The new Marquette Wire position, Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement editor, is important for creating content that serves and represents the Marquette community and students.
The year 2021 has motivated student organizations at the university to confront diversity efforts, and the Marquette Wire has officially joined the conversation.
The DICE editor will assist in organization-wide efforts to build diversity in staffing — something that will benefit our news organization greatly. The DICE editor will help design, implement and evaluate organization-wide efforts to build diversity in content, staffing, and our audience. Having a diverse staff is one of the best ways to increase diversity in news coverage. There are so many stories that are missed simply because a newsroom is not full of different voices. Not only does this help with story ideas, but the approaches to these stories, sources and the way people are depicted in these stories will automatically look different, which can ultimately be a good thing. This does not necessarily mean that stories involving marginalized communities should be given to the person of color, rather, it means that diversity brings more and different views to the newsroom.
The DICE editor will also be responsible for evaluating the Marquette Wire’s current approach to creating and promoting diversity and bringing new ideas to execute this to the table. This is important because we cannot become more inclusive if we do not understand where faults are in the current system.
It is essential that we do not only think about diversity in terms of black and white, because diversity is more than that. Being inclusive includes many factors such as gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and religion. This is not only in hiring efforts, but our organization must continue to seek diverse perspectives in the community. As these perspectives are important to creating well-rounded and fair news stories, it is important to acknowledge that it is more than that. When marginalized groups are portrayed in the media in a positive or accurate light, it can help dismantle stereotypes surrounding those communities.
That is not to say that the only coverage of marginalized communities should be positive, but rather, to emphasize the power that journalism has on our society. Journalism can either help or harm marginalized communities depending on how they are covered, which is why the DICE editor position will be important. Making sure marginalized communities are represented authentically is incredibly important to the way society views people.
All in all, diversity efforts cannot end at promoting and creating diversity. Once journalists enter the newsroom, the Wire should continue to support and uplift underrepresented voices in journalism and help them move forward in their careers. It is not enough for us to promote and create change; We have to be the change, and developing the DICE position is a step in that direction. The Marquette Wire’s effort to become a more balanced, inclusive and fair news organization has never been more important than it is now.
This story was written by Hope Moses. She can be reached at [email protected]
