• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 15, 2025

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was a hot topic in publishing in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s killing and the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.

But the “racial reckoning” that seemed to be occurring in journalism in those days appears to have fizzled out, judging by a Nieman Lab report. 

“In 2022, I reported, ‘American journalism’s ‘racial reckoning’ still has lots of reckoning to do',” writes Hanna Tameez on NiemanLab. “Three years later, what we’re seeing looks less like a reckoning and more like a retreat from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).”

One proof of this is that the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education earned $1.2 million from its training in equity, belonging and diversity in news between 2020 and 2022. This year, it has seen “exactly $0 in income.”

The demand has collapsed, Tameez notes. 

This is sad news for publishers, editors, and reporters who were working to achieve stronger reporting on minorities and an improvement in newsroom culture. 

The DEI retreat appears to be driven, in part, by the Trump administration’s effort to roll back DEI throughout the country, Tameez writes.

This year, a study of newsrooms’ race reporting projects found that "while some of the 15 projects have led to significant changes in how news organizations operate, most newsrooms largely published the race reporting projects and moved on," Tameez reports. “There was little evidence that reporters, photographers, and editors approached reporting on race differently as a result of the race reporting series.”

Tameez continues, “Race, diversity, and identity products are also being shut down.This month, Politico shuttered The Recast, its four-year-old newsletter about politics, race, and power. Bloomberg stopped sending its Equality newsletter in May (though its Equality reporting team remains). And last June, The Washington Post put its “About US” newsletter (“Candid conversations about race and identity in 21st century America”) “on hiatus;” it has not returned.”

Another problem is that DEI hires tend to be reporters, not top executives.

One does not have to disagree with the Trump administration about everything to see this is heading in the wrong direction.

Newsrooms should better reflect the communities they cover and serve. 

What happened to good-faith efforts to achieve that -- as when the Philadelphia Inquirer made several changes in how it covers the sensitive issue of race after a year-long review of its practices? 

Publishers should analyze their history, even if it is not a pretty picture. And they should continue with their DEI initiatives.