As we approach the first anniversary of the racial reckoning in America’s newsrooms, the unique challenges of being a journalist of color continue. And who understands what we’re going through better than someone who has been through it themselves?
That’s why we’re excited to launch The Collective, a newsletter that will come out on the last Wednesday of the month starting in April. We’re looking for fresh voices to elevate. You can be a student, a retiree and anyone in between. Let us know what you’re interested in sharing and your preferred medium (text, photos, illustrations, video or audio). Your creativity is encouraged.
Thanks to the support of the TEGNA Foundation, we are able to pay a freelance fee to all contributors, including our Council of Truth-Tellers.
We want to hear about times when you were The Only. Or tell us how you got others to recognize that your idea was worth resources — and that you were the person up to the task. You might choose to share an ongoing struggle; lots of us are ready to commiserate. How do you feel when someone asks, “Are you OK?” with no follow-up action? What is it like when something in the news makes you feel seen? Whom do you turn to when you need to vent about another frustrating day of emotional labor?
And about that Council of Truth-Tellers: Three journalists of color from different life experiences will weigh in on anonymously submitted questions from The Collective community. While the rest of the newsletter will be available to read on Poynter.org, the Truth-Tellers’ advice will be available only to newsletter subscribers.
Our commitment to elevating journalists of color includes the newsletter logo, which is the work of Susana Sanchez-Young. The newsletter name came from a brainstorming session with alumni of Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Diversity in Digital Media; credit for The Collective goes to Meta Viers. And the tagline — passing the mic on the path to equity — is the idea of Samantha Ragland, my co-conspirator in chief.
Subscribe now so you don’t miss an edition. (And if you’re not a journalist of color, you’re welcome to be part of the community. We can always use more allies.)
