Leaders from AP, NABJ, Star Tribune and USA Today to discuss newsrooms after the summer of protests, Oct. 23
After a summer of protests about police brutality and racial injustice, news organizations vowed to improve coverage of diverse communities and to step up their own long-promised efforts to diversify newsrooms and leadership.
But has anything really changed?
The National Press Club Journalism Institute and the National Press Club Communicators Committee present a candid conversation on what’s next for newsrooms pushing toward equity. Registration is open for this program, which will take place Friday, Oct. 23, from 12 noon to 1 p.m.
Panelists will be Amanda Barrett, deputy managing editor at AP; Rene Sanchez, editor and senior vice president at the MinneapolisStar Tribune; and Dorothy Tucker, president of the National Association of Black Journalists. Michael McCarter, USA Today managing editor of standards, ethics and inclusion, will moderate.
Amanda Barrett, deputy managing editor of AP, oversees newsroom talent development and manages the Nerve Center at AP’s New York headquarters. The Nerve Center serves as AP’s hub for global news coordination, research, customer communication and audience engagement.
As head of talent development, Barrett helps lead efforts to create career paths to retain talented staff across the globe, and to develop a more diverse workforce. She works with news leaders around the globe to drive more inclusive storytelling more fully representing the communities AP journalists cover.
Rene Sanchez leads Minnesota’s largest news organization, overseeing all aspects of the Star Tribune’s print and digital editions. He joined the newspaper in 2004 as a regional reporter and was later named its Sunday editor. He has subsequently overseen the Metro, Business and Sports departments as well as special reporting projects and investigative work. He helped lead the Star Tribune’s investigation of child deaths at daycare facilities in Minnesota that earned the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.
Sanchez’s journalism career began in New Orleans at The Times-Picayune, where he reported on sports and local news. He then spent 17 years as a local and national reporter for The Washington Post. In his last six years at the Post, he was based in Los Angeles, covering California and the American West.
Dorothy Tucker is president of the National Association of Black Journalists. A Chicago native, she has been a reporter for CBS 2 Chicago since 1984 and currently is a reporter on the station’s 2 Investigator team.
Tucker has been honored numerous times throughout her career. Her many awards include several local Emmys, including one for her breaking news reports during the 2008 Northern Illinois University shootings and two for her work on CBS 2 Chicago′s 2003 and 2004 broadcasts of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.
Michael McCarter is managing editor of standards, ethics and inclusion at USA TODAY. In this new role, McCarter works closely with USA TODAY journalists across the country focusing on five building blocks that include ethics, standards, mentoring, education and inclusion.
McCarter previously served as executive editor of Evansville Courier & Press of the USA TODAY Network, and also coordinated coverage with editors and reporters across Indiana and Kentucky.
Prior to his time in Evansville, McCarter worked for 10 years at the Cincinnati Enquirer, where he served as senior news director and director of photography before that.
The National Press Club Journalism Institute has added weekly programming, a daily newsletter, a daily writing group, and other support for journalists since March, and has waived fees for everything due to the COVID-19 pandemic at a savings of more than $52,000 to participants like you. If you value what you’ve been learning from the Institute during this time, please consider a donation of $5, $10, or whatever you can contribute.
In another upcoming free program, on Friday, Oct. 30,.the Journalism Institute will sponsor Design Hacks: How to create social media graphics with Beth Francesco from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Watch recordings or read recaps of previous Journalism Institute programs here.
Contact Journalism Institute Executive Director Julie Moos with questions.