Diversity Workshop
On Wednesday 12 July 2006 the Baltimore Sun had a diversity forum. This was their second one this year and they hope to do this more often.
I arrived at the forum early and had dinner provided by the Sun. I also had an opportunity to meet a few people, including sports reporter Chris Ewell with whom I actually discussed the religious writers for the paper. I commented on how good John Rivera was and how we hated to see him leave.
Larry Williams, the ideas editor, told me, “Our ears and our eyes are open. We want to hear you.”
The forum was coordinated by Sam Davis, assistant editor, and Kelly Brewington, a reporter. Kelly said:
Our goal is to improve our journalism by having a paper that is more diverse. We want a staff of many background. The diversity is taking on new community. In the field we are starting a project to get more high school students into journalism. We are here because we want to hear ideas and suggestions.The concept for this forum came out of a newsroom content audit. We examined the newspaper over a two-week time period and we find that the Sun needs to do a abetter job in our news. We need to focus less on spokespeople and more on people who don’t live in high income communities. We learned that this is not unique to the Sun. We invited people whom we think represent some of the demographics that we miss.
Tim Franklin, the editor and senior vice president said, “I want to thank you for caring enough about the Sun to come out.”
Several issues were discussed, including the Baltimore Examiner, whom Tim said that they welcome the competition. Various issues pertinent to different ethnic groups were raised. One man said that a particular phrase is insulting to Hindus. Sandy Banisky, deputy managing editor/news, talked about how important it is to get the facts correct and she gave an example of “Russian Christmas.” Many people think that it is 6 January, which is Western Epiphany, but the date is actually 7 January. Tim Franklin noticed that I was really excited as she was explaining this. When Sandy announced that she is Eastern Orthodox, I knew that I must meet her this evening. Later when I did have the opportunity, I handed her my card with “Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church” written on it and I wish that you could had seen her face light up!
During the evening we discussed outreach to the black community and also to the Korean community, Asian community, and Hispanic community. We also talked about outreach to Carroll County and the other counties.
Dudley Brooks, assistant managing editor/photo, said that the paper is always interested in good photographs.
Millree Williams of the University of Maryland, College Park, noticed that there has not been a higher education writer for several months and he also noticed that the Sun just hired one and Tim Franklin congratulated him for his reporting. Higher education is one of the biggest industries in Maryland and this is what puts Maryland on the map.
We also discussed housing and crime. People were concerned about the development in the City because they are relocating people in certain areas and there is no place for these people to go. Sandy Banisky said that as the housing is being torn down, it is not being replaced and the City can’t hold on to housing for the poor. The region has to help. Tim will talk to housing people about the situation.
As far as crime is concerned, some people were upset because of the amount of coverage on crime but others said that crime is what sells the newspaper. One individual suggested that one day a week the paper not report any crime. Tim Franklin said that the important thing about crime coverage is that we keep it in context. They do readership study three or four times a year and the interest in crime news is near the top of the scale. There have been a couple of days when they left the Police Blotter out of the papers and they get phone calls.
The issue of the homeless was also raised and Tim Franklin said that homelessness has dropped off the radar.
After the panel discussion, we broke out into small groups. I eventually had an opportunity to speak with Sandy Banisky and she was thrilled to meet another Orthodox Christian and we exchanged stories. She said that she wished that her father, an Orthodox priest, was still alive to hear some of the stories and jokes which I shared with her.
The evening ended with a tour of the newsroom. Most of the people have left for the day and thus the place was quiet. The copy editors were still working along with the sports department. These two departments are usually the last ones to leave.
They close the first edition at 23:30 and the presses start rolling around 00:30. The first edition is on the street around 03:00.
When asked for a written statement, Tim Franklin replied, “A newspaper should be a mirror for its region. When people read the newspaper, they should see themselves reflected back. That’s the goal. It’s the right thing to do in accurately portraying life and times in the Baltimore area.”
The staff at the Baltimore Sun wants to make this a first class newspaper and they want our help. If you know a good story, let them know. If you see a mistake, let them know. Sandy Banisky stressed this several times during the evening.
Finally, I would be amiss if I did not thank Nicole Fuller, night reporter, for inviting me to this event. What I learned that evening will help me in my ministry and in my job and I hope will benefit the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland.
Please enjoy the photographs.
 Kelly Brewington, demographics/diversity |
 |
 |
 Nicole Fuller , night reporter |
 |
 |
 Liz Kay, reporter, schools |
 Nicole Fuller |
 Panel discussion: Tim Franklin, Sandy Bamoslu. Dudley Brooks, and Tim Wheatley(?) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Millree Williams |
 Larry Williams, editor, Ideas section |
 |
 women from Carroll County and Liz Kay |
 |
 |
 |
 Sandy Banisky |
 |
 |
 |
 Nicole Fuller |
 |
 |
 Kelly Brewington |
 Newsroom tour |
 Newsroom tour - watching tomorrow front page being put together |
 Nicole Fuller at her desk |
You are visitor # since Friday 14 July 2006.
Page created by Reader Michael Bishop.
You can contact me by e-mail:
