Diversity in British, Swedish, and German Newsrooms: Problem Awareness, Measures, and Achievements

2020

A core tenet of journalism is to contribute toward a functioning and healthy public sphere by ensuring transparency over issues and perspectives from different segments of society. However, it has become increasingly doubtful whether the news media can reflect the true diversity of society while lacking internal diversity in their newsrooms. In our study of three European countries (Germany, Sweden, and the UK), we assess how news organizations cope with the challenges of achieving diversity among their editorial staff and fostering a diversity-sensitive newsroom culture. Drawing on semi-standardized interviews with editors-in-chief and managing editors at 18 outlets, our analysis systemati…