A conversation with Politico’s long-time diversity champion
Robin Turner, Director of Editorial Diversity Initiatives at Politico, sits down to discuss the power of a well-supported newsroom inclusion program
By Ava Macha
Robin Turner was recently promoted to her role as Director of Editorial Diversity Initiatives at Politico, but she has been fighting for diversity in journalism in some capacity throughout her career of more than 30 years. She started at Politico 10 years ago and helped to found the Politico Journalism Institute (PJI) in 2014 under the leadership of key Politico leaders, with guidance from Dori Maynard and Evelyn Hsu of the Maynard Institute of Journalism (MIJE). The program advanced the partners’ common goal of increasing the flow of diverse journalists into mainstream media.
The Politico Journalism Institute has since become one of the most comprehensive opportunities for emerging journalists of color to gain hands-on experience in a major newsroom, with a 10-day intensive that includes mentorship from Politico’s reporters and editors.
Turner, who is a 1985 graduate of a Maynard Institute Editing Program for professional journalists of color, spoke with us about the development of PJI, the program’s deeper impact on Politico and the current reckoning for racist practices in the American news industry.
Her answers have been edited for length and clarity.
How did the Maynard Institute editing program impact your career?
It was just the richest professional opportunity I was afforded in my entire career. Newsrooms were taking hard looks at their diversity numbers, and there was still enough cash at that time that they were investing in these training programs. I was fortunate to have been sponsored for this fellowship by The Wall Street Journal, where I worked as a copy editor.
The training not only sharpened our technical journalism skills, but we learned how to have courageous conversations, how to work diplomatically with others, how to initiate and negotiate change. We would talk about the news process every single day and were challenged in how we framed our questions and why.
Maynard taught us how to navigate newsrooms even if the social climate was challenging. The facilitators and mentors instilled in us a measure of confidence and a graceful approach to editing news stories; how to offer diverse perspectives and viewpoints even in the editing process.
Maintaining high professional standards does not mean you cannot be authentically you. So this notion that you had to code switch to be successful — they freed us of that. And they showed us the power of our perspectives and the value of our unique backgrounds and cultures. Those are the kinds of things you really don’t learn in journalism school and there is no specific training for it in a newsroom. It was tremendous.
What has been your role with the Politico Journalism Institute since its inception?
I was really fortunate to have been included in the founding team, but there were newsroom leaders who did a lot of the “plowing” — making sure they really martialed the resources to put together a program to begin with. And Dori Maynard came in to give counsel on the vision and suggestions on how to accomplish what we had hoped to achieve. We created all the curriculum in partnership with the Maynard Institute and your co-executive director, Evelyn Hsu, and the journalist in residence at American University, Lynne Perri. They continue to be tremendous partners!
Our first class was about 12 students. It was a year of great learning and we actually hired a journalist from that class. One of our inaugural members is still with [Politico] today as a national politics reporter. But what [Politico Journalism Institute] became was even more interesting. Internally, it became a newsroom-wide project. What I mean by that is, our reporters and editors read hundreds of the robust packages that come from [students] all across the country and people truly get engaged.
Last year, I counted some 70 of my colleagues who had their hands on this project in some way. When you have that much participation with people meaningfully engaged, it builds investment! People see the value of it, they understand what [the program’s] mission is, and I think it helps build our own newsroom morale. We are very proud of this program. And I am very fortunate to be able to give leadership to it.
But the inspiration really goes back to the Maynard Institute. That’s the kind of cross germination that happened because of Robert Maynard’s vision and work.
How has the conversation around diversity changed since you were in the Maynard Institute Editing Program?
Aspects of [the conversation] have changed, but the nature of people has not changed. I think that the goal and the work continues because we have the same challenges.
When you’re talking about health care, disparities in education, segregation in real estate and uneven lending practices, or disparities in sentencing and the need for police reform: All of these things ebb and flow in our collective consciousness, but they are still these underlying issues in our society that we need to address as journalists.
These conversations spill over into the newsrooms because the newsroom is only a microcosm of society. For example, recruiting new college graduates of color — it might be a challenge for them to come into a newsroom at the typical entry-level wage because they have disproportionately higher student loan debt. So those kind of things present bigger challenges beyond just reporting the news. It’s about how to build your business and how to build a healthy culture where everyone has access and a voice.
But in this moment of reckoning, our industry also faces a challenge. It is obvious we as an industry must reassess our priorities and values. We must honestly evaluate whether the values we project align with our actions.
What do you make of the sudden attention on diversity and racism in the journalism industry after working on it for so many years?
I think the conversation is good, but increased commitment will make the difference. Some people think you just create one full-time role to shepherd these efforts, others think there needs to be a broad base of people [supporting diversity] throughout the newsroom, with no commitment to a full-time position. I think what Politico has done is both: have wide newsroom involvement, but also have someone with laser-sharp focus on these things to advise newsroom leaders and to help contribute to the diversity strategy. That person can also convene important and serious conversations internally where people feel safe to speak to those issues. That role helps to fulfill the newsroom’s social responsibility and help build strong relationships in the community. I am encouraged that Politico is being thoughtful about how to grow a healthy culture to sustain these kinds of programs.
We have to find ways to engage and be a collective force for journalists of color so that our reporting will be deeper and richer and more impactful. And that our newsrooms will better reflect the communities we serve.
What new goals and initiatives do you have for this role?
My role has three buckets: editorial content, helping to bring diverse voices and perspectives to our content and making sure our standards reflect that same value for diversity; staffing, recruitment is the most obvious part of my role, supporting staffing efforts on every level; the third part is outreach, focusing on our presence in the community, paying our social responsibility by supporting area journalism programs, and designing short training programs, especially for students of color.
Now that I am in this [role] full-time, I’m really able to put a lot of thought into how we grow this kind of presence and engage with our community in powerful ways. In my previous role, I was involved in these initiatives on a limited basis, but now am excited to do this important work full-time. For example, we will expand on our annual programs with offerings year-round. We also will expand our editorial fellowship program.
What long-term diversity goals does Politico have?
I’m very encouraged and excited by what I’ve heard so far from our newsroom leadership!
I am expecting to see our newsroom reflect the community we serve accurately, in every way. I think of diversity, socioeconomically, racially, by gender orientation, geographically, ideologically. I think those things happen organically once you do smart recruitment. When you build it into your newsroom instead of bolting it on.
For being such a young organization, our growth has been phenomenal, especially in comparing this company to other industry leaders at this moment. I am very encouraged and hopeful! And the fact that my employer believes in me and is charging me with this awesome responsibility is humbling, and it gives me faith in their commitment. They have been very clear about their investment.
Ava Macha is the Membership and Alumni Coordinator for the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Contact her at amacha@mije.org.
