PHOENIX — September 22, 2022 — The Diversity Pledge Institute at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (DPI) is partnering with the Journalism Education Association (JEA) to expand the reach of its recently announced Newsroom Diversity Survey pilot.
“Everyone knows that issues with diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility do not just magically appear at the professional level, which is why it’s important for us to start exploring these issues earlier in people’s journalism careers,” Larry Graham, DPI founder and executive director, said. “By working with JEA, we’ll be able to better understand the unique issues facing high school journalism programs and the way schools and facilitators are handling them.”
“This partnership is especially exciting because it will allow us to attain a holistic understanding of the state of journalism from beginning to end while also supporting the necessary work needed to build toolkits and DEIA models that can be implemented across the various stages of a journalist’s career,” Gaby Martinez-Stevenson, director of institutional research at DPI, said.
By building on the work DPI has already done for its Newsroom Diversity Survey pilot, the organization will work with JEA to tailor the survey for students, faculty and staff involved in high school journalism programs. The survey will first be rolled out to select high schools with the goal of eventually being more widely used in the future to better understand the national landscape of high school journalism.
“The Journalism Education Association supports free and responsible scholastic journalism and fosters an atmosphere which encompasses diversity yet builds unity,” Veronica Purvis, JEA executive director, said. “We understand that leadership has to champion diversity work in order to make sustainable and systemic DEI progress. JEA continues to make strides in this area spearheaded by our president and by collaborating with advocates like The Diversity Pledge Institute. We are energized by their efforts in this area and look forward to our partnership with them.”
At the end of the survey pilot, the schools involved will receive an anonymized copy of their data as well as a copy of the pilot evaluation report that can be used to guide subsequent internal discussions in hopes of creating better, more equitable training programs for future student journalists.
“Together JEA and DPI can help student journalists strengthen their school communities so students better understand their differences and produce meaningful work together,” Sarah Nichols, president of JEA, said. “Our goal is to help students of all types see themselves represented in stories and visuals, respected as sources and valued as staff members in their student media programs.”
About the Journalism Education Association — The Journalism Education Association is a dynamic, adviser-focused organization serving a diverse media community. To develop and support effective media advisers, JEA must protect scholastic press and speech freedoms of advisers and their students; provide an environment that attracts, develops and retains the best educators in the profession; build diversity at the scholastic and professional levels; promote and demonstrate educational use of the latest technologies, and provide innovative, consistent and quality services.
About The Diversity Pledge Institute — The Diversity Pledge Institute at the Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (DPI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) dedicated to research, analysis and education related to diversity in journalism. Our goal is to solve the diversity pipeline problem; improve retention rates associated with diversity, equity and inclusion; and support journalists’ career growth. We prioritize peer-to-peer training and career learning for journalists while offering ongoing organizational support for diversity and inclusion efforts in media. You can support that work by making a tax deductible donation here.
