Max exodus in newsrooms due to lack of support
On Nov. 29, Jesenia de Moya Correa, a former student in the bilingual M.A. program at CUNY Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, visited our community engagement class. She is a “bilingual award-winning journalist, specializing in multimedia reporting and content production on science and environmental health, for and with Caribbean Latinx communities,” as stated in her LinkedIn bio.
As a nice gesture, she came with snacks. In her culture, when she’s invited places, it’s custom to bring something. I couldn’t wait to indulge because I skipped lunch that day. As I peeled my mandarin, my ears were wide open as I listened to her journey as a ‘Communities reporter’ for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She spent 4 years there and recalled great things she learned, and not so great things. I truly appreciated the transparency. But, my eyes shot straight up from my fruit to her face when she began voicing her experience. Suddenly, I felt chills. Her experience was somewhat similar to mine.
Jesenia talked about lack of support, and being a true minority in her newsroom. She was one of two hispanic reporters for the organization. Her managers weren’t supportive of her growth and told her to ‘keep trying’ when stories weren’t coming through. But, she was trying. She was tasked with bridging a gap that was already present prior to her arrival. Hispanics within her community simply did not trust the Inquirer. Why? Reasons unknown, but it was suddenly up to her to bridge that gap.
As I listened, I felt inclined to share my experience, too. Unlike majority of my classmates, I do have a newsroom background. I know what it’s like to have a deadline for an assignment, have to go out and produce a story in 0 degree weather and deal with members of the community who don’t want to speak, although they know information that may be beneficial. I also know what it’s like to love your job, but not have the support needed to thrive in it. I know what it’s like to feel like the odd one out.
In my previous position at News 12 Networks, I was the only African-American person on the social/digital team. All of my managers were white. So really, how could I expect them to understand how it felt when the network decided to basically turn a blind eye to a missing Black woman’s story…but go full force on a missing white woman’s story? Despite pointing out blatant comparisons of how they were handling the ‘Lauren Smith-Fields’ story that occurred two months after Gabby Petito’s, no one felt it was solid enough to pursue. This bothered me so much… so much to the point I had to write about it to express how I felt.
Jesenia thanked me for sharing my sentiments and really made me feel comfortable to do so. Up until that point, I’d never went into great detail in front of my classmates about what happened and why I left the industry. But to be real, it simply became too much. I love storytelling, but I needed to value my mental health even more. After all, I’d lasted through the height of the coronavirus pandemic working at the station that was in the ‘epicenter’ of the virus. I thought I could do it all, but reality had set in. I was wearing down mentally and physically. The passive aggressiveness became so severe that each day I’d come to work, I’d need a break to let out my tears. I felt targeted and knew I had to leave for my sanity.
My exiting the news industry wasn’t in vain. I will return one day, and better than before. I’ll have two degrees, more knowledge and hopefully the chance to welcome more journalists of color, because I know that a diverse newsroom is key.
Toward the end of the conversation with Jesenia, Prof. Jeff Jarvis asked her what he thought students leaving the J-School should be prepared for. Jesenia responded with: Prepare journalists for very white newsrooms. And personally, I couldn’t agree more.
Here’s a funny tidbit from Jesenia I’ll leave you all with: The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, awarded its first ever ‘Thumbs Down’ award to a media outlet/entity/organization who was not doing any effort to support Black journalists. Guess who won? The Philadelphia Inquirer. 😂
SUPPORT BLACK AND MINORITY JOURNALISTS! The end.