APSE president's message

It's not silly.

Is diversity a priority or not?

If it's not, make the case. Go ahead. But don't pretend that journalism is the one industry that your case will apply to.

Don't act like it's not extremely disingenuous for liberals and/or the media to preach the importance of diversity for all -- except for themselves.

History shows that when diversity is not a priority, it is ignored. So, if journalism does not prioritize diversity, it will likely be ignored.

 

I think you're misunderstanding some complaints. People are not saying that diversity isn't important or should be forgotten. (OK, maybe some are, but not all the critics in this thread make that point.) I think the general consensus seems to be that it would be nice to hear the president of the Associated Press Sports Editors talk about what we can do to prolong our industry and possibly even create jobs -- jobs that, in theory, could be filled by diverse candidates.

I do believe diversity is important, but I also believe that right now, hiring isn't exactly commonplace. If you're not hiring, you're not hiring anyone regardless of background. So I'm not sure how diversity is the biggest issue facing sports journalism right now.

That's not to say it has no place at the conference. It does. But I would love a keynote address that focused on revitalizing the industry and producing content that readers might actually pay for again.

 

Vesatile, YF already tipped his hand about media equaling libruhl. I wish the other shoe would drop (Libbruhls/media sure cared about diversity inthe case of _____)

 

Well of course the hypocrisy is what makes it so astonishing -- and not just in the case of the industry as a whole, but more especially in terms of specific posters like Dave.

 

Bingo. And after all his years in newsrooms, he's qualified to make such statements.

Back to APSE, Phil is good people. But he's in a tough spot with the keynote given the state of the industry.

 

LOL. I'm sure the guys & gals at your paper who cover sports, the cops beat, City Hall, education, and business are all qualified to comment about those fields, right?

And, I guess if a sportswriter hasn't worked in sports, he shouldn't comment on the diversity among GMs, coaches, team presidents, etc., right?

The issue here is diversity. Changing the industry doesn't change the issue.

It's either a priority or it's not. People here are stating that it should not be a priority -- in their industry. That's not a consistent viewpoint.

If it's going to be a priority in one industry -- and if the media as been at the forefront of insisting that it be a priority -- then it should be a priority in all industries, including journalism.

 

Here's a fact, this business is quick to chastise another industry about diversity and has a poor record of leading by example. This industry right now is fighting for existence so diversity isn't a big issue. However, when the few jobs that are opening aren't being given to minorities, well....

 

Good grief. I entirely agree that diversity shouldn't be an issue only when it's a convenient time for whitey -- as if it's a gift rather than a basic right and we can stop paying attention to it when times get tough, like buying a couple fewer stocking stuffers at Christmas. But dragging left-vs.-right politics into this thread is a rude, uninformed and irrelevant move.

 

I agree.

 

I don't think anyone has said diversity shouldn't be a priority. What is being said is that it is not as important as the issue of surviving long enough to improve diversity.

 

What he said.

You can improve diversity at every newspaper in the country in the next year, but those newspapers still won't exist in five years.

 

The relentless Poynter emphasis on diversity is 'way overdone. It's rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The key to media is to efficiently deliver exceptional information and insights difficult to obtain elsewhere. And you'd better have the people best-qualified to deliver it, on your team -- whether they're pink, black, yellow, red or chartreuse.