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When @NABJ meets with news execs, I use two examples of white male leaders who have gotten it right. The late Al Neuharth, CEO of @Gannett, and John Landgraf, CEO of @FXNetworks. Neuharth recounted in his book, "Confessions of an S.O.B.," that he made it clear Gannet would be 1/
the industry leader on diversity. So he tied the bonuses of his managers to their diversity hires. And then he said this: if those managers didn't like it, they were free to leave the company. Neuharth was a white man who grew up in South Dakota, but he got it. 2/
The reason there were so many people of color who became general managers, publishers, top editors, and news directors, was because Al Neuharth, as the CEO, made it clear that there will be no excuses. 3/
Two years ago, I attended the @THowardF Foundation dinner where John Landgraf of @FXNetworks was honored. He saw where 88% of their original-series directors were white men. So he sent out an email company-wide and said that it made no sense. He said that's not America. 4/
And it was 18 months later, and of those shows on @FXNetworks, 57% of the original-series directors were non-white men. "Our guess was that doing so would improve the overall quality of our work. We were right.” 21.cf/2FioArQ It's time for leaders to lead. 5/
Paying lip service to diversity is a waste of time. I'm not interested in another leader saying the right words. Those mean nothing. Action counts. When Neuharth made that move, every other media company had to step up or risk losing top minority talent. 6/
If a company desires to get it right when it comes to diversity, that means the CEO has to make it clear: No excuses. If white (mostly male) media CEOs or presidents are serious, they would look to Neuharth and Landgraf as models for leadership. The time for talk is over. ACT.
