Antiracist Journalism: Making Philly Media More Equitable

Book Talk and Panel with Andrea Wenzel

Schedule

5:00-5:30pm: Drinks and Hors D'oeuvres

5:30-7:00pm: Book Talk and Panel

About the Talk

As newsrooms around the U.S. grapple with a history of harming BIPOC communities, what would it look like to go beyond performative diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to move toward more equitable and antiracist journalism? What can we learn from the efforts of Philadelphia-area journalism organizations?  

These are some of the questions explored in Andrea Wenzel’s new book, Antiracist Journalism: The Challenge of Creating Equitable Local News. Drawing on five years of collaborative research with Philadelphia area journalism organizations (including The Philadelphia Inquirer, WHYY, Resolve Philly, and Kensington Voice), the book makes a case for accountability infrastructure within newsrooms and between newsrooms and communities.  

This discussion will feature some of the cases and people highlighted in book—people who have each been working in various ways to make local journalism more equitable in Philadelphia and beyond. They share experiences of trying to reform and reimagine what local newsrooms can look like—be they long-established majority white news organization or majority BIPOC and community-centered initiatives. Our conversation will reflect on lessons learned from both areas of progress and challenges—and invite participants to look forward and consider the structural and practice changes needed to build local journalism that centers care and equity.

Featuring: 

• Sandra Clark, CEO, StoryCorp (formerly with WHYY) 
• Letrell Crittenden, Director of Inclusion and Audience Growth, American Press Institute 
• Jean Friedman-Rudovsky, Executive Director, Resolve Philly
• Vanessa Maria Graber, News Voices Director, Free Press
• Andrea Wenzel, Associate Professor, Temple University  

About Andrea Wenzel

Andrea Wenzel is an associate professor in Temple University’s Department of Journalism and a member of the Klein College of Media and Communication graduate faculty. Her research focuses on initiatives to create more connected and equitable communities and newsrooms. She is the author of Community-Centered Journalism: Engaging People, Exploring Solutions, and Building Trust (University of Illinois Press, 2020) and of Antiracist Journalism: The Challenge of Creating Equitable Local News (Columbia University Press, 2024).

Her work has been recognized by a number of awards including the International Communication Association’s Journalism Studies Division’s 2021 Public Engagement Award and the 2021-22 Faculty Senate Outstanding Faculty Service Award.

This event is co-sponsored by the Media, Inequality & Change Center and the Center for Media at Risk.