Designing culture for the long term
Reassessing DEI in public media requires rethinking structure and roles
Public media has been here before. Moments of reckoning followed by moments of recalibration. This cycle didn’t begin with the latest round of layoffs. It simply became harder to overlook.
I know because I helped build one of those efforts.
Earlier this month, I was honored with the Public Media for All award, a gesture that meant a great deal to me even as it stirred memories of how challenging this work can be in practice. Recognition is gratifying, but it doesn’t erase the complexity of what it takes to move institutions forward.
Not so long ago, I helped lead a DEI Council that advocated for the creation of a Chief DEI Officer role. We organized. We aligned. We made the case. We succeeded. The learnings from our effort, in small part, informed my co-authored Brevity & Wit resource guide to DEI Councils.
And yet, years later, I can say this with clarity. The work remained unfinished.
There are many reasons, but how our systems often struggle to translate intention into durability is a fundamental challenge.
A difficult but necessary lesson 🔧
Last year, Current covered the reorganization at KQED, including the departure of Chief DEI Officer Eric Abrams, a respected colleague and friend. I supported the role. I supported Eric.
Creating the position felt like a meaningful step forward. But the role alone was never meant to carry the full weight of transformation.
That distinction matters.
A familiar pattern 🔁
Across all industry sectors, organizations responded to the national reckoning after George Floyd’s murder with new roles, new language and new commitments.
In many cases, those efforts were sincere. They were also unevenly integrated.
As political and economic conditions shifted, some of those roles proved difficult to sustain. Yet periods of constraint test institutions.
Trust, belonging, community relevance and internal cohesion are central to resilience. We all see that. We also appreciate that staff engagement and inclusion are necessary. We miss that longevity requires mapping.
Public media is not exempt from these dynamics. We navigate them alongside everyone else.
When needs outpace structure 👟
Culture work rarely falters because of individual failure. More often, it reflects limits in organizational design.
Public media frequently talks about DEI being embedded. Less frequently do we define how authority, accountability and decision rights follow that language.
In practice, this can look like:
Culture leaders positioned adjacent to, rather than inside, core strategy.
Committees taking broad responsibility without clear outcomes or conclusions.
DEI skillsets are seen as additive to operational expertise.
When financial pressures emerge, roles without clear lines of authority or integration are more vulnerable. Committees without deliverables erode faith. It is not because leaders doubt the importance of culture, but because the work and performance of it has not been structurally tied to business-critical functions.
What I would approach differently now 🤔
With the benefit of hindsight, I would have asked for more specificity.
Clearer connections between the function and multiple divisions.
Documented decision pathways that flowed through the role.
Authority that was written into structure, not assumed over time.
I also would have paid closer attention to the limits of council-based models without intervention points or sunset clauses.
I assumed some of this would evolve naturally. That was an incomplete assumption.
So what does integration actually require? 👀
If culture work is to endure across economic cycles, it must be treated like other core functions. That starts with accountability.
Culture outcomes owned within leadership portfolios.
Committees evaluated on outcomes, not just participation or input.
Values translated into measurable goals and shared methodology.
Governance matters here too. Boards cannot delegate culture entirely to leadership. Decisions about strategy, risk and workforce shape institutional culture. So, oversight must reflect that reality.
A clarifying moment ⏱️
This is a difficult period for public media. It is also an instructive one. We can continue rebuilding familiar structures, or we can redesign them with greater intention.
Many culture leaders navigating this moment bring deep expertise in organizational change, community trust and engagement. That knowledge remains essential to public media’s future. Expertise, however, is not enough. Systems have to invite it in.
The culture of public media relies on how we are willing to align our structures with those commitments. 🟢
Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕
Serving communities. “Our job is to build those bridges and give voice to those neighborhood stories, supermarkets and Latino businesses that go unnoticed,” says Enlace Latino NC’s Paola Jaramillo to the Reynolds Journalism Institute.
YouTube pivot. An Oregon Public Broadcasting story shares the efforts of a former Univision broadcaster Antonio Sánchez to reach Hispanic Oregonians, not on legacy television, but YouTube. 📺
TV representation. A new University of Southern California study notes only six percent of on-screen roles are held by Latine actors. Yahoo! Entertainment presents some of the findings. 🎭
Watching the polls. Newsweek notes a new Emerson College survey that indicates growing support for the president among Latinos. 📈
El radar: try this 📡
Power of Latinx business. Marketplace reflects on the importance of Hispanic businesses to the U.S. economy. 💰 Such a story feels ripe for regional viewpoints and storytelling.
See what new places ICE conversations are happening. This Washington Post analysis of how outrage over the Alex Pretti killing has gone beyond traditional political spaces. ✊ It may be worth localizing.
Explain irritants used by ICE. Many cities are seeing protests over immigration enforcement excesses. Nieman Lab offers a look at less-than-lethal weapons ICE officers are employing. 🧪 Experts in your region might also be able to address audience questions.
Investigate Latinx pollution worries. Texas Public Radio examines how Hispanic Texans are feeling about air pollution in the state. ♻️ Latinos tend to poll more concerned than many demographics about the environment, and this may be a good time to check on locals’ opinions.
Black velvet resurgence. Not going to lie… my tios had garish art on black velvet! Dogs playing pool like this. 🎨 WLNS has a fun piece on the origins of black velvet art in Michigan’s Latine community. In the heavy news cycle, this one may brighten your audiences’ day.
Track Latinx moving trends. Los Angeles-based nonprofit newsroom Parriva has been tracking where Latino/a families are moving when they leave California. 🧳 Are they moving to your state, or away?
The next OIGO arrives Feb. 13. WVIA’s Kara Washington sits with you to discuss the station’s efforts to represent the lives of immigrants in its community. Kara’s documentary Making NEPA Home is streaming now. 💻
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