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When Emma Carew Grovum started talking with local newsrooms and editors about journalists of color, she heard the same thing again and again: “We can’t keep folks in local news because they’re getting scooped up by The New York Times and The Washington Post.”
She gets it.
“Who’s going to fault somebody for doubling their salary?”
But Carew Grovum wondered “what if someone knew that they were going to be the future of their newsroom?”
The way managers and editors talk about employees and their future doesn’t often trickle down to that employee. With the continuing absence of journalists of color ([link removed]) in newsrooms and the compounding ([link removed]) business ([link removed]) and audience ([link removed]) struggles ([link removed]) at the local level, Carew Grovum decided to try a different approach.
As a fellow ([link removed]) at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, she piloted a mentorship and development program aimed at charting a path for journalists of color with the help of people in and out of the newsroom. (I was a 2020-2021 RJI fellow ([link removed]) .)
Carew Grovum tested her idea ([link removed]) , called Upward, through the fellowship, and now is working with a new cohort ([link removed]) with the support of the NC Local News Workshop at Elon University. The new group includes six early- to mid-career journalists, all based in North Carolina. Over the course of about six months, each journalist will work with their direct manager and an executive level sponsor from within their organization as well as their Upward group and Carew Grovum.
“It’s a team sport,” said Carew Grovum, founder of the media consultancy Kimbap Media (http:// [link removed]) . “The executive sponsor is out there with a machete making the path easier. The day-to-day manager is navigating the course. The fellow is trying to get from point a to point b. The rest of the team is there to pick them up and shove them along the way to get to their goal.”
NC Local News Workshop’s Shannan Bowen knows Carew Grovum through Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Women in Media ([link removed]) and the two brainstormed what Upward might look like as a statewide project.
“Some organizations offer mentorship programs, but there’s something a little different when it comes from outside your organization,” Bowen said.
There’s more freedom to talk about similar challenges at different newsrooms, and there’s an opportunity for future leaders to build early connections. In order to keep the program free to the journalists and their employers, Carew Grovum is looking for funding opportunities and partners for next year and beyond.
The goal, she said, is for journalists of color to know the path ahead of them in their current newsroom, salary bumps and all, so that when national newsrooms beckon, the people who’d like to stay actually can.
That's it for me! If you're in the midst of back-to-school stuff, may the stores have all you need and the quiet that awaits you help you get through bumpy first days. If you're in the midst of back-to-school traffic, remember to take some deep breaths. 😅
Kristen
Kristen Hare
Faculty
The Poynter Institute
@kristenhare ([link removed])

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Local That Works contest 2022

The Local that Works contest is open and the grand prize is $20,000. Local that Works spotlights original multiplatform content, engagement and revenue initiatives by local media organizations. LTW seeks inspiring and replicable projects that engage diverse audiences and reflect a deep commitment to serve local communities. The deadline to submit entries is August 23. Enter here. ([link removed])


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