Sulzberger encourages news industry to 'embrace diversity'

This is the first post from the ASNE Leadership in Diversity: New Models for Growing Audience, Talent and Revenue conference, on the ASNE website. 

NEW YORK --Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., the publisher of The New York Times, today challenged the news industry “to embrace diversity and take action to transform your organizations” in the face of tremendous changes in technology, demographics and the economy.

“We are in a time of constant, relentless change. To succeed in this environment we must be nimble. We must understand how our audiences are consuming news. We must embrace innovation. We must create top-notch content,” Sulzberger said.

“We must discover new ways to extend the advertiser’s dollar. We must employ the finest team of journalists and business professionals to remain competitive and relevant. And we must do all of this with limited resources.”

Sulzberger’s remarks opened the second “ASNE Leadership in Diversity: New Models for Growing Audience, Talent and Revenue” summit at The New York Times Conference Center.

Some 80 news leaders and executives and diversity advocates were registered to attend the two-day session focusing on revenue potential for reaching markets of different types.

The sessions were planned and coordinated by a broad cross section of news industry representatives and news-related institutes with financial support from the ASNE, Ford, Gannett and McCormick foundations, the Philip L. Graham Fund and The Times.

Sulzberger was upbeat about some responses to the news industry’s financial difficulties. “Even when budgets and resources are tight,” he said, “we have all found ways to grow our product offerings. Mobile. Social. Digital subscriptions. We have all stretched our resources, innovated, invested in technology and diversified our revenue streams.”

Nevertheless, he said, “without a diverse group of journalists crafting the news that people want to read, there would be no audience; no monthly uniques to measure, no subscribers or followers on Twitter.’"

Sulzberger noted that the newsroom of the Times, with slightly over 18 percent journalists of color, was higher than the national average of about 12 percent found by the American Society of News Editors in its 2011 census of the nation’s newsrooms. Neither level, he said, was sufficient, and he blamed his colleagues for being too closed-minded.

“The media industry is like a secret society,” he said. “We all know each other, we all network with one another, and it seems that we continue to trade staff.”

His advice: “Recruit outside of your comfort zone. Diversity in the newsroom starts with one smart hire that can open your doors to a new group of candidates and expand your networks.”

Sulzberger cited recent reports indicating that Hispanics, Asians and African Americans were the most frequent users of mobile phones. “Yet, our Web developers and programmers—the architects behind these new technologies—are not overwhelmingly diverse.

“And a Northwestern University study published in June found that minority youth aged eight to 18 consume an average of 53 percent more media content a day than their white counterparts. These are our audiences of the future. And we must ask ourselves: Are we prepared to reach them?”

ASNE Site

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