Setting a new direction through "Ten by 2010"

August 3, 2008

UNITY President's Message Karen Lincoln Michel

A After 20 years in the news business and often meeting resistance when pushing for greater diversity in America's newsrooms, I finally found an approach that's creating a buzz among media executives. It's the new "Ten by 2010" project that UNITY: Journalists of Color unveiled during our organization's fourth quadrennial convention in Chicago, July 23-27.

Within days following UNITY '08, Schurz Communications became the third media company to commit to the program. Schurz, a privately-owned media company with medium and small properties, joins the Gannett Co. and The New York Times Company in participating in the project designed to give managers of color a chance to compete for a promotion to senior management by 2010.

It represents the kind of innovative partnership that a changing media industry needs to help set a new direction.

What gives this program an edge is its ability to deliver customized training for high-potential employees that are already on a senior management track. Employers identify specific development goals for their employee to reach the next level, and UNITY works with prestigious management training institutes to provide participants with a program tailor-made for them.

In recent months, I have talked to media executives from more than a dozen companies and come away extremely encouraged. Not only am I encouraged about the impact the project may have on diversifying the teams of decision-makers at newspapers and broadcast stations nationwide, but also about the potential for this partnership to become a turning point in how we work together with industry leaders to advance diversity.

Until now, journalists of color have repeatedly called upon media companies to put diversity in the forefront and continually challenged them to do better. I believe we also need to step up and offer our expertise to help the news industry achieve what we're demanding.

That's the beauty of "Ten by 2010." It's a true partnership that puts UNITY and its alliance partners on equal footing with media companies to try to diversify staffing at the highest levels.

UNITY is also very excited that the project has received high marks from influential journalism organizations, and has gotten formal endorsements from the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Associated Press Managing Editors, the Newspaper Association of America and the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

Not only that, we have assembled a group of prestigious organizations that will offer management training for our "Ten by 2010" participants. They are:

• The National Association of Multicultural Media Executives (NAMME)
• The Media Management Center at Northwestern University
• The Poynter Institute
• The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
• National Association of Black Journalists Media Institute
• National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation
• Radio-Television News Directors Foundation
• The Reinvention Institute (professional coaching only)

As you can tell, I am very excited about this project. We're looking for at least seven more media companies to join us by this fall.

Please consider this is an open invitation for your company to participate. Let's talk.

Contact kmichel@greenbay.gannett.com.

Karen Lincoln Michel
President
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.

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