A number of public radio outlets and staffers have endorsed a new “vision” statement that calls for ending objectivity, paying reparations, and endorsing “statements of belief,” including “Climate change is real” and “Black Lives Matter” in a bid to create an “antiracist future.”
They signed on to a new “call to action” that demands public media atone for past racism and hire “black, indigenous and people of color,” or “BIPOC.”
The document published by “Current,” the publication for public media workers, declared, “White supremacist culture and anti-blackness shape the policies, norms, and standards of public radio.”
It added, “They determine whose opinions are valued, whose voices are heard, whose stories are told and taken seriously, who is promoted, and whose resume never gets a second glance. Historically, black on-air talent are told their dialect and speaking voices do not fit the public radio prototype. There is a strong bias against journalists who have a distinct ethnic or regional tone in their vocal delivery.”
We are edging up toward 400 signatories, with support from 8 organizations. In the words of @Lin_Manuel, this is not a moment, it’s a movement. We must hold each other accountable. https://t.co/uEtUdRM93b
— Celeste Headlee (@CelesteHeadlee) January 19, 2021
The document from the Public Media Anti-Racist Partnership is a product of several Zoom sessions on race hosted by public media host and journalist Celeste Headlee. It is essentially a list of demands to management. Dozens signed the open letter on Current, as did several outlets, including Nashville Public Radio, WCSU of Wilberforce, Ohio, and New York Public Radio.
“It’s time for a new kind of journalism: anti-racist journalism. We hope to tear down public radio in order to build it back up,” it said.
Failure by management to act on the demands, it said, could lead to protests. “Where these forms of accountability don’t happen voluntarily, they can and will happen through community organizing, protest, sit-ins, walk-outs, encouraging donors to withhold funds, and other forms of confrontation and divestment. We have provided a road map: now the work is up to you,” said the memo.
The call to action is specific in its recommended actions. It demands that outlets declare the racist past, apologize, and hire minorities. It also wants some form of reparations paid to minorities hurt and a new kind of journalism instituted.
“Public radio newsrooms must transform their coverage by insisting on diverse newsrooms, ending the pursuit of objectivity, rigorously pursuing racial diversity in sourcing and audiences, and developing ethics codes that embrace anti-racism and harm reduction,” it said.
In fact, it said objectivity does not exist in journalism because it comes from the perspective of whites. “The pursuit of objectivity denies this reality and leads to the silencing of journalists whose subjective reality — being black, or trans, or working class, for example — leads to them being labeled as incapable of being objective,” said the call to action.
Implementation includes unusual changes in the newsroom. One, for example, is to “create statements of belief for journalists and the public. (For example: ‘Climate change is real,’ ‘Black Lives Matter’).”
Also, white managers cited for not promoting minorities should be replaced.
What’s more, the diversity of sources used by reporters must be analyzed to make sure it’s not too white.
Minority hiring should surge. It warned, “If you are not getting applications from qualified black, indigenous and people of color, your outreach isn’t done.”
As for reparations, it said, “In addition to apologies to individuals and communities, public media leaders should offer specific, concrete forms of reparations and accountability to the people harmed. These reparations could include offers of financial compensation, support for mental health costs for individuals, or in some cases opportunities to return to positions they have left or lost. The people harmed should be involved, if they choose, to drive this process forward.”
