Diversity and inclusion at WITF

WITF’s editorial guidelines emphasize inclusion and reflection of our communities’ diversity. The integrity of our work is strengthened by incorporating the diversity of demography, culture and beliefs in our communities and the nation into our work and our content.

As WITF continues to review and reflect on how our diverse communities can be better served by our journalism and content, we will strive to do the following:

• The editorial staff will meet once per month to review breadth of coverage and discuss upcoming stories. This will include diversity of sources, language use and editorial approach to particular topics.
• WITF will seek to gather demographic information from the people we talk with and interview for our stories so that we can ensure that we are seeking out relevant viewpoints when reporting on a story.
• Our journalism team will review that data annually to help them understand which communities need a greater voice on the topics we cover.
• We will seek training opportunities for staff in our newsroom to help them better understand how their coverage area intersects with different communities.

WITF welcomes diverse audiences to the Public Media Center and community events. The work we do within our community highlights our commitment to opening our doors and reaching out to people of all ages, backgrounds, races, abilities, and religions.

Over the next year, WITF will do the following to continue those efforts to be an inclusive resource for the community we serve:

• Explore opportunities to expand the Toward Racial Justice series and how we can work with community partners to grow it through other multimedia platforms.
• Develop ongoing relationships with diverse community partners and organizations that will help WITF better understand community priorities and themes.
  • Identify common goals and key themes that can be initiative and/or issue-specific.
  • Help inform content creation and opportunities for screenings and events.
• Host regular listening sessions and focus groups of varying types and sizes. A mix of large open community forums and small, stakeholder-focused sessions
• A representative from the Diversity & Inclusion Committee will participate in two Community Advisory Board meetings to update the group on the committee’s activities and seek feedback.
• Continue the growth of the Explore in the Classroom to new districts including the Lancaster City School District.

• Use new education tools that represent the diverse communities we serve such as:
  • Offering at least one bilingual book option to students
  • Sending letters home to parents/caregivers in both English and Spanish
• Continue to grow Learning at Home partnerships with the PA Department of Education, intermediate units, and local school districts. Making these resources available will help districts in rural or low-income areas bring distance learning to their students.
• WITF will seek out funding opportunities to provide more books and learning resources to underserved school districts.
• Begin research to develop media camps and youth reporting workshops for middle and high school learners in underserved school districts.

WITF’s employee handbook summarizes our EEO and anti-harassment policies. WITF also conducts diversity and harassment training annually and at new hire orientation. Employees are evaluated annually on their contributions to promoting diversity within the organization and community.

In order to continue our growth as a diverse and inclusive workplace, WITF and the Diversity and Inclusion Committee will be doing the following:

• WITF will ensure that all staff are aware of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee’s progress by sending out monthly communications.
• In addition to training for the newsroom staff, the Diversity & Inclusion Committee will develop a training strategy for WITF staff and management that will include topics and frequency.
• The Diversity & Inclusion Committee will review the company’s policy on company holidays, including which ones are celebrated and how they will be celebrated (e.g. office closure, trainings).
• The committee will attempt to find gaps in the organization’s knowledge on diversity and inclusivity topics by polling the staff and sharing tools to help identify areas for growth which will help develop annual training plans.
• The committee will work with the Director of Human Resources to review the recruitment and hiring practices of the organization to ensure it is more inclusive of diverse candidates for future job openings.