The document proposes a two-track program called "New Voices" to increase diversity in public media. Track 1 is a two-year residency program paying $45,000-$60,000 for recent graduates and those crossing over from other fields to gain skills in public media. Track 2 is a one-year advanced program paying $75,000-$100,000 to develop diverse candidates for senior leadership roles in public radio through training and placement partnerships. The goal is to address the lack of diversity in public media by creating clear pathways for advancement that will help attract and retain diverse talent long-term.

1. From “pipeline” to pathways
Identify, attract, develop, retain, and advance
diverse talent survive in public media

2. Host Al Letson’s essay, republished on NPR’s
“Code Switch” blog, addressed a core issue:

3. "It's a chicken and egg equation. There
aren't many diverse candidates, so
diversifying the sound of the station is
difficult. Because diverse audiences
don't hear themselves reflected on
public radio, they don't end up going
into that field, thus less diverse
candidates.”
-- Al Letson via “Code Switch”

4. Factors in play
• University programs have diverse
students and teach multimedia
but few emphasize skills valued
in public media
• Most pubmedia stations have
small staffs and even smaller
newsrooms, leaving the industry
without obvious paths for
advancement
• Beyond internships, news
industry contraction limits entry-
level roles
• “Normalize” gaps are even more
glaring in leadership roles: host,
senior producer, news director,
programming director, executive

5. SCPR “One Nation” lessons
• Expansion brings opportunity for new talent
• “Crossover hires” from print, TV and even sports radio can
thrive, given training and development
• “Critical mass” effect – more diverse staff can change culture
and coverage (talent attracts talent)
• “Normalize” staff and coverage expands audience
• Many challenges: Lack of experienced, competitive candidates

6. New Voices proposal: Two tracks
• BREAKING IN: Two-year
residencies for journalists seeking
to enter public media from
college or crossing over from
commercial media
• ADVANCING: Training, mentoring
and placement for senior
producer, correspondent, host,
editor and other leadership roles

7. Track 1: Breaking In
• Draw diverse applicants USC-
Annenberg, Cal State LA, CSU
Fullerton, CSU Northridge, UC
Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz
• Full-time positions paying from
post-college entry to crossover
entry ($45,000 to $60,000) plus
benefits
• Commitment to train and
develop competitive broadcast
and multi-platform skills
• Participants would play roles in
SCPR/ pubmedia push for
programming, audience and staff
normalization

8. Track 2: Advancing
• SCPR would design program and
work with partner stations across
public media
• Candidates identified from
outside public media as well as
from within
• One-year training and
development program focused
on placement into senior roles;
work with APM, NPR, university
programs
• Full-time positions funded at the
leadership level, $75,000 to
$100,000.