SEs! Dissertation help needed!

David Wasson here from The Tuscaloosa News in Alabama. I hope this note finds you well.

I am doing a dissertation as part of my ongoing education on the relative lack of black sports writers, and need your help. Could you please answer the questions below at your earliest convenience, and return the e-mail to david.wasson@tuscaloosanews.com?

Thank you in advance, and here are the questions!

1. How many full-time journalists do you have on staff?

2. Of those, how many are African-American?

3. Describe the methods you use to identify and attract African-American journalists.

4. Describe the success or lack of success colleges and/or universities in your area have in producing African-American journalists.

5. Are the organizational environments of newspapers conducive to issues of diversity and multiculturalism?

Thank you in advance!

David Wasson
Executive Sports Editor
The Tuscaloosa News

 

Good luck, Dave.
I have a feeling you'll need it.

 

I'm all for diversity, but why not ask how many Hispanic-Americans are on staff as well? That is, after all, the largest non-caucasian population group in the country.

 

Because, other than possibly baseball, African-American athletes are far more statistically relevant than Hispanics.

In other words, I am exploring why there are few black sports writers covering many black athletes.

Please respond to the questions!

David Wasson

 

I do not think you answer his question.

What does the number of Black athletes in various sports matter?

Shouldn't you be looking at readers, not at athletes.

I think the minority question is a valdi one -- women, Hispanics, Asians, etc.

If the answer is: "Because I want to focus on Blacks," that's fine.

I am not a sports editor, and tehrefore I cannot answer your question.

 

and it begins...

 

Fenian,
Maybe I can end it before it begins. That's why I removed the previous post. It's for another thread, one I hope never will need to exist.

 

damn, wasson, if this is for real you sure are lazy.

would you quote pseudonymous SportsJournalists.com posters in a story? i think not.

why would you quote the people here purporting to be SEs? i know most people here are actually who they say they are (i don't doubt that you are the famous david wasson) but this isn't a very accurate research method.

 

Good question. That is why I didn't ask people to respond to me here via PM -- and gave my e-mail address. That way, SE Joe Schmoe from the Podunk Times-Gazette will send his thoughtful, well-worded reply from his joe.schmoe@podunktimesgazette.com address.

FYI, I also solicited my fellow SE types via the APSE site. Thing is, it seems more of us frequent over here than over there!

And you misspelled "infamous".

David Wasson

 

look at wasson laying it down. will buy that man a beer if i'm ever in t-town.

 

'Preciate it, Mr. Petty. Dealing with the many facets of Saban-mania, I certainly would quaff as many beverages as I could get my hands on.

David Wasson

 

Since this looks like the same thing, I'll bump it, too. And I will quaff with Dave_Wasson, if that's his real name, anytime I'm in Tuscaloosa, Ala.