NAHJ and Cronkite ASU address lack of diversity in News21 investigative reporting initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

July 22, 2021

NAHJ and Cronkite ASU address lack of diversity in News21 investigative reporting initiative

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists are pleased to report that we are deepening our already existing partnership to advance shared goals of diversifying the journalism industry, especially in the area of investigative journalism and reporting on health disparities, social justice and economic inequality.

We met earlier this month to address the NAHJ board’s concerns about the lack of ethnic/racial diversity among Cronkite School students in the News21 investigative reporting initiative. When allies have concerns, they have an open, honest dialogue to address those issues. 

That’s what happened here.

This year, nine Cronkite fellows join 26 others from 16 partner universities. These students are working tirelessly to share important stories from communities across the country. The Cronkite School is proud of the work they are doing, and we look forward to publishing and celebrating their reporting in August. 

The Cronkite School is actively assessing how we can best serve and reflect the communities we cover and the students we teach. The conversations prompted by this situation are part of the larger dialogue about racial and ethnic diversity within the Cronkite School as well as newsrooms across the country. We are committed to creating additional opportunities for access and support to diverse students, not just within News21, but across all of our programs. 

During our meeting, we discussed important context and additional information to allow for a more nuanced discussion of News21 and other initiatives. We reaffirmed our shared commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion of journalists of all backgrounds in the field of investigative reporting in particular. This critical area of our profession simply does not have the kind of diversity necessary to adequately and accurately cover important topics and issues for our communities. We know that we should continue to advance these goals in recruiting and supporting students for News21 and many other initiatives.

We now have established additional lines of communication and collaboration between the Cronkite School and NAHJ, and we look forward to strengthening our partnership. We recognize that relationships like this one play a critical role in advancing our industry and our communities.