The Wesleyan Argus is implementing new initiatives to make their newsroom more accessible and equitable, and they seek input and support from the Wesleyan community. Former Managing Editor Jocelyn Maeyama ’22 compiled a number of resources and created a padlet entitled ‘Resources for Recognizing and Dismantling Anti-Blackness in the Newsroom‘ which all Argus staff are encouraged to read. In the fall, staff will have weekly discussions about these resources and the ways in which they can begin to undo the racist legacy of predominantly white journalism in our own newsroom.
Next semester, staff will create a coverage tracker to track indicators of diversity in their coverage, similar to the one created by The Minnesota Daily. This will include tracking the topics covered in each story and the sources interviewed. They hope that this will ensure that their articles feature a variety of student voices and experiences.
Their staff has and will continue to reflect on past coverage and the racist editorial decisions of The Argus in an effort to create a newsroom that supports journalists of color and is accountable to the Wesleyan and Middletown communities.
The Argus asks the Wesleyan community to share their thoughts and experiences with The Argus by filling out this survey.
Donate to The Argus Voices Fund
The Argus hopes to raise $3,000 by August 31 to offer five paid reporting positions to students of color from low-income backgrounds next semester. Offering paid positions will begin to make The Argus more accessible and make their newsroom more representative of the communities that they cover. So far, the Argus Voices Fund has raised $720.
Donate here, and write “Argus Voices” in the Department/Business Name section.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss these initiatives further, please email Co-Editors in Chief
Claire Isenegger – cisenegger@wesleyan.edu
Claire Isenegger – cisenegger@wesleyan.edu
Serena Chow – sschow@wesleyan.edu