The Tufts Daily Diversity & Inclusion Report, 2023–24

The Tufts Daily

Diversity & Inclusion Report, 2023–24

Prepared by the Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee May 2024

Introduction

The 2023–24 Diversity & Inclusion Report continues The Tufts Daily’s effort to gather insights into the composition of our staff and their experiences in our organization. The report was created by a group of Daily student leaders under the purview of the paper ’ s Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee.

The Daily is committed to upholding accuracy and inclusivity in our coverage and fostering an equitable environment for all staff. We seek to continually move the organization forward by improving in both our internally and externally facing practices. To this end, the Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee has compiled this second annual report to offer transparency into our newsroom, identify ways in which we can work to better inform our coverage, and assess how to make the Daily more inclusive and representative of the communities we serve and cover.

It has been two years since the first Diversity & Inclusion Report was released. Many initiatives that were either established, already in progress or proposed upon the release of the previous report have been acknowledged at the end of this one. We remain committed to publishing a report every year, which we hope will spark conversation and track organizational changes over the short and long term

The data in this report was collected in November 2023 via a staff survey and thus represents the composition of the Daily’s staff at that point in the fall 2023 semester. It does not represent the spring 2024 recruitment cycle, nor any staff turnover during that time period. The Committee circulated the survey through staff-wide communication channels and asked that executive board members complete it during a meeting In total, 77 members of the Daily responded to at least one question on the survey.

Overall, the survey indicated that the Daily is less diverse than the Tufts community, especially in regards to race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. For example, a majority of survey respondents identify as white, which is inconsistent with the composition of the Tufts undergraduate student population. 27% of our staff is on some form of financial aid, which is less than the 44% of undergraduates university-wide

The survey also assessed feelings of inclusion at the Daily. Most respondents reported feeling comfortable and included in the Daily. Generally, respondents felt comfortable raising concerns to their executive editors and participating in section meetings. A vast majority of respondents also indicated that they had made at least one friend at the Daily.

Of respondents, 40% served at least one semester on the Daily’s executive or managing boards, which together comprise about 30 people each semester. While our leadership boards turn over twice a year allowing members to cycle through masthead and elected positions rather quickly we estimate that members of the Daily leadership are overrepresented in this report. All charts that include “leadership” are filtered from those who answered “ yes ” to the question: “Have you ever been on the Executive Board or Managing Board of the Daily?”

Some questions by their nature allowed respondents to select more than one option The number of responses (as indicated by “ n= ” at the bottom of each chart) for these questions is therefore higher than the number of total respondents.

The Daily’s staff is estimated to be around 175 people, but we do not have organization-wide data available and cannot determine whether the sample of respondents is representative of the paper as a whole. Additionally, as this survey was optional for staff members, it is prone to self-selection bias those who chose to participate may not accurately represent the whole of the Daily’s demographics. Several sections are also underrepresented. Nevertheless, this data offers useful insights into our organization and highlights key issues to focus on in the future.

We are open to further feedback and ideas, so we encourage you to fill out this anonymous Google form. If you have questions, suggestions or would like to reach out, please email iandi@tuftsdaily.com or daily@tuftsdaily.com.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who worked on the 2021–22 Diversity Report for paving the way for this and future reports.

Diversity & Inclusion Report Committee

Josue Perez, Sarah Feinberg, Guillem Colom, Ty Blitstein, Natalie Bricker, Henry Chandonnet, Ben Choucroun, Chloe Courtney Bohl, Julieta Grané, Aaron Gruen, Rachel Liu, Maxwell Shoustal, Charlene Tsai, Caroline Vandis

SECTION I: Demographics

Racial/ethnic identity

Gender identity

Sexual orientation

First generation

Geography

High school background

First language

Additional languages spoken

Religious identity

Area of study

Semesters worked

SECTION II: Inclusion

Inclusion: Written Feedback

In addition to collecting multiple-choice responses to questions about inclusion at the Daily, the survey also provided a space for respondents to offer written feedback anonymously. Below are common themes that emerged from this feedback.

Prompt: Describe a time where you felt comfortable at the Daily.

● Many respondents identified section meetings as creating a sense of community (17)

● Spending time in the office. (6)

● Organization-wide social events (6), particularly in recent semesters.

● Receiving encouragement and support from editors (5), particularly one-on-one conversations

● Interpersonal interactions, making friends (4), feeling acknowledged for ideas/presence.

Prompt: Describe a time where you felt uncomfortable at the Daily.

● Late-night newspaper production in the office (5): insular comments and inside jokes, feeling out of the loop of conversations between members of leadership.

● As underclassmen, feeling excluded by upperclassmen at social events and the Daily office (4)

● Some respondents identified uncomfortable situations that arose in the content production process (4), including: interactions with sources, disagreement with editors over edits, stress over deadlines, miscommunication.

Prompt: Do you think the Daily represents a wide range of viewpoints in its opinion section? Are there any viewpoints you would like to see more of?

● Some respondents said they believe the Daily does represent a wide range of viewpoints in its opinion section. (26)

● Some respondents felt that there is a diverse range of opinions, but would like to see more moderate views (3) or conservative views. (2)

● Other respondents said no (3), but did not provide further information

Prompt: Do you feel there are any financial barriers to your participation in the Daily?

● Some respondents who reported they faced financial barriers said that their participation at the Daily takes time away from working another job (6)

○ Specifically, some respondents said the Executive Board work-study reimbursements and the stipend program assist with financial limitations, but are insufficient.

SECTION III: Recommendations and Findings

Using the survey data as a guide, the Diversity & Inclusion Report Committee with input from the Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee, members of the Managing Board, former leadership and wider staff compiled the following recommendations for Daily staff and leadership Some recommendations have already been initiated or are being worked on.

Finding: The Daily’s staff is not as diverse as Tufts’ undergraduate student body, and its coverage does not reflect the full diversity of the Tufts community.

1. Conduct recruitment outreach at the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion’s eight identity centers to connect with underrepresented students (e.g., via newsletter blurbs, flier posting, announcements at meetings, etc )

a. Conduct recruitment outreach at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and the School of Engineering.

2. Participate in the “Voices of Tufts” club fair, a program “designed to introduce high school seniors to diversity and community at Tufts” to increase prospective students’ awareness of the Daily before they even matriculate.

3. Expand financial inclusivity initiatives to make participation on the Daily more accessible regardless of socioeconomic status

a. Expand work study eligibility to deputy section editors.

b. Consider extending work study compensation beyond 10 hours/week.

c. Permanently implement a Reporting Mini-Grant program (successfully piloted in 2022) to provide staff with reimbursements for expenses incurred on the job (e.g., MBTA bus and rail tickets).

4 Engage with other student publications at Tufts (e g , Onyx Magazine, SOMOS, Observer, Melisma) that represent different viewpoints/identities to explore possible reporting or community-building collaborations.

5. Increase coverage of SWANA, Latine/x, Indigenous and Black communities.

6. Increase coverage of socioeconomic inequality, religious marginalization and students with disabilities.

7. In collaboration with the Alumni Council and led by the Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee, host a mid-semester training in journalism ethics and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Daily. This report can be used as a guide or case study.

8. Create a Tufts University-specific “diverse expert source directory” (using platforms like InterviewHer and NPR’s Diverse Sources Database as a guide).

9. Continue to publish a host communities special issue spotlighting Medford, Somerville and Boston on a regular yearly basis.

a. In addition, create a regular monthly or biweekly newsletter to disseminate our local Medford/Somerville reporting to members of the community

10. Consider applying for Tufts’ “Bridging Differences Grant Program” to fund the aforementioned initiatives.

Finding: The Daily’s leadership is not always connected to or inclusive of all staff. As the Daily is a large, decentralized organization, the leadership has struggled with maintaining a close relationship with staff and an organization-wide community.

1. Foster an inclusive, respectful office culture.

a. Ensure the Managing Board acknowledges everyone who enters the office and makes an effort to ask for and learn names of all staff.

b. Widely publicize office location and operating hours among staff.

c. Encourage executive editors to invite members of their section into the office to collaborate on writing or editing drafts

2. Hold section meetings in the office on a regular basis.

a. The Executive Board should schedule these meetings to ensure there is no major overlap with production or other section or committee meetings.

3. Solicit regular feedback; create a standing anonymous feedback form for staff.

a. Circulate the form in the newsletter and pin in the staff channel.

4. Conduct mid-semester surveys at section meetings to collect staff feedback.

5 Continue to conduct the Diversity & Inclusion survey on a yearly basis, and publish it earlier so the outgoing and incoming Executive and Managing Boards have more time to adopt its findings.

a. Analyze results more swiftly.

b. Encourage more people to fill out the form in order to get a more accurate respondent pool.

c The incoming executive and managing boards should read this report and work with the Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee chairs to ensure the recommendations are adopted into their work.

i. Each section should have at least one member join the committee.

6. Continue to host semesterly all-staff town halls to provide transparency into Daily’s business operations and editorial decisions.

7. Expand participation in and knowledge of the Code of Conduct and mandatory sexual assault prevention training (led by Tufts Green Dot) to all staff, not just leadership

8. Create and publish a clear mission statement on the Daily website.

Finding: The Daily does not retain seniors and juniors after they serve leadership positions on either the Executive or Managing Boards

1. Encourage experienced staff members to join smaller sections and serve on Daily committees, to preserve institutional memory and help alleviate the workload of current leadership.

a. This additionally serves to promote cross-section knowledge sharing and close the written-multimedia gap.

b. Encourage senior members to retain formal editing roles and responsibilities, like deputy editor, after leading a section as executive

2. Revamp the mentorship program to pair new and experienced staff as co-authors or co-producers on the new member’s first article or project.

a. Foster upperclassmen-underclassmen interaction as avenues to pass down practical experience.

3. Increase use of the “Senior Staff Writer” title for senior staff members who have finished serving leadership positions.

4 Provide “lifetime” office keycard access to former members of the Executive and Managing Boards.

Comparing our goals to the 2021–2022 Report

The 2021–22 Diversity & Inclusion Report contained a list of suggestions and recommendations made in response to findings. Since then, several of these initiatives have either been accomplished or are still being implemented. This includes:

● Conducting an audience survey in March 2024 to better understand public perceptions of the Daily and collect feedback from members of the community.

○ Use feedback to inform coverage and practices going into the fall 2024 semester.

● Successfully launching and concluding our $36,000 Expanding Access 2023 fundraising campaign aimed at supporting financial inclusivity at the Daily.

● Revamping and formalizing our Support Fund Stipend program in collaboration with our Alumni Council; offering more stipends for Daily staff members than ever before

● Submitting a request for funding from the Tufts University Alumni Association, in collaboration with our Alumni Council, to finance student memberships in professional journalism affinity groups, and an organizational membership in the Associated College Press

● Prominently publishing op-ed and letters to the editor submission guidelines to clarify the process for dissenting/complementary voices to contribute to our Opinion section; since then, an increasing number of op-eds have been submitted to and published in the Daily.

● Expanding coverage of our host communities via a dedicated tab on our website for local news coverage.

● Publishing a “Host Communities” special issue in fall 2022 focused on the politics, cultures, and histories of Medford, Somerville, and Boston.

● Expanding the business department to support increasing funding for community building, stipends/work study, and other staff-centered initiatives.

● Attempting to foster a greater sense of Daily-wide community through the creation of a social chair position, more frequent use of the office, and modification of traditions and social events to prioritize inclusion.

● Creating a mandatory code of conduct for members of the Managing and Executive Boards.

● Hosting mandatory sexual assault prevention and bystander intervention trainings for members of leadership with Tufts ASAP and Tufts Green Dot.

● Creating an internal staff resource library website to preserve and share institutional memory and reporting resources.

● Rearranging our office to maximize space for staff during production, allowing more people to have a seat at the table.

● Prioritizing institutional memory during leadership turnovers to ensure the long term health of the Daily: more sections are appointing deputy executive editors and executive editors are writing best practices guides for their successors.

● Striving to write about and report on a wider range of student groups on campus.

● Releasing the second version of this survey and report!