Welcome to Spring 2021

Hi everyone!

Welcome to a new semester! For those who are new to Annenberg Media, I would like to introduce myself. I am one of the equity board members and will be writing weekly briefs covering specific DEI topics relevant to our *virtual* newsroom culture.

Firstly, after our first semester of figuring things out, we’ve finally got the Equity Board finalized! Read about our development and potential projects here. 

Source Tracker

One of the new things Annenberg Media is starting this semester is a source tracker. In an effort to log and document our efforts to diversify our sourcing within Annenberg Media, this document was created so that we could see the demographics of our sources. 

There are questions from name to race to pronouns to faultlines. Remember, when in doubt ask your editors and coaches. We are here to help!

Pronouns in Slack

Aside from this, one thing I’d like to make a general practice for everyone is to add your pronouns to your Slack profile, Zoom (here’s a how-to on adding to Zoom), desk-related documents, etc. 

Not only is it good practice to help people contact you, but it also creates an inclusive and safe environment for our fellow reporters and editors! Simply adding it next to your name goes a long way! 

Blessings, 

Steven Vargas