2019 Reports

The Pittsburgh Problem: Race, media and everyday life in the Steel City

Crittenden, Letrell Deshan

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a reputation as one of the most livable cities in the nation. This piece, however, argues that reporters of color working within the Pittsburgh media ecosystem have a much lesser quality of life both inside and outside of the newsroom. Previous studies related to diversity and inclusion within Pittsburgh’s media ecosystem highlighted two issues. First, Pittsburgh news media over-represents African Americans as a criminals. Additionally, newsrooms in the area are woefully underrepresented in terms of diversity. Based on a series of 20 interviews with journalists who are currently or have worked within the Pittsburgh news media — including 16 who identify as individuals of color — this goes beyond numbers, and gains insights on issues of diversity and inclusion directly from newsroom workers, and documents a number of concerns journalists of color have about their working conditions within the Pittsburgh media ecosystem.