#CJSInclusion
Below is a compilation of the Journalism School’s work to date. We invite members of the Journalism community of faculty, staff, students and alumni to help us achieve our goals by sharing their ideas and partnering with us. Please share your thoughts and ideas here.
Our Mission
Columbia Journalism School’s purpose is to educate students from all over the world to become conscientious, accomplished professional journalists. The school equips them to perform a vital and challenging function: through evidence-based reporting, to find out the truths of complicated situations, usually under time constraint, and communicate them to the public in a clear, engaging fashion. The school also produces and disseminates research about the changing contexts — legal, economic, technological, social — in which journalism takes place, with the aim of helping to shape the future of the profession and of training leaders in scholarship about our field.
Our Core Values
Underlying the ethical, accurate journalism we strive to teach are some core values. We believe that all human beings have dignity, that cruelty is never justified, and that power must be held to account; that a multiracial, multicultural democracy requires vigilant and consistent reporting on the rights and experiences of all people; that verified and contextualized facts are the building blocks of truthful reporting; and that journalism’s obligation is to the public and that it must remain independent and transparent about its methods and affiliations and responsible for its errors.
New
- A Report on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Columbia Journalism School
- Changing the DEI Climate: Recommendations for Improving The J-School Environment
- “How We Got Here” Podcast
In the J-School's new podcast, six professors take a step back to examine the historical context of today’s news, looking at how race, gender, class, immigration and American empire impact the stories we cover and how we tell them. The podcast is part of our larger Diversity, Equity and Inclusion course, which includes panels and talks on how we can recognize and overcome our implicit biases, who gets to tell whose stories and how to be critical of dominant narratives. Listen now.
Messages from the Journalism School
- Changing the DEI Climate: Recommendations for Improving The J-School Environment
- Columbia Journalism School Names Inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
- Letter from the Deans: Standing with our AAPI Community
- NBCUniversal creates $1M scholarship fund for underrepresented students at Columbia Journalism School
- Update on the J-School's Work on Diversity and Inclusion
- A Message to the J-School Community
- Expression of solidarity to all our graduates who are reporting on the pandemic and the protest movement while confronting discrimination
- Faculty Denounce Police Attacks on Journalists
Anti-Racism Readings
- Black Metropolis, by Horace Cayton and St. Clair Drake
- The Philadelphia Negro, by W.E.B. DuBois
- A Place on the Corner and The Cosmopolitan Canopy, by Elijah Anderson
- Villa Victoria, by Mario Luis Small
- "The Case for Reparations,"(The Atlantic) by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Interview with James Baldwin, Vanity Fair (1968)
- I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin and accompanying film by Raoul Peck Baldwin
- School Segregation, the Continuing Tragedy of Ferguson for Pro Publica by by Nikole Hannah-Jones (with companion podcast from This American Life)
- 13th, a documentary by Ava DuVernay
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for Whites to Talk About Race by Robin DiAngelo
- Unfinished: The Stories Left Untold in America’s Newsrooms - Columbia Journalism Review
- The Loving Story, documentary directed by Nancy Buirski
- Columbia Journalism School’s Paul Tobenkin Memorial Prize honors outstanding reporting on racial or religious hatred, intolerance or discrimination in the United States. Read the work of past winners
- Shocking the Conscience: A Reporter’s Account of the Civil Rights Movement by Simeon Booker and Carol McCabe Booker
- The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America by Khalil Gibran Muhammad
- The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress by Jelani Cobb
- Reproducing Racism: How Everyday Choices Lock In White Advantage by Daria Roithmayr
- George Floyd Could Have Been My Brother by Rita Omokha, J’20, for Elle
Resources for Reporting on Anti-Asian Violence
The following resources were compiled by Prof. Kia Gregory.
The Stop AAPI Hate National Report (PDF), released on 3/16/21. The organization also has an online reporting tool.
AAJA Encourages Newsrooms to Empower AAPI Journalists and Their Expertise
How the media covered the mass shooting in Georgia
The rush to report on Atlanta-area shootings amplified bias in news coverage
Stop the “lone wolf” narrative
Nuanced coverage examples:
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Asian American residents of Seattle speak out after Georgia shootings
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Asian-Americans Are Being Attacked. Why Are Hate Crime Charges So Rare?
Covering Atlanta shootings and anti-Asian hate crimes
Covering Protests
Safety tips for covering protests from the Committee to Protect Journalists
Covering Protests Webinar with Prof. Judith Matloff
U.S. elections 2020: Journalist safety kit
Reporting Safely on Covid During a Pandemic: Guidelines for CJS Students
Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award
The Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award honors the late New York Herald Tribune reporter, and recognizes outstanding achievements in reporting on racial or religious hatred, intolerance or discrimination in the United States. See work of winners over the years: https://journalism.columbia.edu/tobenkin#Past_Winners
Partners
The Ira A. Lipman Center For Journalism and Civil and Human Rights
Providing leadership for the journalism community by informing and shaping the ways in which we understand race, diversity, civil and human rights. For more information, visit: https://journalism.columbia.edu/lipman-center
Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
- Advocates ethical and thorough reporting of trauma; compassionate, professional treatment of victims and survivors by journalists; and greater awareness by media organizations of the impact of trauma coverage on both news professionals and news consumers.
- Educates journalists and journalism students about the science and psychology of trauma and the implications for news coverage.
- Provides a professional forum for journalists in all media to analyze issues, share knowledge and ideas, and advance strategies related to the craft of reporting on violence and tragedy.
- Creates and sustains interdisciplinary collaboration and communication among news professionals, clinicians, academic researchers and others concerned with violence, conflict and tragedy.
For more information, visit: https://dartcenter.org/
Healing
Michelle Giordano, M.S. Community Counselor, recovery advocate and Internet activist, compiled the list of resources below in order to ensure People of Color have access to culturally competent mental health resources:
Prof. Kia Gregory compiled the following resources in the wake of the March 2021 Atlanta shooting:
Examining Oppression in the Asian American Community
#StopAsianHate, Resources for Taking Action and Taking Care
Asian Mental Health Collective
The Columbia School of Social Work compiled the list of resources below in collaboration with the Black & Latinx Student Caucus at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. This list draws inspiration from an article written by Zahra Barnes titled 44 Mental Health Resources for Black People Trying to Survive in This Country.
Events
Race in America: Covering Far-Right Extremism, sponsored by the Ira A. Lipman Center
Reporting during the rise of anti-AAPI aggression: Reporting and coping tips for Asian and Asian-American students and their allies, from the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
Race in America: Covering Violence against Asians, sponsored by the Ira A. Lipman Center
The New Journalism: Rethinking the News in the Wake of COVID and George Floyd, sponsored by the Columbia Journalism Review.
Picturing Black Deaths: A conversation with Emily Bernard and Jelani Cobb
Black Lives Matter, Protest, and Creating Change, hosted by the Office of University Life and moderated by the Journalism School’s Prof. Jelani Cobb, director of the Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights, which promotes research and reporting on race, diversity, civil and human rights.
Covering Race and Criminal Justice: Ko Bragg, Sean Campbell and Eileen Grench in conversation with June Cross.
Reporting on Race and Criminal Justice: Mark Rochester, Editor in Chief, Type Investigations in conversation with the Dart Center's Bruce Shapiro
Career Development
The Office of Career Development trains, supports and aggressively advocates for every student regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, geography, religion, disability, academic and extracurricular interest, family circumstance, sexual orientation, gender-identity, or socio-economic background.
Our office is committed to helping all students navigate the job process, find mentors and negotiate equitable salaries. Our one-on-one counseling is tailored to each individual, and we aim to help every student discover their path, identify and explore a variety of opportunities and highlight their strengths and skills.
We have gathered the resources here to help students confront the unique issues and career challenges they may face, evaluate the commitment of potential workplaces to diversity, equity and inclusion and to connect with affinity groups, allies and mentors.
GENERAL RESOURCES
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Career growth: Grants and fellowships, mentor and peer programs, guide to navigating spaces and more.
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Salary and benefits: Data, tactics and strategies for negotiating salary.
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Accountability: Resources for improving newsroom diversity -- books, surveys, directories and more.
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Training: Sources for developing new skills.
MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS
Many of these organizations host events, post job listings and offer resources and access to mentors. They are excellent starting points for networking. Several of the national associations have student chapters at the Journalism School. You can see more details on this page.
JOB SEARCHING
ORGANIZATIONS PROMOTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN MEDIA
University Resources
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION AND ASSESSMENT
Graduate Initiative on Inclusion and Engagement is part of Columbia’s commitment to diversity and success of all graduate and professional students.
Campus Conversations Initiative is a dialogue-based initiative from the Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging at Columbia centered on building community through conversation.
Office of Multicultural Affairs provides open trainings and resources on diversity and inclusion for the Columbia Community.
LGBTQ @ Columbia provides services and resources to the LGBTQ community including offering awareness trainings through the SafeZone Training program.
Sexual Respect Initiative helps to create a campus community guided by sexual respect and committed to ending sexual gender-based misconduct.
Center for Teaching and Learning has resources on inclusive teaching for graduate students and faculty including an online course Inclusive Teaching: Supporting All Students in the College Classroom.
Taskforce on Inclusion and Belonging at Columbia works to identify issues and develop responsive strategies that address students’ experiences both in and outside of the classroom.
The Provost's Office Statistical Abstract provides timely and accurate data pertaining to admissions, enrollment, degrees and certificates, tuition, financial aid, faculty, staff, and other institutional areas of interest.
COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITY
Reporting an incident (non-confidential resources)
If you have experienced an incident of discrimination or harassment you can report it to any of the offices below and it will be rerouted to the appropriate office.
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action for incidents involving staff, officers or faculty. Click here to report an incident.
The Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards oversees incidents regarding Discrimination, Harassment and Gender-Based Misconduct between students. Click here to report an incident.
CONFIDENTIAL RESOURCES
Columbia has several offices that are confidential and will not file a report. Please reach out to the following offices if you would like to speak with someone confidentially.
Next Steps
We are having ongoing conversations with faculty, staff and alumni and committed to taking concrete action in the coming months, including:
- Publishing an annual Diversity Report
- Increasing the diversity of the student body, starting with providing scholarships for students from Historically Black College and Universities
- Increasing the diversity of our faculty and staff
- Stressing issues of diversity and inclusion in our teaching
- Addressing broader issues of climate