As if there wasn’t already enough happening in the news cycle, this (also) happened…
Source: Artur Widak/NurPhoto / Getty
CNN has made a significant move as part of its major restructuring. The news giant has disbanded its “Race and Equality” team and laid off around 100 employees. That’s nearly 3% of its workforce that were part of a department similar to the known DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion).
CNN just cut its Race and Equality team, created in 2020 as a “significant, sustained commitment to ensure race coverage is a permanent part of our journalism” https://t.co/ot441IosmH https://t.co/hCuOKhoJh0
— Tess Garcia (@HiThisIsTess) July 11, 2024
Deadline reports that the announcement was made by CNN Chairman Mark Thompson, marking a notable shift in the network’s organizational structure and strategic priorities.
Newsrooms make revenue and culture choices every day. I’ve reported on school districts that disband equity initiatives and claim the work is still being done. Corporations do the same, and so do newsrooms. This is quite a choice: https://t.co/ExY5zbOypg
— Nicole Carr (@NicoleFCarr) July 12, 2024
Team’s Formation and Dissolution
Diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, became an important and popular implementation in the workforce during the 2020 pandemic. Many corporate spaces saw and found the need for this framework, which opened up many jobs for under-represented communities.
PERSONAL BREAKING NEWS: I am now a reporter covering race and equality @CNN. Although politics has been my passion the past couple of years, it is time to pursue a deeper passion that includes telling stories about critical issues at the center of our nation and beyond.
— Chandelis Duster (@Chandelis) May 3, 2023
Today I am thrilled to announce I have joined @CNN as a senior writer on the race & equality team. Anyone who knows me — and is familiar with my work— knows this is my passion, my dream job. And this work is necessary. Onward! pic.twitter.com/pnZcgczFqF
— Nicquel Terry Ellis (@NTerryEllis) November 12, 2020
For CNN, the “Race and Equality” team was established in 2020 by then-CNN president Jeff Zucker in response to the nationwide protests against racial injustice and police violence swept across the United States, following the death of George Floyd.
The New York Post states that Jeff Zucker underscored the importance of structural changes and investments to better cover societal issues in a memo at the time:
“We are committed to doing that.” The creation of the unit was a tangible manifestation of that commitment, aiming to provide comprehensive coverage of issues related to race and equality.
The unit consisted of three reporters dedicated to covering issues related to race and equality, an initiative reflecting CNN’s commitment to addressing societal issues through in-depth reporting.
However, in the recent restructuring, the team has been dissolved. According to the New York Post, one journalist was laid off while the other two have been reassigned to different departments within the network. Initially, a CNN spokesperson claimed that the team had not been disbanded, but later clarified, “For all intents and purposes, the team is not a team anymore.”
Predictable, if true. During the 2020 uprisings, corporations, media, and elites were quick to align with BLM when it was profitable, trendy and advantageous. But when the hard work of dismantling systemic racism begins, they abandon ship. @CNN disbanding its Race and Equality… https://t.co/hXIf95mLfM
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) July 12, 2024
Despite the dissolution, the spokesperson emphasized that the focus on race and equality isn’t going anywhere, saying it’ll still be woven into all CNN programming.
We’ll see about that.
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