The Whiteys at the Washingtonian, City Paper and DCist
The Post has long been struggling with an apparent lack of diversity in their ranks, a reflection of the sad fact that much of American journalism remains dominated by white reporters, editors, and managers. In late 2004 Post staffers openly expressed their unhappiness that a white man had been chosen over a woman and a black man to be the paper's managing editor, and, more recently, there were grumblings over the promotion of Robert McCartney, who is white, to the position of Metro assistant managing editor, beating Hispanic City Editor Gabe Escobar to the punch.
Yesterday that lack of diversity was made apparent at the Washingtonian and the City Paper. Today we join the club, recognizing that we're no more able to call ourselves truly representative of the city we cover.
In yesterday's issue, the City Paper fired the lack-of-newsroom-diversity shot straight at the Washingtonian, and, in effect, back at itself. In an article titled "Brown v. Board of Washingtonian," writer John Metcalfe and head honcho Erik Wemple wrote:
In a city that’s about 60 percent black, the newsroom of the Washingtonian is full of minorities, from white Editor Jack Limpert and pale-skinned Senior Editor Sherri Dalphonse to approaching-beige Editor-at-Large Garrett Graff to the appropriately named Lifestyle Editor Leslie Milk. In fact, the Washingtonian’s commitment to this version of diversity is so strong that you’ll be hard-pressed to find even a swatch of D.C.’s signature skintone within the newsroom. Nor are there many traces of the Hispanic, Asian, or other ethnicities that supposedly provide the rest of the city’s "flavor."Of course, in pointing fingers at the Washingtonian, the City Paper was obliged to point back at itself, finding that it's not in any better a position than the target of their article. Staff writer Huan Hsu, who is Chinese-American (though he fights that categorization), was picked to pen the critical self-assessment, writing:
Good for the Washington City Paper for calling out the Washingtonian for its lily-white editorial staff. Nothing gets an alternative weekly going like hypocrisy, and I’m glad we’ve decided to be this week’s champion of diversity. Unfortunately, I’m not sure we’re the right paper to do that. A look at our masthead reveals a decided lack of diversity at Champlain Street. Editor in chief: white guy (and a gentrifier, too). Arts editor: white guy. Senior editor: white guy. Senior writer: white guy. Copy editor: white woman.We're not here to criticize. We applaud the City Paper for not only taking on the notoriously fluffy Washingtonian, but also recognizing that it's in no better position to judge.
And given that we're all about disclosure ourselves, it goes without saying that we've fared no better on the diversity front. DCist has always been led by white men -- Mike Grass and Rob Goodspeed, the site's founders and first lead editors, are both of the caucasian persuasion, and now Ryan and I have the distinct pleasure of being not only white and blond, but up until recently, both bearded. You couldn't pick a leadership less representative of the city we seek to understand, experience, and write about.
Of course, much of this is beyond our control. Even more than traditional journalism, the blogosphere largely remains the province of young white folks with some money and time to spare. I think it was said best when someone referred to our writers and readers as "iPod-owning yuppies." But since we don't have the resources nor the time to correct that obvious inequity, we're stuck with a staff that, while diverse in their upbringings and chosen professions, is still largely homogenous -- and white.
Obviously, I think it's dangerous to assume that just because someone is African-American, Asian, or Hispanic they will suddenly be able to claim monopoly on stories that involve "their people." I'm as lily-white as they come -- hell, I was born in Switzerland -- but grew up in Latin America, so I feel I can safely navigate Hispanic quarters, though I may get strange looks in the process. And while Hemal has strong Indian roots, we're not going to look to her on every occasion that something India-related crosses our desks. It is true that first impressions go a long way, though, and we may have more luck cracking or understanding big stories on politics and culture in Shaw, Anacostia and other traditionally black neighborhoods if we pick up a few more African-American writers.
In the end, we know we're no City Paper, no Washingtonian, and surely no Post. But we fully recognize that our writing will only come to reflect the city and area in which we live when we diversify the ranks. That diversity means more than skin tone -- it means jobs, it means places of residence, it means political affiliations, it means education, it means future aspirations. It's a work in progress, and if you want to help, please let us know.