We pledge to embrace and amplify the marginalized voices of our neighbors by providing a civil forum to share experiences and struggles. We recognize our influence in the content we produce and promote as well as the people who make those decisions. We will devote energy to revealing policies and institutions that perpetuate inequality and discrimination.
Over decades, WITF has stood for the ideals of equality and inclusion. But we have not done enough to counter the systemic disparities that cripple our communities and our country.
Change takes time, but we will be persistent in our mission to help
build and serve strong and healthy communities.
View WITF’s full 2020 Diversity Statement or read the overview below.
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:
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:
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:
Toward Racial Justice is a biweekly series of virtual community conversations addressing systemic racism and injustice in Central Pennsylvania and beyond. Series moderator is Charles Ellison, executive producer & host of “Reality Check” on WURD in Philadelphia — the only Black-owned talk radio station in Pennsylvania.
One of WITF’s core missions is to engage our community and invite diverse voices to tell their stories. We believe in cultivating and developing ongoing relationships with members in the community itself.
WITF, in cooperation with York City School District, has developed this program to train educators in York City School District’s STEAM Academy to support students in becoming media literate and confident, critical thinkers.
On March 4, 1966, Reuben Garnett Jr. was killed by enemy fire while rushing to help his platoon leader in Vietnam. His sister, India Garnett, spent 53 years fighting to have her brother honored for his service and sacrifice. WITF shared their story, and in 2019, a bridge was named in Reuben’s honor.
The Latino population continues to grow along Route 222, which connects more than an estimated 251,300 Latinos — a quarter of the entire ethnicity in the commonwealth. WITF produced the Corridor Counts series to amplify their stories and motivations ahead of the 2020 presidential election: a Lancaster couple wondering whether their votes matter, an immigrant mother fighting for her Reading community, and two people on opposite ends of the political spectrum in Allentown.
Also ahead of the election, WITF produced both English and Spanish versions of stories on how to spot misinformation and disinformation, efforts to encourage Latino voters to cast ballots by mail (again in English and Spanish), and how advocates work to recruit interpreters, multilingual poll workers. WITF also produced videos in both English and Spanish to explain how to vote during the pandemic.
This is a sampling, not an exhaustive list, of WITF’s reporting on communities and individuals typically under-represented in news media.
An in-depth history of the grassroots struggle to stop the clustering of commercial waste facilities in Chester, Pennsylvania — a predominately poor African American community.
For years, children with intellectual disability were not allowed in public schools. It was not until the late 1960s that a television expose shed light on what was happening inside the walls of institutions. It was that knowledge that fueled parents and the public to ignite change.