Seeking Native Journalists

While much of the country debates race-based admissions at the University of Michigan, none should pay more attention than the newsrooms of America.

The Michigan debate, now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, clearly shows the discussion on race, ethnicity, and federal policy is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago.

Take a quick look around the newsroom.

Racial parity there has a long way to go before reporters, editors, and publishers adequately represent the racial makeup and views of the community.

Do you sit next to a Black? Asian? Hispanic? Probably not. The American Society of Newspaper Editors’ (ASNE) statistics reveal that many newsrooms employ few, or no, persons of color at all.

Also among the missing: Native journalists.

Chances are slim you sit by one, or even know one.

The common recruiter’s lamentation: We can’t find any.

Alas, of the 56,000 reporters, editors, and photographers in U.S. newsrooms, only about 300 journalists are Native.

To be fair, the Native voice has probably been absent for good reason.

Many aspiring reporters have their journalism interests sparked in high school. Often, they often can pursue those interests by taking a journalism class in college.

But no journalism classes have been available for Native students who live on the reservation. Even today, students at tribal colleges cannot major in journalism: such programs don’t exist. So journalism has never been seen as a viable career path because there have been few opportunities for learning about the profession, and even fewer role models.

Under such conditions, it’s been easy to bemoan the sparse numbers of Native people in journalism. The news industry has done little to remedy the situation, which has persisted for decades. And it might have gone on for many more, except that some have stepped forward to make big changes.

The Freedom Forum and the Knight Foundation have made an unprecedented effort to reach out to Native youths. They hope to ignite interest in journalism and create job opportunities.

The Freedom Forum has established the American Indian Journalism Institute (AIJI). It’s a three-week summer journalism “boot camp.” This year, 25 Native college students from around the country will attend the camp at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

The John and James Knight Foundation also has helped fund an online class, the first long-distance journalism course available to the country’s 31 tribal colleges. In addition, the foundation helps fund reznet, a tribal college newspaper now in its first year.

The Robert C. Maynard Foundation maintains and designs the reznet website. Reznet is a project of the University of Montana in Missoula, which edits the stories and photos sent in by students.

The collaboration of all these organizations has created a circle of learning. They serve as a gateway to bring more Native students into journalism. The reznet students have all been to the American Indian Journalism Institute. This year, about half of the AIJI students will participate in an internship at a daily newspaper.

About a dozen AIJI students expect internships with daily newspapers.

The Freedom Forum also sponsors a high school journalism conference each April in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It’s now in its fourth year.

Denny McAuliffe, a professor at the University of Montana and reznet project director, estimates that the programs will put 10 Native journalists into the news industry pipeline each year. All these programs specifically target Native youths.

Call it race-based admissions for the news industry.

I call it progress.

Many of these young Native students want their voices heard in the newsroom, said Nancy Kelsey, a junior majoring in journalism at Creighton University. She attended the Freedom Forum’s AIJI program last June. She said her classmates found it hard to believe the low numbers of Native journalists at daily newspapers. They want to fill the void.

But a huge question persists: Are newsrooms ready for them?

Editors and publishers have been put on notice that they need to better reflect their communities. The way to do that is to bring more diverse perspectives to the newsroom.

It’s good for them, and good for business, they’ve been told.

Some are listening. Some have acted. Some are indifferent.

A new pipeline for young, talented Native journalists is now in place. It’s imperative that newsroom managers and reporters do more than focus on the color of their skin.

These new writers’ unique and diverse perspectives will add value to any newsroom. Don’t silence them.

Let their voices be heard.