Media

The Herald skips its own minority job fair

by Dan Kennedy

DON'T QUOTE ME

There was a curious no-show among the 36 companies that took part in the Boston Herald-sponsored "Workplace Diversity Job Fair" this past Tuesday. The Herald itself failed to join employers such as the Chase Manhattan Bank, Starbucks, and the Museum of Science in reaching out to minority job candidates.

Herald columnist Robin Washington, who is the parliamentarian of the National Association of Black Journalists, expressed puzzlement when asked about his employer's lack of attendance at its own event. "I would not have minded being there," he says. "It certainly would do us some good to be at something like this."

But managing editor for news Andrew Gully responds that he and the paper's other top newsroom managers, editor Andy Costello and managing editor for features Kevin Convey, have been diligent about attending job fairs for minority journalists around the country, sometimes several times a year. Gully argues that this week's Herald event -- organized by the paper's business side, with no involvement from editorial -- was unlikely to result in any newsroom hires.

Washington, who has worked with the paper's editors in hiring several minority candidates, has two questions. Why didn't the Herald participate in the job fair held by the Association of Asian-American Journalists when it was held in Boston a year and a half ago? And will the editors commit to attending "Unity," a massive minority job fair sponsored by black, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American journalists' organizations, in Seattle this July?

To which Gully replies that (a) the Herald skipped the Asian-American job fair, which was sponsored by the Boston Globe, because it was invited only as "an afterthought," and (b) "I'm not sure. We probably will, but my answer is, I don't know yet." The answer, Gully says, depends on whether the paper has any openings or anticipates any openings when "Unity" rolls around.

Same story, different day

The release of statistics on minority enrollment at Boston Latin School -- the first under the school's new non-race-based admissions policy -- prompted dramatically different headlines in the Globe on two consecutive days. TROUBLING ADMISSION STATISTICS AT LATIN; CHANCES FOR BLACKS ATTENDING REMAIN POOR was the head over Beth Daley's story on March 23. Her follow-up the next day was headlined LATIN MINORITY ADMISSIONS STEADY. Despite the disparity, the stories do not contradict each other: it turns out that the black and Hispanic acceptance rate remains discouragingly low (about 18 percent), but that some observers were relieved that those numbers had not dropped substantially from previous years. Less clear is why the Globe chose to offer two different spins rather than publish one comprehensive story exploring both aspects.

A tough loss

Herald State House bureau chief Carolyn Ryan told her bosses on Tuesday that she's leaving for 135 Morrissey Boulevard, where she'll serve as the Globe's deputy city editor. Ryan technically replaces Joe Williams, who recently moved up to city editor -- although one newsroom source says there's been so much movement in Metro/Region lately that it's become difficult to figure out who's replacing whom. Ryan is respected on Beacon Hill for her political coverage, and her move was greeted with mixed feelings by Globe State House bureau chief Frank Phillips, who says he wishes she were coming to work for him. "There's a dearth of reporters who have experience in covering state politics and state government," says Phillips, himself a Herald alumnus. Neither Ryan nor her Herald editors could be reached before the Phoenix's Wednesday-morning deadline.

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Dan Kennedy's work can be accessed from his Web site: http://www.shore.net/~dkennedy

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Dan Kennedy can be reached at dkennedy[a]phx.com

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Articles from July 24, 1997 & before can be accessed here

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