Tips for Reporting on Diversity

I feel it is important for public relations practitioners to have a basic understanding on how to report on diversity ethically because there will come a time for every practitioner that he/she will run into a racial dilemma.  

The Leading America’s Newsrooms provides tips on how to report in regards of diversity.

1. Provide consistent coverage-Do the sources used in the stories reflect the diversity on the community on an ongoing basis?
2. Have your staff learn about the communities they cover-If you’re reporting on clubs and organizations, make sure you attend meetings, fundraisers and other activities.  This will help you as a reporter to get to know the members of the organization.
3. Mainstream sources for all stories-understand that “expert” sources come from both genders, any race and cultural backgrounds.
4. Recognize that there is diversity within cultures- Sources speak for themselves, they don’t speak for an entire community.
5. Bring your own perspective to the newsroom-Every person brings a valuable perspective, so encourage open discussion about how to handle stories.

The Society of Professional Journalists provides ethical guidelines on how journalists should report in regards of the war.

1. Include  Arabs and Arab Americans, Muslims, South Asians and Middle Eastern descents in all stories about the war.
2. Cover the victims of harassment, murder and other hate crimes as thoroughly as you cover the victims of terrorist attacks.
3. Seek out experts on military strategies, public safety, diplomacy, economics and other pertinent topics who run the spectrum of race, class, gender and geography.
4. When describing Islam, remember there are large populations of Muslims around the world.  Make sure to distinguish between various Muslim states.
5. Consult the Library of Congress guide for transliteration of Arabic names and Muslim or Arab words to the Roman alphabet.
6. Regularly seek out a variety of perspectives for your opinion pieces. Check your coverage against the five Maynard Institute for Journalism Education fault lines of race and ethnicity, class, geography, gender and generation.
7. Ask men and women from within targeted communities to review your coverage and make suggestions.

Although most of the tips above geared more towards journalists, I feel it is important for public relations practitioners to understand the basic guidelines to reporting on diversity.  Especially, since reporters and public relations practitioners work hand-in-hand.  Just understanding the fundamentals will only enhance and expand any PR professionals’ skills as a writer and practitioner.

I included a clip from the movie Anchorman when Ron Burgundy is asked what diversity is.  I feel it portrays that many news publications lack in stories in regards of diversity because it is hard to cover stories without seeming “racial” or bias.

Questions:

• Do you agree/disagree with any of the tips above? If so, why.
• What is your companies/news publications ethical guidelines when it comes to reporting on race?
• As a PR practitioner or journalists, have you ever encountered an issue in regards of diversity with a client or source?  If so, how did you deal with it?
• What’s your opinion on how reporters cover the war?  Is there a way to report without profiling a race?

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