To produce Breaking Through: Overcoming Structural Barriers for Journalists of Color, researchers went directly to journalists of color to ask about their newsroom experience, avoiding the dead end of newsrooms refusing to participate in diversity surveys. 

Respondents reported structural obstacles at many different career stages, and some said they would have left the field without the support of mentors and professional associations. A diverse press corps is essential to inform citizens in a multicultural democracy, yet that hasn’t translated into a smooth road for journalists of color, this report shows. 

With support from The Asian American Foundation, Rapid Research Evaluation surveyed 549 working media professionals and followed up with 37 for focus groups and one-on-one interviews.

    • A majority of respondents agree that their organization treats them with respect, that they feel they belong, and their organizations are becoming more equitable and inclusive places to work.
    • Yet more than half don’t think their organizations are achieving sufficient racial diversity, showing a significant gap between personal and institutional progress.
    • Structural obstacles include barriers to entry, pay inequity, and blocks to upward mobility. Gains in hiring since 2020 have been rolled back by layoffs.
    • Solutions need to be both structural and personal. Organizations need to address pay inequity and obstacles to leadership. Mentors and professional associations also play an important role.
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The focus groups and interviews deepened the insights. Respondents note how hard it is to launch a career when some internships pay nothing and entry-level jobs in journalism pay so little that anyone with student debt can’t afford them. This deprives journalism of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, disproportionately people of color. 

At higher levels, respondents report pay disparities they perceive as related to race. And several journalists of color report needing to be “overqualified” to get their jobs. Mentorship, sponsorship, and support from professional associations such as AAJA were described as being essential to stay in the field.