Fall 2022 Diversity Staff Report

The Daily Trojan is committed toward having an equitable and inclusive newsroom. Since Fall 2020, the Daily Trojan staff has completed a semesterly survey to assess the demographics and identities of the student journalists that represent the University. Compiling this information will identify which groups make up the majority of our newsroom, which groups are not included in our staff and how we can make sure that everyone is working together toward a safe, inclusive and diverse space.

Methodology

Compared to past surveys that mainly comprised of class standing, race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, student status and record of disability, this semester’s survey expanded to include number of semesters on staff, financial aid status and other jobs outside of the newsroom. Sections had “prefer not to state” options should individuals feel uncomfortable to share.

Previous surveys fell short in capturing staff data related to socioeconomic status, which primarily consists of education, job occupation and income. While difficult to gauge in a self-reported survey, we added options for certain ranges on financial aid packages as well as current occupational experience to identify socioeconomic status. We also added a new question inquiring staff of the number of semesters they have worked for the newspaper to assess staff retention as an indicator of the inclusivity and safety of the environment that would motivate staff of all backgrounds to return and join.

For previous questions, we added more options to provide deeper insight into our understanding of the demographics in the newsroom and how these experiences influence our reporting. For gender identity, we added an option for agender. For student status, we added options for traditional applicant, commuting, legacy and those receiving University scholarships.

The Daily Trojan received a 86.69% response rate, receiving 280 responses out of a staff of 323. Of the 13 sections, the Fall 2022 masthead, copy, opinion and video were the only sections to achieve a 100% response rate. 

Analysis

Individuals who identify as Native/Alaska Native/Indigenous and Pacific Islander make up the smallest percentage of the staff with 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively. The staff saw an increase in white people from 37% in Spring 2022 to 39.3% in Fall 2022, representing the majority of staff. East Asian people represented the second-highest majority of staff and decreased to 25.7% from last semester’s 28.4%.

Black, Middle Eastern or North African and Southeast Asian people both saw increases from last semester. Black people make up 8.6% compared to 5.3%; Middle Eastern or North African represented 5.4% from 4.5%; and Southeast Asian comprise 9.3% of staff, an increase from 4.9%. The South Asian and Latinx/Hispanic percentage makeup are consistent from last semester.

Cis women and cis men respectively represent 58.2% and 36.4% of staff, with 1.8% of staff identifying as nonbinary and 0.7% identifying as gender nonconforming. Excluding cis men, this semester sees a decrease in all the aforementioned gender identities from Spring 2022. Our staff includes one trans man and one agendered individual.

People identifying as heterosexual represent a 69.1% majority of staff, similar to last semester’s percentage of 66.3%. Bisexual individuals make up the second-most represented sexual orientation, with 12.1% of staff — an increase from 10.7% in last semester. 5% of staff identifies as queer, 3.9% identifies as gay and 2.1% identifies as lesbian. Three individuals are currently questioning their sexuality, two individuals identify as asexual and two individuals identify as pansexual. 

In terms of class standing, our staff largely comprises of undergraduate students, with sophomores and juniors accounting for about half of the staff. About half of the Fall 2022 staff is new, while people in their second or third semester in Daily Trojan comprise 16.8% each.

Spring admits, transfer, first-generation, low-income students and students receiving need-based financial aid represent similar percentages from the previous semester. With the new addition of the options “traditional applicant,” “legacy,” “commuting” and “receiving University scholarship,” we are able to identify that traditional applicants represent a slight majority of staff. Legacy and commuting students make up 5% and 3.2%, respectively. 

A substantial 32.9% of staff receive University scholarships. The majority of staff receives University financial aid, with the highest reported package being at most $20,000 for the academic year, whereas 39.3% of staff do not receive any financial aid. Outside of the newsroom, 59.3% of staff currently work another job, which includes paid or unpaid internships and federal work study.

The majority of staff is non-disabled, with 15.4% of staff reporting having a disability or a record of having one.

Moving forward

We at the Daily Trojan recognize the accessibility issues rooted in socioeconomic barriers and lack of racial/ethnic diversity that impede student journalists from actively participating in the accurate and representative reporting of the University. The Daily Trojan newsroom is intended to be both a physical place and a safe environment where diversity of experiences, thought and backgrounds are to be exchanged and amplified, and this stems from who we have representing the many voices of the University.

We recognize that there may be certain aspects of people’s identity that we fail to capture in our survey. Within this report, we continue to strive to be mindful and maintain humility in widening the questions and options we ask our staff, as we want to invite and prioritize a plethora of experiences. 

Currently, the Daily Trojan recruitment efforts rely on social media and the University’s semesterly Involvement Fair. A future initiative we aim to execute is to liaise with cultural affinity groups and the spaces in which there are underrepresented communities of people who are not included in our staff. Meeting people where they are will encourage action participation from people of all backgrounds and improve staff diversity, and thus, our reporting.

Future Diversity & Inclusion directors should take active roles during story and pitch development in mandatory meetings to ensure conscious reporting remains constant from inception to production. The D&I directors must also collaborate closely with the copy team in continually updating the style guide to incorporate inclusive and sensitive language to respect the people we cover.

Recruitment for Daily Trojan does not factor these identifiers during decision-making, but it is imperative for our staff to interrogate our current processes and any implicit biases that result in a lack of ethnic/racial and experiential diversity on our staff.