Does That Fix The Problem?

Tegna’s KUSA has been under some well-deserved fire after the station rid itself of three experienced Latina journalists in the past year.

Now, Tegna is trying to fix its mistakes by hiring a race and culture reporter.

In the job posting, KUSA writes, “….is seeking a Race and Culture Journalist to cover the race and culture beat in the Denver area and across Colorado. The race and culture journalist will help ensure that we are consistently covering communities that identify as Black, Latino/Latina, Indigenous and People of Color, as well as LGBTQ+.”

First off, your current Reporters should already be covering these communities on a regular basis. No station should have to hire someone and pigeonhole them into a job that only covers gay or minority communities.

Does this mean the race and culture Reporter can’t cover breaking news unless it involves a person of color?

Read between the lines here. Of course, the station is going to fill this job with a person of color. Then this person of color will basically only be allowed to cover stories that involve people of color.

This is not how you fix your problem!

You hire Reporters of all races, you have them cover all stories. You make sure that your staff represents the community that you cover.

Yes, a white Reporter can cover a story in the Black community, just as a Black Reporter can cover a story in the white or Hispanic community.

I’m sorry, but hiring a Race and Culture Journalist just seems to be a way of saying, “look we’re not racist, we have a Race and Culture Reporter on our staff.”

Do better.