DEI Update from St. Louis Public Radio
We reached out to St. Louis Public Radio for an update on how their DEI work has been progressing since joining Public Media for All. They offered the following.
What’s one DEI success you’ve had at your organization recently?
Our Leadership Team has evolved in nine months from 7 white people (2 male, 5 female) to 2 African American women, 1 African American man, 3 white women and 2 white men. Diversity on the team is just the first step; inclusion is our primary focus.
What’s one lesson you’ve learned about DEI work at your organization?
Don’t expect accolades. This is important work, it needs to get done.
What resources and support do you need to improve DEI at your organization?
This work requires significant resources and sustained effort. It requires complete commitment at the leadership level. In our case it also requires engaging with and support from our university and university system as the steps needed often interface with university policy. We have received that support and have raised some funds for additional resources. We also appreciate how public media organizations are regularly sharing strategy sessions.
PMFA is dedicated to helping organizations that sign up to join us, including St. Louis Public Radio, reach impactful DEI goals. We provide community support, educational resources, and are evolving our services to meet industry needs.
PMFA Inaugural Development Award
Public Media for All will present its inaugural Development Award at Greater Public's Public Media Development and Marketing Conference this year. We’re currently accepting nominations for public media fundraising and marketing professionals who champion diversity, equity and inclusion at their station or organization. Celebrating the commitment to this work is vital for sustainability and encourages BIPOC who are often under-recognized for their accomplishments. Nominate a colleague or yourself.
Nominees meeting the following criteria will be considered:
Criteria
Must identify as a BIPOC
Works in a revenue generating or marketing role: Membership, Development, Corporate Development, Marketing.
Makes outstanding contributions to enhancing the practice of inclusion, equity and diversity at their station or organization.
Demonstrates history of excellence in fundraising and development for public media.
Please complete this form with your nomination by June 25. If you have any questions contact us at contact@publicmediaforall.com.
KZMU Joins PMFA
Serah Mead, General Manager, offered the following about why they decided to participate.
KZMU is a small station in rural Utah. One of our core values is to lift up marginalized voices and the lived experiences of Indigenous, Latinx, Black, and people of color in our community, and we recognize that in order to do that lifting, we need to build a strong foundation and infrastructure within the organization to sustain that effort and truly reach a diverse, inclusive, and equitable state. KZMU is committed to taking this pledge seriously, by working as a team, involving not only staff and board, but volunteers and listeners as well, to set goals based on the PMFA Action Items and meet them. We are grateful for the opportunity and support Public Media for All provides.
DEI Update from SCPR
We reached out to SCPR for an update on how their DEI work has been progressing since joining Public Media for All. They offered the following.
What’s one DEI success you’ve had at your organization recently?
Based on a report and set of recommendations from an internal task force, the SCPR executive team has committed to a set of roughly 45 actions to support diversity, equity, and inclusion at the organization. (We are currently in the process of creating a public-facing version of the implementation plan.) We’ve had early success inviting more pan-org participation in the recruitment process, including a talks and career fair Slack channel and $75 stipends for employees to join associations like NAHJ, NABJ, AAJA, etc.
What’s one lesson you’ve learned about DEI work at your organization?
Onboarding plays a critical role in supporting a culture of belonging, and that’s a process that should start during the recruitment phase—not the first day at work—and continue throughout the course an employee’s time at the organization. How do we set somebody up to understand the structure of an organization, its revenue model, its policies, and the opportunities for professional growth, as well as employee resources.
What resources and support do you need to improve DEI at your organization?
There are so many! We have committed to annual content audits, but there are few organizations that provide this service and those who do rightfully charge a good amount. Additionally, there are larger editorial conversations we’d welcome having with other public media newsrooms who have also acknowledged and taken a stand against systemic racism and understand this has become an increasingly partisan issue.
PMFA is dedicated to helping organizations that sign up to join us, including SCPR, reach impactful DEI goals. We provide community support, educational resources, and are evolving our services to meet industry needs.
SCPR Joins PMFA
Herb Scannell, CEO of Southern California Public Radio, which includes KPCC and LAist, offered the following about why they decided to participate.
“Southern California Public Radio’s mission is to strengthen the civic and cultural bonds that connect the communities of Southern California, one of the most diverse regions on the planet. In order to fully deliver on the mission, we recognize that we need to change the way we work; from how we recruit, onboard and provide professional growth opportunities for our employees, to the journalism and programing we produce. SCPR is committed to this transition, and we have adopted an ambitious strategy to make meaningful change within the next 18 months. Joining Public Media For All is a way for us to share learnings and resources as we go, as well as learning from other organizations who have committed to similar paths.”