Five Years After George Floyd: The Rise and Fall of DEI in Newsrooms
- tmanon1
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 31
By: MMM Editorial Team
It has been five years since the murder of George Floyd, a moment that sparked a global reckoning with racial injustice. For those of us working in media and communications, it was a transformative period. We witnessed firsthand the wave of change, the surge of accountability, and the demand for more equitable representation in newsrooms.
In the immediate aftermath, there was a push to make newsrooms care—not just in words but in action. Black reporters, long overlooked and underpaid, were finally being heard.
There were conversations about fair compensation, promotions, and the importance of allowing Black journalists to cover the stories that mattered most to their communities. For two, perhaps three years, pitching stories about Black businesses, issues, and communities became significantly easier. There was a moment of genuine momentum.
But then, the tide began to turn.
About two years ago, a subtle shift emerged.
February, traditionally my busiest and most successful month for securing Black History Month coverage, suddenly became a challenge. Previously, nearly every pitch was accepted. That year, only one or two made it through. And it was not limited to a single newsroom—it was a trend across multiple outlets.
The following year, the decline became even more apparent. Not only were my pitches being ignored, but my colleagues within newsrooms began to voice their own frustrations. Their beats were being changed, their story ideas rejected. Then, the layoffs began. Black and brown journalists across the country were disproportionately affected, many of them among the first to be let go.
Now, five years later, it is clear that much of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in newsrooms has failed. While there was a personal investment from some editors and a temporary increase in public interest, there was no lasting, systemic buy-in. The moment financial constraints returned, so did old priorities. DEI initiatives were among the first to be sacrificed.
A Cyclical Pattern of Progress and Reversal
Reading Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism by Wanda Smalls Lloyd offered valuable historical context to what was unfolding. Lloyd, the first Black woman to serve as a national editor, worked at USA Today and The Washington Post and played a leading role in newsroom diversity efforts. In her book, she details similar struggles—layoffs, resistance to change, and the lack of institutional support.
After reading her work, I reached out for an interview. She spoke about the layoffs in the 2010s and how these patterns repeat themselves. What became clear was that this is not just a cycle but an accelerating one. The window of opportunity for meaningful change is shrinking, and each iteration leaves more people burned out and disillusioned. Many journalists who believed they were finally breaking through have instead found themselves shut out once again.
This moment in media history is not just about a failed DEI effort—it is a warning. Without real, structural commitment to inclusion, the gains made in the wake of George Floyd’s death will continue to erode. The question now is whether the industry will recognize this decline and take meaningful steps to prevent history from repeating itself yet again.
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