Contemporary ‘journalism’ does not follow DEI mandate

Faithful American Thinker readers will definitely not be shocked nor surprised to learn that what passes for journalism in contemporary American society is not diverse; not equitable; not inclusive – i.e., definitely not . It is overwhelmingly Democrat. And now a study from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, summarized here confirms this.

These studies of journalists, which initially began in 1971 and are conducted about once every 10 years, the last one in 2022, reveal gradual shifts over the years.

Compared to 2013, the latest demographic profile reveals that U.S. journalists are now slightly more educated on average and more likely to identify as Democrats or Independents. While the gender pay gap has narrowed, there are still significantly more men than women in the profession, and fewer racial or ethnic minorities than in the general population.

The largest change is admitted party affiliation. In the initial 1971 study, 35.5% of the journalists studied claimed to be Democrats while the latest 2022 findings are basically the same at 36.4%. But 50 years ago 25.7% of the journalists said they were Republicans; that party affiliation has plunged to 3.4% today. A huge drop. As for those claiming to be neutral or independent journalists — an often feelgood, iffy, unquantifiable, unverifiable tag — 32.5% of journalists grabbed that self label half a century ago but now that has jumped to slightly over half, 51.7%. In other words, with their minuscule Republican representation, today’s journalists definitely do not look like America.

While there are exceptions, overall now there are more female journalists and more “minority” journalists, all making about the same salary as their “majority” male counterparts, a major advance compared to 50 years ago. However, the profession still does not “look” like America as contemporary journalists are overwhelmingly college graduates compared to 58.2% 50 years which is definitely not true of American society now. Or even then.

And more examples of nondiverse, nonequitable, and noninclusive examples of what passes for journalism today. But journalism is changing. It may not even be called journalism.

Stay tuned. Or read up. On whatever device(s) you choose.

Image: Quinn Dombrowski