the data on affiliation were unknown for about a quarter of the journalists.
John Miller, a professor emeritus at Metropolitan University of Toronto, who for two decades has championed greater diversity in newsrooms, said he was disappointed with the poll results — which are “equally damning than those of last year.
“The onus is on the leaders of the various media outlets, who need to understand that our population is constantly changing and they too need to change to respond to society where it is in terms of demographics,” he said. recently interviewed.
Brian Daly, assistant professor of journalism at the University of King’s College, Halifax, agrees. “It’s just a matter of common sense. […] People of color won’t want to buy a product if they can’t identify with it. »
” Do what I say… ”
The ACJ believes that news organizations should be transparent about the composition of their newsrooms, as many of them “regularly report on the diversity of cabinet ministers and companies.” He also notes that similar data has been collected in the United States since 1978.
“The media should start doing the right thing before asking all of society to do it,” said Professor Miller.
Men outnumber women in senior newsroom positions: 54.3% of top newsroom leaders identify as male, 44.3% as female, and 1.3% as not binaries.
Meanwhile, 83% of supervisors identify as white, compared to 2.7% who identify as black, 3.5% as Indigenous and 5.5% as Asian, the survey shows.
The report also notes that diversity is higher among part-timers and interns.
Andrea Baillie, editor of The Canadian Press, said the results of this survey show there is still a lot of work to be done.
“The Canadian Press has various initiatives in place to add new perspectives to our newsrooms; it’s a top priority, she says. The diversity of our workforce is slowly changing, but we need to retain new employees, make sure they feel heard, and move them into senior roles. »
CAJ president Brent Jolly says one of the biggest challenges in bringing about change is combating this entrenched bias that hiring teams may have.
“A lot of times, people hire people who are like them. It’s very well documented,” he said, hoping the ACJ’s investigations “will serve as a call to action for those responsible.”
Peter Uduehi is a journalist and editor of African World News; he works in Toronto.