In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and the increased prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement, editors across the country have made a concerted effort to hire more Black reporters, include more Black authoritative voices, and … Read more
The evening before I headed out to cover a Black Lives Matter protest last May for The Kansas City Star, I listened to and read media coverage about out-of-control mobs looting and vandalizing stores, overturning parked cars, … Read more
Chicago is a city of immigrants. Over 1.6 million of them live in the metropolitan Chicago region I call home. And nearly one-third of households in Cook County, Illinois, include one or more immigrants. Yet, Chicago’s local … Read more
If a candidate for high office carries a group of voters by more than 30 points, when do we call it “a loss?” When that same candidate flips five states his party lost in the last election, … Read more
Though I’ve seen the way the media portray Black women evolve over time, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done exactly right — or at least with the complexity and nuance we deserve. I say we intentionally, though journalists are not … Read more
Germans have a term — vergangenheitsbewältigung — to describe the process of coming to terms with the past. The concept emerged in the decades after World War II, as historians, philosophers, writers, and thinkers grappled with the … Read more
Dear Journalism. Those two words formed the silent call I heard throughout the summer as anguish over George Floyd’s killing and an amplified Black Lives Matter movement forced a news industry reckoning. Yes, there was deep pain and disillusionment … Read more
During a recent conversation on the ongoing pursuit of racial equity in our workplaces, a colleague asked a question we all should ask ourselves: “How did we get here?” The answer, of course, is that while many … Read more
The killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota has created a racial reckoning for the country. That reckoning has expanded to America’s newsrooms. Across the country, journalists of color have called out their … Read more
Since the recent uprisings, we at Press On have been hearing and witnessing an increasing sense of urgency from journalism organizations and institutions to address their internal cultures and structures that uphold oppression and racism. This urge is excellent news, … Read more
