By David Randall
Accurately portraying racial issues in the community and bringing minorities into the newsroom were two of the main issues addressed at the Society of Professional Journalists panel on Thursday, April 11.
The panel discussed the theme “Balancing Minority Rights and Majority Rule: Representing diversity in the newsroom and community,” and included members of the Utah State Legislature, journalists and educators.
Holly Mullen, executive sports editor at the Salt Lake Tribune, who participated in the panel, said she thought that increasing the diversity in the newsroom was the key issue.
“I think it”s extremely important that they hire more people of ethnic and racial diversity,” she said.
She said Utah newsrooms could be characterized as a “vast sea of white faces.”
Jose Enriquez, one of three minority educators in the Provo School District, was also a member of the panel. He said he thought another major part of overcoming racism and increasing diversity was including minorities in school programs.
Enriquez attended BYU on a wrestling scholarship, and he said he never would have taken an interest in wrestling if a coach first hadn”t taken an interest in him.
Daniel Jackson, 19, a sophomore from Ashburn Va., who is a pre-communications major, helped organize and moderate the meeting, and said he thought it was a success.
“I think we had a good mix of people there,” he said. “I think our idea to pick the journalists, educators and legislators was good because we got three different looks at diversity.”
Jackson said he thought that the most important question raised was how to help minority students get involved in school programs rather than feel alienated.
Alf Pratte, BYU communications professor similarly thought the panel was a success because it was balanced and positive
“They didn”t flunk the press here,” he said. He noted that they did say newsrooms had a ways to go to achieve diversity, but he was pleased by the positive comments about the media. Participants in panel were Gene Davis, and Parley Hellewell, from the state legislature, Holly Mullen, and Rick Hall from Salt Lake City newspapers, and Wendy Landon and Jose Enriquez who work for the Provo School District.
Mullen said she was impressed with questions that students asked.
“The students questions were outstanding – bright, curios and tough questions,” she said. “I hope I was able to express my philosophy and my opinion as far as the role of a newspaper in a covering diverse issue.”
Jackson said his one misgiving about the panel was that they didn”t have more time to take questions.
