Diversity reboots public media by 2025

No one asked for my Nieman Lab Predictions for Journalism, but I've got them anyway

Dec 20, 2024

Public media is at an inflection point. Political headwinds hint at a seismic shift in traditional funding and institutional structures. In fact, we face public media’s greatest crossroads in more than a generation. Where do we go from here?

Our opportunity lies in radically reinterpreting public media’s approach to journalism and information sharing. By embracing diverse content and inclusive engagement practices, public media can chart a path to resilience and renewed relevance.

Bold moves must come at a time of real threats. Shifting funding models, regulatory uncertainties and evolving public expectations are among our biggest questions. Success requires more than incremental changes or pandering. Instead, by expanding on diversity, local content and genuine community engagement, public media can remake these sunsets into our greatest days yet.

I know the stress can be paralyzing. The worries that keep you up at night keep me up too. But if you love this space with your whole heart as I do, I encourage you to set aside your fears and stand. This is the moment you are needed the most.

An intervention

Whether we agree with the perception or not, a lot of people don’t feel media is attuned to differing life experiences and perspectives right now. Not simply partisan hardliners, but everyone. It’s our obligation to listen with empathy, respond sincerely and act on our community’s wisdom.

Recent data from the Pew Research Center illuminates a critical context: traditional news consumption continues its downward trajectory, while diverse, localized content demonstrate remarkable resilience. This shift is not a passing trend; it’s a sign that audiences yearn for content that resonates personally and culturally, delivered in ways that acknowledge and honor their capacity and their place in the world.

Public media can do more to meet these times by centering inclusion as a central operating value.

Tomorrow is multifaceted

Public media reinvention should prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in every respect, including background, socioeconomic status, geography and ideas. It needn’t be hand-to-hand combat over terms and culture wars either. This vision can mean providing information access to every neighborhood, such as the Community News Lab envisions. This may mean models that serve information needs, such as a WVIA partnership around opportunities and diverse communities. Or it may mean accentuating efforts to build the best workplaces.

Ideas can come from the Civic Information Index, with county-by-county breakdowns of information needs. Successes such as those highlighted by Samantha Guzman in OIGO in 2022, or Indigenous journalism initiatives that blend connection with advanced technology platforms can guide us. These models prove that inclusion and innovation can coexist, enhancing both credibility and reach.

Transformative engagement

This re-commitment to diversity means public media needs a recharged vision of our service and attention to community. This requires a multi-tiered framework that addresses several key dimensions:

Hyper-local narratives: Cultural specificity from many perspectives can ensure content is informed by, and accountable to, the people it serves.
Journalism matters to people: Rather than elevate “storytelling,” it’s essential to speak up for journalism as presenting the richness of our communities, from location to history to status.
Generational bridge-building: We risk tokenizing new leadership and treating younger audiences as a checkbox when we don’t embrace generational change and connection as a priority that strengthens everyone involved.
Technological adaptability: As Marie Gilot says, now is the time to tinker, and to plan. Emerging tools and AI-assisted resources must be always guided by a core principle: technology must serve community trust, not just efficiency.

Resolve

Diversity is a centerpiece of American innovation. That is not ground to give up easily. Similarly, the future of public media isn't in surrendering our existing funding and structures—decades of struggle won us those. Instead, we want to explain, defend and build on investments and focus energy on creating dynamic responses to community needs. Our task is not simply to survive, but to advance public media into a future where institutions and communities are intertwined, each reinforcing the other’s vitality.

This is our time to show public media is an enterprise grounded in people and in openness. Let’s acknowledge our alarm without letting it dictate our choices. We must cultivate the courage and creativity to reshape public media into a space where our neighbors see themselves reflected and understood.

Public media can become a critical gathering point: a place where dialogue replaces distrust, where complexity is valued rather than simplified, and where a cultural tapestry becomes our greatest strength. By embracing transformation, we can foster a relevance that will guide public media confidently into the coming years.

I’m ready for this. I hope you are too. 🟢

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Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕

New podcast audience data. Edison Research released its latest Latino Podcast Listener Report. 🔀 Female listening is up, and YouTube remains a driver in this audio space.
Public media diversity. The Public Media Journalists Association has issued a new study on diversity in the system, noting many challenges. 🤔 The sample group is 215 respondents representing 80 organizations.
Machismo. Much was made of attitudes of Hispanic men after the election. Now, the Pew Research Center has new data of interest. 🗳️
Trends. Axios identifies a variety of trends impacting Hispanic coverage, from politicians to events in Latin America. 📈
Newsroom support. Documented has received $2 million from the Knight Foundation to teach 20 newsrooms how to better reach multilingual communities and provide content. 📰
Inspo. AltLatino presents the best Latin records not on the best-of list. 🌻 KVNF has a post up to recruit Spanish-speaking community members to participate in a Latin music show.
Generation Barney. If you missed recent OIGO interviewee Sabrina Herrera getting all the flores for her Connecticut Public podcast, check out her recent Here and Now appearance. 😎
Condolencias. Friends are posting on the Facebook page of longtime Hawai’i Public Radio leader José A. Fajardo, who just passed away after a long battle with ALS. 🙏🏼

El radar: try this 📡

Note oral history efforts. WNIJ covered a local university campaign to compile recollections from Northern Illinois’ Latinx community. 📼 It prompted me to wonder if campuses near you might be engaged similarly.
Talk with Latinos in state Cabinets. WFAE is on this now. 🍂 With new leadership in states nationally, Hispanics are being tapped for new roles. Could your organization sit with them to talk about their vision?
Reflect on local Latine neighborhoods. WUGA just did a report on a local community fund’s findings related to local Hispanic residents. You’ve got these sorts of studies in your state—don’t overlook them. 🍵
Focus on Spanish-language disinformation. 🎇 KPBS covered a recent University of California San Diego study on misinformation targeting Spanish speakers that you might consider reporting on too.
Explore Latinos and Alzheimer’s. WFYI’s Side Effects initiative did reporting on how advancements in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease have not been as available to Latine patients as one might expect. 🏥 Education and awareness seem to be crucial. This is likely a story to localize.
Cover Hispanics and genealogy. Houston Landing has a fascinating piece that bears conversation with area genealogists. 📚 Incomplete birth and death records are among the conundrums.