Deanna Mackey’s Remarks
In our webinar on Tuesday, November 10th, our day of action and education for DEI in public media, Deanna Mackey from Public Television Major Market Group and Public Media Women In Leadership shared the story of her leadership journey. Thanks to volunteers for transcribing her remarks.
Hi, I'm Deanna Mackey, President of the Public Television Major Market Group and Founder of Public Media Women in Leadership. I'm really honored and pleased to have been asked to share my story with you as part of Public Media For All's webinar today on their day of education and action. I was asked to tell you a little bit about myself. I have worked in public media for 30 years. I spent 25 of those years at KPBS in San Diego mostly in positions of management and leadership; my last six years as the COO, and the last 5 years I have led the PTMMG, which is a consortium of the largest 40 public TV stations in the country.
I'm going to tell you a little bit about what my leadership journey was like. I moved into leadership very young at KPBS. It's a pretty progressive station and there were opportunities for women and people of color,, and I was in a management role in my mid-20s, and by my late 20s I was attending national meetings on behalf of my GM. The experience was very challenging - at the station not as much because there was a lot of support, but when I started attending national meetings I was small, young, brown, and female and that was not what you saw at these meetings. I was often one of maybe two women, sometimes three, and almost always the only person of color, so I really had to learn how to make my way, how to be heard, and how to fit in in what was often a very patronizing environment.
I decided early in my career that at some point I would try to create an opportunity on a national level to help women, and especially women of color, as they came up behind me. But in the meantime, I would do everything I could for both the women and the men who worked for me at KPBS. And I was fortunate to have a lot of freedom in how I led. And I had a philosophy about leadership and that is to lead via the individual first and the team second. And I don't think that's a norm in our industry. We tend to see our industry and the people in it as a family and everybody sort of works together to try to achieve the goal to best serve our audience through service media. That is an important and it's a lofty goal; however, you have to have the people behind that who are actually doing the work completely believing in that goal and feeling heard and feeling appreciated and feeling taken care of.
So, that's a lot of what's behind my philosophy about leading from the individual. I think it's really critical to understand who are the people working for you, what's their background, what are their goals and ambition, what are the things in their lives whether it's innately personal or family-oriented that might keep them from achieving their goal, and then what can I do as their manager/leader to help them achieve those goals. So, I think that leading from that philosophy helps you build a personal relationship that helps you enhance that person's professional experience. It also leads to a lot of loyalty and I was very fortunate in my many years at KPBS to work with a large group of people who I work together with over those many years because we had I think built an experience of mutual respect.
When I founded Public Media Women in Leadership I had a goal very specific to hopefully change the numbers. At that time in 2015 only 25% of the GMs and CEOs in the system were women. And over the past 5 years that number has actually gotten worse unfortunately, and it wavers between 20 and 25%. But what I learned in recent years is that what the women really needed was a place for community - a safe place to share, a place where they felt heard and where they could learn together. I'm thinking that within Public Media For All there will be similar goals. Of course, there are goals for action, and I think those are very important for people and organizations to be held accountable for making change, and that's one of the reasons Public Media Women in Leadership has joined as an organization with Public Media for All.
But I also think that it's important to take care of the people in your group. In PMWL we saw that creating space where people could share like in our peer groups or providing one-to-one mentoring where people could both learn and hear from people's experiences, but also share their own experiences, and through the many webinars and conferences we do providing training, but always time for sharing and learning together.
So, I think that those are a few things that I can offer to this community about my philosophy on leading from the individual first, being sure that you are listening to the needs of the people in your community even if you have lofty goals, making sure they're being heard and taken care of, and then putting that all together in service to the audience. And as we also know, that audience is changing every day, so we as an industry need to be open to change and open to all the new people who are coming into our community within public media and to the community we serve.
Thank you for listening to me today and thank you for letting me be part of this experience. I really appreciate it.
Odette Alcazaren-Keeley’s Remarks
In our webinar on Tuesday, November 10th, our day of action and education for DEI in public media, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley from Maynard Institute for Journalism Education gave a deeply personal speech about her experiences as an immigrant and journalist, and the need for public media to reflect all the diversity of America now more than ever. Thanks to volunteers for transcribing her remarks.
Hello everyone! I’m Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, Director of the Maynard 200 Journalism Fellowship program at the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. I’m also the President and Founding Partner of my strategic, multicultural media consultancy, Global MediaX.
I’m privileged to add my voice to the public media day of action to elevate the critical role of DEI and EID in the sector. As I share this testimonial for this pressing campaign, especially in these days following the most consequential elections in the elections of our lifetime and all that’s before us now as a nation, I’m reminded of how my own broadcasting journalism media/advocacy career have been deeply rooted in public media here in the San Francisco/Bay Area, and how my own work even many years ago in this space continues to be resonant. Especially now in this pivotal moment in our history.
14 years ago as a freelance producer for KQED FM, one of my first radio segments for the beloved former program Pacicif Time was a first person commentary after I had taken my oath as a U.S. citizen having migrated here from the Philippines. I shared in that radio piece two of my most important reasons for doing so, for becoming an American citizen.
Number one: that as an immigrant, I would never be separated from my family. And number two: that I would be able to vote and my voice would be heard.
For 11 years until 2017, I continued to anchor news segments for the ethnic media consortium New America Media where I held an executive media role (and these were broadcast via longstanding public media partner and ally, 91.7 KALW). I also served as a regular commentator on Pacific Time and also as a regular panelist on KQED’s This Week in Northern California hosted by broadcasting legend Belva Davis.
And four years ago - I think it’s still fresh and raw to many of us especially given where we are in at this moment - the morning after the 2016 election night when Donald Trump was declared President, I still remember my daughter’s tearful question to me when she heard the news. It was still playing in my mind as I drove to work. She had asked me because she had not yet fully grasped the scope of and the true meaning of my US citizenship at that time. She asked, “does this mean, Mom, that you’ll be deported, too?” I remember vividly that I reassured her that this is not the case.
As I listened on my car radio to KQED news, they were interviewing a Muslim father. He had broken down on air, terrified, for his and his daughters’ future. I’m grateful that I was able to reassure my daughter that we would not be separated from each other. And heartbroken at the same time for the countless others who could not do the same, perhaps including this father that I was just listening to. These voices I shared during our editorial meeting that morning.
Public media serves as a comprehensive daily source of news and perspectives nationally and globally, but it’s clear now more than ever before that its leadership, its workforce, and its coverage need to be more authentically reflective of the diversity of its audience.
KQED and KALW are just two examples of public media stations that are bringing not just media content - national content - but also award-winning local and hyperlocal programming that magnify the diverse voices of the region, and that are chronicling the American story.
Now, as the nation continues to grapple with its racial reckoning since the death of George Floyd and countless other Black and brown Americans, with the societal chasm cemented by the 2020 vote, wider now than ever before. As journalists we are called to reflect and to acknowledge, to ask ourselves: have we been complicit to sustaining structural racism in our own newsrooms, in our media organizations, and in our coverage of the American experience?
At the Maynard Institute amid this tipping point in our field - including in public media - our mission is to be dismantlers of systemic white supremacy and inequity. To embolden all journalists, especially those of color, with authentic power and chance agency in order to be the force for DEI and EID in their newsrooms and media organizations, and in their coverage. So that as our visionary MIJE Executive Director Martin Reynolds articulates, we can all ultimately help create institutions of belonging.
We stand together with the Public Media For All coalition because we know we will need - especially in these weeks, months, and years ahead - to find our collective strength and continue to do the tough work needed from all of us to heal our democracy together, regardless of and respecting each others’ differing beliefs.
We at MIJE salute all those working tirelessly for Public Media Day and this overall initiative. We are grateful for your allyship and hang onto the hope for all that we will accomplish together as journalists and as Americans. Thank you.
Sisi Wei’s Remarks
In our webinar on Tuesday, November 10th, our day of action and education for DEI in public media, Sisi Wei from OpenNews gave an inspirational speech about her optimism for better, more diverse future for journalism. Thanks to volunteers for transcribing her remarks.
Hi everyone. I am so happy to be here in support of Public Media for All, and to tell you about my own journey doing this work, as well as what we’ve been doing at OpenNews to push for change in journalism. My name is Sisi Wei. I work at OpenNews where we are supporting a movement in journalism—one that is fighting for a future where all journalists can work in newsrooms that are anti-racist, equitable, inclusive, and collaborative…and where the communities that we’ve long ignored can trust in journalism again, or maybe for the first time ever.
I’m recording this video on November 6, which is three days after the US election, and before any final results have come out. But no matter who wins, what will always be true is how close the election was, and the message that sends to communities of color—journalists included. I was reading the New York Times this morning, and Roxane Gay had a wonderful op-ed. She wrote that what we’ve seen is that “we live in two countries. In one, people are willing to grapple with racism and bigotry. The other is committed to defending white supremacy and patriarchy at all costs.” Over the last few days, I’ve seen people of color react in so many different ways, ranging from heartbreak to exhaustion to fear. For many folks, and Roxane is included in this, such a close race isn’t even a surprise because they’ve always understood how racist the country and its systems have been.
And in moments like this, the work we do on the ground level can feel overwhelming, and the dreams of being able to live and work in a just and anti-racist industry…oh my gosh, that feels distant. But I don’t think anyone coming to today’s Day of Action is giving up. Of course, we all may need to take breaks once in a while. I’ve certainly needed that, because this work can be draining. But all of you who’ve shown up here today, even if it’s just to listen and learn at a moment when the world is overwhelming—that’s step one in taking action and showing solidarity.
The vision of Public Media for All itself is similar to a daydream that I’ve had for a while now. The idea that we could have journalism institutions that weave diversity, equity, and inclusion into their very nature…at the events we organize, in our coverage, on our staff, in their pay, in our leaders, and in the guidance and trust we get from our communities. That all sounds like a dream to me, because it’s so hard to find examples of organizations that truly live up to that standard in our industry. And honestly I used to just imagine what it might feel like to work at a place where DEI work wasn’t my burden or the burden of other POC, but rather something that my white colleagues proactively educated themselves about, constantly, and did the work to advocate for their POC colleagues and for a workplace that treats them equally and justly.
However, I have personally been doing this work for many years now, and this year there are two big initiatives that I’ve been really proud to kick off, because I think they’re really going to make a big difference. The first is Vision25. It’s a collaboration between OpenNews, the Online News Association, and the Maynard Institute to pursue change on a bigger scale—an industry-level scale, aimed at the ultimate goal of creating these anti-racist organizations that become what we’re calling “Institutions of Belonging.” Places where people of color actually feel like they truly belong, not just tolerated or simply included. And we’re looking to create social change in the way people think and act and treat each other, to meet the social change movement that the country finds itself in right now.
The second initiative is the DEI Coalition for Anti-Racist, Equitable, and Just Newsrooms, which is grassroots work in many ways. Alongside the OpenNews community, over a hundred people are already coming together to create these community spaces that are dedicated to organizing to help journalists who are in the fight to change their newsrooms learn from each other and give solidarity to one another. One of those community spaces will also be dedicated to managers who are committed to change, and who face their own challenges in how to make that change happen. So ultimately, the DEI Coalition is collective work done with the community to give anyone who wants to work and exert pressure and negotiate and demand, a place to learn and work together.
Vision25, the DEI Coalition, and Public Media for All—they all share something really important in common. It’s that anyone can help or participate in some way, and that our work centers around people and our collective agency to take action and demand better. Because doing this work across multiple initiatives with our different perspectives and passions, and our genuine interest and curiosity in people and telling stories—all of that enables us to better understand each other and take action together to create more just organizations and communities.
I started with a quote from Roxane’s op-ed today, and I wanted to close with one too—she is one of my favorite writers, after all. She wrote at the end of her op-ed, “This is America. A country desperately divided, and desperately flawed. The future of this country is uncertain, but it is not hopeless. I am writing to fight for that future, no matter what it holds. Are you?”
Thank you all for being here today, and for building this movement together.
Loris Taylor’s Remarks
In our webinar on Tuesday, November 10th, our day of action and education for DEI in public media, Loris Taylor from Native Public Media gave an wonderfully personal speech comparing the need for media diversity to that of biodiversity. Thanks to volunteers for transcribing her remarks.
Hello, my name is Loris Taylor, and I am the President and CEO of Native Public Media. Native Public Media represents the media interests of Native Americans through broadcasting, journalism, new technologies and platforms, and public policy.
I come from the Hopi village of Oraibi, noted as being the oldest continuously inhabited village in North America. To this day, my village has no running water, electricity, telephone or internet service. When I was 12, I went away to boarding school because we did not have a high school on our reservation. My life experiences give me insight and empathy about what Native communities face today in terms of the media revolution.
While most of America is repurposing media and embracing the convergence of media, we in Native America are still trying and, in some cases, fighting to hear our own stories and news. We have been fortunate in establishing a media base of 59 Native-owned radio and four television stations that serve Native nations and tribal communities in the United States. These stations serve as critical platforms for education, dialogue, public affairs, and culture. You can hear the Navajo, Sioux, Hopi, Apache, and other Native languages on these stations. These stations play a substantial role in strengthening language vitality and culture in Native communities.
However, let me assure you that the media divide is alive and well. Juxtaposed against the machinery of media consolidation and the gobbling of Spectrum, 574 Native nations in this country face challenges and real barriers of media access, control, and ownership. Our issues are more than just about hardware. Media diversity is key to maintaining our tribal identity and the freedom to be who we are. It is about the old cowboy and Indian westerns where we hope the Indian will finally win. That is why I welcome this opportunity to have this conversation with you about media diversity.
Diversity is part of a broader ecosystem and understanding of the universe. We need only look at plants and animals to know that the variety of life makes for more robust and healthy habitats and ecosystems. As human beings, we thrive and grow with intellect, artistic, cultural, religious, governance, and spiritual diversity. In this way, we are very much like the plants and animals around us. If we focus on media diversity in the context of history as our barometer, we can determine the health of our own media access, control, and ownership.
History is all around us. The common thread in history, except that part written by nature, is humankind and our role in making history. Behind every historic event stands a human being with ideas of right and wrong, views of the necessary and the expedient, acts of selflessness and selfishness. History first is an idea in the mind of a human being.
During the present coronavirus pandemic, we find comfort in medical advancement and the attendant easing of human suffering that it brings. At the same time, we look back on the pages of history and try to comprehend the evil resulting in the genocide of Native Americans in this country, the reign of Hitler, and political intolerance based on race, religion, and creed. Media diversity assures us that the pages we write into history will include stories of our resilience, hope, and truth to power.
Media diversity requires action. Far too many of us stand as detached observers of history's unfolding. We watch as events spin out of control. We trust that someone else will do what is right and take no thought of how our lack of action is influencing the development of history. We are part of humankind, and our actions and inactions play a part in shaping history.
Media diversity is necessary for the advancement of knowledge and truth. A history that has already happened can only be studied and its lessons incorporated into our present lives and policies. History occurring in front of us, and history that is not yet born, has the potential to be shaped by human action. We have the power to report what we see, and to participate in shaping an unfolding history, page after page.
Media diversity is the freedom to develop and hold onto Native beliefs and opinions on any subject we choose, the right to communicate our ideas, thoughts, and opinions, and even random information, through our stories, speech, writing, music, and art. Media diversity supports our right to participate in the decisions that affect our lives, and to engage in the broadest possible exchange of ideas and information possible.
Our judgments, formed in the privacy of our minds, flows out from us and become part of that flowing stream known as public opinion. In turn, public opinion shapes public policy, and public policy becomes embedded in our national culture and expressed through our laws.
Therefore, the repercussions to populations that remain invisible within the broader media landscape, like Native Americans, is to be at the whim of a policy pendulum that swings between popular and unpopular Indian policy. The uninformed, or those not included in our media cultures, unwittingly become history victims, rather than the shapers of its boundaries.
Just like biodiversity, media diversity is kept healthy by a broader ecosystem of citizens, journalists, government, the First Amendment, and our vision that each individual has the right to the power of the pen as an informed human being. Thank you.
KUT & KUTX Publicly Commit To Change
In a courageous open letter to the KUT & KUTX audience published on their website, Debbie Hiott, General Manager & Executive Director, Sylvia Ponce-Carson, Deputy General Manager, Teresa Frontado, Executive Editor, KUT, Matt Reilly, Program Director, KUTX, and the entire KUT & KUTX senior leadership team committed to doing better. They apologized for past mistakes, transparently shared the DEI work they’ve done thus far, and solicited community feedback. Public Media for All applauds this empathetic and bold leadership move.
“Our goal through this process is to increase our outreach to all communities in Central Texas, provide content that better reflects the breadth of culture and experience in the region, and deepen our coverage of the inequities that affect too many residents, particularly those who are Black and/or Latino. We want to make KUT and KUTX a better and more inclusive place to work for all of our colleagues, regardless of their race, ethnicity, creed, gender identity or abilities.”
Read the full statement here: https://www.kut.org/post/our-audience-we-are-committing-do-better-you