Make no mistake. The @latimes has a long way to go to correct the ugliness of the past.
Today, our masthead — the 14 leaders who make every major decision about our newsroom and coverage — does not include a single Latino.
This is in L.A., where half the community is Latino.
And NO — promoting or hiring 1 or 2 or 3 Latinos to join the @latimes masthead is not enough.
In a place like L.A., half of these portraits must be Latino.
Make that happen & you’ll see true change unfold in every corner of our newsroom. @DrPatSoonShiong @NPearlstine #SomosLAT
Those of you wondering how I could possibly expect @latimes leadership to one day be half Latino:
There is absolutely nothing radical about asking newsrooms to mirror the communities they chronicle.
L.A. County demographics:
Latino 48.6%
White 26.1%
Asian 15.4 %
Black 9%
For so long, news leaders have upheld the status quo, maintaining nearly all white mastheads. Rarely, if ever, do these leaders stop & think: Is there something inherently wrong with this picture? Are we being fair? What can we do - with urgency & commitment - to change things?
It's journalists of color, often Latino & Black, who push news institutions to do better.
The @latimes has plenty to be proud of. Our masthead, just a few years ago, was nearly all white.
Still, the absence of Latinos (of a single Latino) in those portraits is unconscionable.
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