Now, almost a decade later, as protesters are taking to the streets of American cities to decry racism and the unabated police killings of black people across the country, the journalism industry has seemingly reached a breaking point of its own. Black journalists are publicly airing years of accumulated grievances, demanding an overdue reckoning for a profession whose mainstream repeatedly brushes off their concerns; in many newsrooms, writers and editors are now also openly pushing for a paradigm shift in how our outlets define their operations and ideals. While these two battles may seem superficially separate, in reality, the failure of the mainstream press to accurately cover black communities is intrinsically linked with its failure to employ, retain and listen to black people.

Story length: 2,251 words

Read the full story here.