Rancor Reported In the L-A Times Newsroom

The Los Angeles Times' top editor is scrambling to placate journalists of color after years of often-unfulfilled promises by the paper to make grand progress in the diversity of the newsroom's ranks.

An NPR report indicates some journalists have used terms such as "internal uprising" to describe their anger over racial inequity at the paper. Scores have participated in intense internal debates over the LA Times' coverage of recent protests and hiring practices, to the point that senior editors have weighed in, promising to listen and learn.

"I would say in the case of black journalists, that we do not have enough journalists in positions where they are able to help us tell stories that really need to be told," LA Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine told NPR. "I've asked myself in hindsight what got us to where we are now."

Norman Pearlstine

Related conflicts have toppled leaders at other news outlets in recent weeks. Leaders at The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer stepped down after the publication of an inflammatory op-ed and a provocative headline, respectively, about the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Bon Appétit's chief editor resigned, and a top ABC News executive was put on leave over accusations they mistreated colleagues of color.

In Los Angeles, the inequities sparking today's rancor have existed for years, long before the current owner or editors were involved. But they were brought to a head, journalists throughout the paper say, by Floyd's killing and the protests demanding societal change.

A veteran news executive with national stature who has held the top job for two years in Los Angeles, Pearlstine appears to face increasing skepticism. The population of Los Angeles County is about 9% black. Black journalists made up about 4% of the newspaper's overall newsroom last year. And there is just one black reporter on the metro desk of nearly 90 people covering greater Los Angeles, the largest desk at the paper. There is also a black editor and a newly added black columnist.

"I think if you look at raw numbers, we are as inclusive a newsroom as any I'm aware of in a major media company in the U.S.," Pearlstine told NPR. "But as a reflection of Los Angeles, we are far from where we should be."