Contemporary media coverage often focuses on the social injustices relative to systemic racism in the United States. An interesting byproduct of this increased coverage has been the news media reflecting and looking inward to consider their own diversity practices.With this in mind, media companies have begun to reevaluate their identities and how their behaviors have contributed to systemic racism and the issue of inequality within corporate America. Curto (2020) supports this idea when describing how leaders at the top media companies, such as Bon Appétit, the New York Times, Condé Nast Entertainment, Refinery29, Okayplayer, Variety, and The Philadelphia Inquirer stepped down or resigned citing the lack of quality diversity practices within their own organizations.
Today’s media managers find themselves at a critical moment in which audiences and communities are rapidly becoming more and more diverse. Accordingly, managing diversity as a media executive comes with unique considerations that extend beyond the employee composition of the firm. Both audiences and the content distributed play a role in supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. As media firms are subject to the social, political and economic climate, they are encouraged to address issues like diversity, pay equity, and social justice by engaging employees, USIWNXWA, as well as content creators, ultimately, driving meaningful change. Within the global economy, media firms are intrinsically connected to their consumers, their employees, and their communities. As diversity increases throughout each of these stakeholders, it is imperative that firms incorporate diversity into their business strategy.
As is increasingly the case, media firms are judged based on their track record, treatment of employees and customers, and positive impact on social issues. Furthermore, the current literature shows that companies with effective programs ranging from social issue marketing to philanthropic efforts to diversity and inclusion work are actually more profitable than those without them (Zheng, 2020). As the global workforce is increasingly composed of younger generations who are more diverse, more environmentally aware, and more socially driven, firms cannot simply deliver on their financial performance but must also demonstrate positive benefit to all of their stakeholders; this includes employees, consumers, and the communities. Given the younger generations’ interest in prosocial behaviors of firms, acting socially responsible is becoming a business imperative. Traditional best practices are not enough, and firms must employ diverse and representative workforces that connect them to their stakeholders (Zheng, 2020). Indeed, stakeholders want firms to see DEI as an imperative that is well-integrated into business practices, resulting in positive tangible actions and not just in communication strategy.
As such, this special issue seeks papers discussing and/or showcasing research and debates related to managing diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion in media firms of all types. This could include (but is not limited to) diversity within individuals, audiences, diversity within work teams, firms and institutions, the societal context of DEI, and how they each influence media firms and content. Possible areas of interest for this special issue include, but are not limited to:
- How do media firms seek to manage their DEI efforts?
- What practices and structures promote or hinder DEI at the firm level?
- What interventions are most effective? Which conflict with other firm goals and practices? Why does conflict occur and how can it be resolved?
- How can DEI initiatives be a competitive advantage for media firms?
- Content programming for diverse audiences.
- Cross-analysis of DEI strategy success across media platforms/industries.
- What are the unique characteristics of agents of change with respect to DEI?
- Diffusion or resistance to DEI (e.g., why and how does diffusion of DEI efforts and policies occur, why does resistance occur, how do media firms respond to resistance)
- How can media firms lead the way towards social equality, pay equity, and justice?
- Are social movements influencing sustained change with respect to DEI in media firms and content? Or is it fleeting?
- Expanding DEI in media firms beyond cultural diversity (e.g., to address diversity in ability).
- What explains varying results of DEI policies/efforts in media firms?
- How do various aspects of DEI within firms, departments, or teams interact to create firm level change?
We welcome original research papers, case studies, and essays initiating and explicating new, pressing research agendas for media management scholarship.
