“Keeping the Vision Alive” Series Continues Legacy of Founder Robert C. MaynardAugust 28, 2003 CONTACT: OAKLAND, CA -- The Maynard Institute, a renowned training program for minority journalists, is launching a series of new projects designed to increase diversity in newsrooms throughout the nation, while fulfilling the dream of its founder, the late Robert C. Maynard. Mr. Maynard, a distinguished journalist, founded the Institute out of concern that minorities were not adequately represented as reporters or in decision-making positions at news organizations. Shortly before he died 10 years ago this month, Mr. Maynard cited this mission in his last public address. "This Country,’’ he said, "cannot be the country we want it to be if its story is told by only one group of citizens. Our goal is to give all Americans front door access to the truth." Among the new projects, a Distinguished Lecture Series will help the industry reframe the diversity dialogue. Working with the industry, the Institute is also designing The Media Academy, a year long training effort that will prepare first time managers to lead a diverse workforce. The 12-month roll out will culminate with The Robert C. Maynard Vision Award, a celebration of those whose work furthers diversity efforts in this country. The role of diversity in the newsroom has been under scrutiny since the Jason Blair incident at the New York Times this spring. This questioning underscores the crucial need for the Maynard Institute to playing a leading role in articulating the benefits of newsroom diversity, and for being the training ground for many minority journalists. "In 1978, Bob Maynard enumerated strategies in his Year 2000 Plan to integrate the news industry over a two-decade period,’’ said Maynard Institute President Dori J. Maynard, the daughter of Bob Maynard. "While that goal has not yet been reached, we have galvanized a movement that effected profound changes in the hiring practices of newsrooms and in the way the news media portrayed racial issues. Today, we are launching a series of new programs that will continue my father’s crusade.’’ Entitled "Keeping the Vision Alive,’’ the new projects reflect the strategies needed to further diversity in newsrooms today. The programs were developed in conjunction with a soon-to-be released assessment of diversity in the newsroom, which includes exhaustive interviews with news executives and minority journalists throughout the nation. The assessment discovered that the conversation around diversity is fraught with frustration. "In light of the industry’s failure to gain ground on the year 2000 goal, people of color are frustrated by a conversation that seems to be going nowhere,’’ Ms. Maynard said. "Executives are frustrated by a conversation that leaves no room to acknowledge the progress made and white men are frustrated by the conversation because they are terrified they are going to say the wrong thing and will be branded a racist. The conversation, rooted in the events and climate of the late 1970s, needs to be reframed.” Over the next 12 months, the Keep the Vision Alive series will seek to reshape the conversation around diversity, while training minority journalists to play significant roles in the gathering and reporting of the news. The Keep Vision Alive series includes: Media Academy. Patterned after other Maynard training programs, the Academy will prepare high potential individuals of all races for first-time promotions to entry level management roles on both the editorial and business sides of newspapers. The Academy will help increase the ranks of minority managers. Distinguished Lecturer Series. The Lecture Series is aimed at helping the industry reframe the woefully predictable conversation around diversity and the media. It will include two to four prestigious and high profile addresses about diversity and media, delivered by prominent speakers. Speakers Bureau. This project will call upon the Maynard "Family" members -- alumni, faculty, staff and friends -- to engage in speaking opportunities around the country. The project will begin in the Oakland Bay area, and expand to other localities later. It will present speaking opportunities at universities, regional and national conventions, press clubs and press associations on the major topics of news industry diversity. RCM Vision Award. The assessment revealed that part of the reason for diversity fatigue is that we never take time to celebrate successes. This prestigious award would recognize someone in the news media who has made significant strides in furthering diversity in American society. In so doing, it will elevate diversity achievement to a new level of importance. The award would be the culmination of the year-long Vision Alive project and will be presented in conjunction with the Unity Conference next August. The History Project. The Institute’s program to document oral histories of pioneer journalists of color from the 50s, 60s and 70s moves to Hampton University this fall where Project Director Earl Caldwell assumes an endowed chair at the journalism school. This development enables the project to double in the next year the 29 video histories already compiled of African American journalists such as Charlayne Hunter Gault, Ed Bradley and Mr. Caldwell. It provides rich opportunities for exposing students at black colleges to the accomplishments of these pioneering journalists. In addition, the Institute hopes to announce selection of its second Writer in Residence, who will focus on the origins of Native American or Latino involvement in mainstream journalism. Robert C. Maynard Book of Wit and Wisdom. This collection of quotes and excerpts from Bob Maynard’s writings and sayings, now in development, is scheduled for publication next summer and will be released at the Vision Award ceremony. Content Audit Software. This one-of-a-kind instrument, developed exclusively by the Institute, is now ready for distribution. It makes it fast and practical for news organizations to audit their news reports for attention to the five demographic "fault lines" defined by Robert C. Maynard: race, class, gender, generation and geography. Already in use at the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the software will be intensely marketed during the Vision year as a tool for news organizations to use in assessing the diversity level of their news content and news sources. The Institute was incorporated in 1977 and provides a number of programs to help the nation’s news media reflect the nation’s diversity, including Fault Lines training, its nationally acclaimed management training programs and Reality Checks, a web based content audit software program. It was renamed in 1993 to honor of the late Robert C. Maynard, an Institute co-founder and the former owner, publisher and editor of the Oakland Tribune. |