The Marshall Project and Diversity

Read last year's report here.

This is our second annual diversity report, a chance to update the numbers, take note of significant developments in 2018, and lay out some plans and ambitions for 2019.

Our Progress this Year

In 2018 our main focus was identifying more diverse pools of talent and expanding the networks we use for hiring. We were able to make progress thanks to an increase in our budget, which allowed us to add staff.

• We hired five women and six people of color, three of whom came to The Marshall Project as interns or fellows. In addition, we hired our first formerly incarcerated person and added a formerly incarcerated person to our board. We also hired the first woman of color to our newsroom masthead.
• In 2018, we had our first need-blind internship program that included three positions funded by The Marshall Project. We worked with the Chips Quinn Scholar program, which seeks out talented journalists of color currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program.
• We attended NAHJ for the first time, hosting both a mixer and a booth. In 2019, we will send staff to AAJA. We lectured at journalism classes at various universities and attended campus job fairs.
• We have renamed our staff body the “Diversity and Inclusion Committee” to underscore that this is not just about hiring, but about creating a newsroom culture that embraces open dialogue and nurtures the talents of each individual employee.

Goals for Next Year

We will continue the diversity efforts of 2018, but we expect to focus in the coming year on inclusiveness—assuring that our obligation to diversify does not end with hiring, but is reflected in our culture, in opportunities for training and professional advancement and in our journalistic content. We have invited the staff to take part in the design and rollout of our inclusion programs.

The Numbers

We determine the racial and ethnic composition of our staff by asking them to self-identify. These numbers include full-time fellows but not interns.*

In 2019 we plan to seek information on the diversity of our freelancers—writers, photographers, videographers, etc.

Download a PDF of the report.

* The percentages in the charts have been rounded and may not add up to 100.