DEI Update from KUT & KUTX
We reached out to Debbie Hiott, Executive Director & General Manager, for an update on how the DEI work at KUT & KUTX has been progressing since joining Public Media for All. She offered the following.
What’s one DEI success you’ve had at your organization recently?
Increased emphasis on diverse voices on the air, in recognition that representation matters. On the news side, we are making concerted efforts to increase diverse sources in our local news items and also Texas Standard, our statewide news magazine, and tracking those to view progress (or lack thereof). At our music station KUTX, this includes modified playlists to feature more artists of color and additional on-air shifts for the hosts of our popular show The Breaks as well as other diverse hosts. We have also audited all of our national programming, and found there are some significant areas of under-representation, particularly Latinx voices in a market that is more than 33 percent Hispanic, so we are reviewing some programming decisions.
What’s one lesson you’ve learned about DEI work at your organization?
The further we have gone into DEI work, the clearer it is how critical this is for our overall strategic priorities and values/mission in a way that needs to be interwoven. That’s causing us to go back and review those with diversity, equity and inclusion as the foundation for all that we do. It’s not possible to see those as three separate things. The other big thing we’ve learned is that we have to narrow our focus a bit on the action items so we’re not doing too many items at once, and thus struggling to reach the finish line on any of them.
What resources and support do you need to improve DEI at your organization?
Best practices are helpful, especially among university licensees, who face an additional set of challenges in changing culture and processes in the midst of larger organizations that are slower to change, more risk averse, and set up in many ways to preserve the status quo and protect the current power structure. Specific consultant guidance is helpful also, especially in going beyond legacy public media consultants who have been a part of the establishment for a long time. Finally, as we do improve the inclusion of our organizations, we can benefit from recruiting help in identifying and sharing opportunity with additional talented people of color in the industry.
Public Media for All will be working with the leaders of organizations that have joined us to model successes, share lessons learned, and get the support and resources they need to do this vital DEI work to ensure that public media serves everyone.
DEI Update from WUNC
We reached out to Nora Casper, Interim President & General Manager, for an update on how the DEI work at WUNC has been progressing since joining Public Media for All. She offered the following.
What’s one DEI success you’ve had at your organization recently?
WUNC has committed to only having paid internships and we are restructuring our intern program. We have also been holding regular discussion groups around articles on topics such as white supremacy culture and implicit bias.
What’s one lesson you’ve learned about DEI work at your organization?
It touches every aspect of the organization and it takes a meaningful commitment from the entire organization to be successful. We are committed to structural and cultural change within our station and are working with every department to make that happen.
What resources and support do you need to improve DEI at your organization?
Sharing best practices and hearing from other stations about the successes they are having. It would also be great to hear from other stations about public media specific DEI resources they have found.
Public Media for All will be working with the leaders of organizations that have joined us to model successes, share lessons learned, and get the support and resources they need to do this vital DEI work to ensure that public media serves everyone.
Public Media for All’s Next Webinar
Following up on the Day of Action and Education that took place on November 10 – Public Media for All is raising awareness and offering solutions to the lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in public media. Diversity, equity, and inclusion at every level and in every facet of our industry are essential for ensuring meaningful service to the communities that support and rely on public media.
Join us for the next Public Media for All webinar, Field Notes from The Frontlines: The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Movement In Public Media.
During the webinar, industry leaders who have committed to PMFA's DEI Action Plan will discuss the actions they've taken and the progress they are making inside of their stations and organizations.
Join us on Tuesday, March 30 at 3 PM EST / 12 PM PST.
Register
DEI Update from KCUR & Classical KC
We reached out to Sarah Morris, General Manager, for an update on how the DEI work at KCUR & Classical KC has been progressing since joining Public Media for All. She offered the following.
What’s one DEI success you’ve had at your organization recently?
We have a lot more progress to make, but 4 of our last 5 hires/or promotions have been BIPOC. One helpful thing we do now is take a look at any candidates of color for any position and think creatively about other opportunities within the organization. So, if they are not ultimately selected for the job they applied, we keep them in our pipeline for future opportunities. That way we can reach out directly in recruiting when we have something that is a possibility.
What’s one lesson you’ve learned about DEI work at your organization?
Some of the well-intentioned systems that were set up through the university and the state can actually create barriers to hiring people of color. Ironically, the systems were set up to protect and ensure fair hiring practices by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race. But that prevents us from “taking race into consideration” as we evaluate candidates, even if we want to provide opportunities for a broader range of diverse candidates. One thing we can do is be more mindful when writing job descriptions and when determining the key metrics we evaluate in candidates. (For example, if we place highest priority on “public media experience” we risk missing potential BIPOC folks from adjacent industries.)
What resources and support does you need to improve DEI at your organization?
I raised this issue in the cohort meeting, but I think there should be ways we can pool some resources to hire consultants for some of the projects we all need help with. Much of that work is already being contracted across the country, and maybe there are a few firms we could engage to do multiple station studies, for instance.
Public Media for All will be working with the leaders of organizations that have joined us to model successes, share lessons learned, and get the support and resources they need to do this vital DEI work to ensure that public media serves everyone.
Louisville Public Media Joins PM4A
Stephen George, President of Louisville Public Media, offered the following about why they decided to participate.
“Louisville Public Media strives for a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion intended to embody and reflect our community, making our work richer and more resonant. We seek out and embrace people of all races, ethnicities and origins, heritages, characteristics and circumstances with intention in our work. Therefore, our staff, board of directors and community advisory board must fully reflect the community we serve.
For LPM to grow, we must embrace more of our community, more intentionally, where they are. For many years, mainstream media has promoted racist narratives and under-represented Black people and people of color in our coverage and on our staffs. LPM has long been committed to the core values of diversity, equity and inclusion, and we must work to live and promote those values every day. We commit to being an organization where similarities and difference are respected and celebrated, multiple perspectives and diversity of thought are embraced, and people are engaged in intercultural experiences. We acknowledge the challenges faced by people from historically marginalized groups and in our work, we seek to challenge systems of oppression.
We are proud to stand with our colleagues across public media in committing to an anti-racist future.”