PMFA’s Analysis of CPB Data
Originally published in The Current on April 15th, 2021, as Public Media for All analysis highlights persistent gaps in pubmedia diversity.
In February, CPB released data that shows underwhelming BIPOC representation in all segments of our industry. Public Media for All has developed the following graphs to present visually how stagnant these numbers have remained over the past 5–10 years. While some segments of the workforce have become incrementally more diverse, an approximate 3.1% increase in “minority” employees as shown by the CPB data is disappointing for an industry founded to “addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, particularly children and minorities.”
As the demographics of this nation change and public media requires more segmented data for transparency and decision-making purposes, CPB has an opportunity to better capture our industry’s demographics by refining its reporting structure and process. The public is fully aware of the nuances surrounding race and ethnicity data; however, the data CPB presented fails to capture these nuances.
For instance, it is worth noting that Hispanic and Latino individuals can fall under any racial category. In addition, providing definitions of the work-group categories within the “Job Category by Race and Ethnicity” report (i.e., officials, managers, professionals, technicians, all others) would help those unfamiliar with the CSG reporting process. It may also help answer questions surrounding the demographics of roles that carry privilege in shaping programming, reporting, educational services and community outreach. CPB can look to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on the importance of data segmentation and correcting antiquated race and ethnicity terminology.
When we look only at CPB’s reporting without other data sources, we are only comparing our current performance to our previous performance, which many have admitted has often fallen short. In an attempt to give essential context about the people of this country that we work to serve and to provide a benchmark of potential audience growth, Public Media for All overlaid CPB’s data with U.S. Census racial demographic data.
The percentage of employees categorized in CPB’s data as “Asian Pacific” has grown, but at an even pace with the growth of Asians and Pacific Islanders as a percentage of the U.S. population. The representation gap for Asians and Pacific Islanders in public media has remained stagnant.
The percentage of Black employees at CPB grantees has grown over the past few years following several years of decline. The percentage of Black people in public media has actually been flat over the past decade, while Black people as a percentage of the U.S. population has grown slightly. The representation gap for Black people in public media has actually grown slightly.
The percentage of Hispanic employees at CPB grantees has grown slightly after remaining flat for many years. Meanwhile, Hispanic people as a percentage of the U.S. population have grown steadily over the past decade. The representation gap for Hispanic people in public media has also grown steadily.
The percentage of Native American employees at CPB grantees has largely remained flat. It does appear that there is a slightly higher percentage of Native Americans in public media than among the U.S. population as a whole. However, that difference may not be statistically significant, given the much smaller samples used in interim years between the full census taken every decade. It is also important to note that in 2010, “almost half of the American Indian and Alaska Native population, or 2.3 million people, reported being American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races.” While the U.S. census has tracked “2 or more races” as a demographic for over a decade, CPB only tracked this category for the first time in 2020.
Public Media for All looks forward to updating this analysis when the 2020 Census data is released.
In a note added to the “Job Category by Race and Ethnicity” report, CPB states, “Finding ways to promote change in the public media system and make public media more accessible on many levels to a diverse group of Americans is a high priority.” Information on this front has trickled down and often lacks context. CPB cannot wait any longer in being more transparent in how it plans to address building a more diverse, inclusive and equitable industry, both for those who work tirelessly within public media and for all people of our nation in the years ahead.
WBHM Joins PMFA
WBHM’s Leadership Team offered the following about why they decided to participate.
“WBHM recognizes the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in light of our failures and shortcomings, but also in the spirit of continued learning, improvement, and accountability. Birmingham is considered to be the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement, where racial reckoning is an inexorable part of who we are. And as a publicly licensed station, WBHM has an important role to play. WBHM commits to doing the real, hard, uncomfortable work with Public Media for All, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, our staff, our community, and other partners.”
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.