Canadian Association of Journalists launches 2022 Newsroom Diversity Survey

OTTAWA, ON, March 22, 2022 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists is pleased to announce the launch of the 2022 Canadian Newsroom Diversity Survey –– Canada's annual national media diversity survey.

Last year, the CAJ released our inaugural diversity survey, with 209 newsrooms sharing data for 3,873 journalists. That survey was the first in Canadian history to reveal the gender and racial diversity for English and French radio, television, digital and print media newsrooms.

The CAJ is Canada’s largest national professional organization for journalists from all media, representing more than 1100 members across the country. The CAJ’s primary roles are to provide high-quality professional development for its members and public-interest advocacy. (CNW Group/Canadian Association of Journalists)

"Understanding the makeup of Canada's newsrooms is key for working towards a media landscape that reflects the public we serve," said CAJ president Brent Jolly. "The CAJ is grateful to all newsrooms that have committed, once again, to participate in this survey, as well as those who will be participating for the first time."

Last year's survey found that half of all newsrooms employ exclusively white journalists; that more than 8 in 10 newsroom supervisor roles are staffed by  white journalists, and that while, overall, women outnumber men in newsrooms, they are largely overrepresented in part-time and internship roles. 

Last year's survey also revealed that 8 in 10 outlets have no visible minority or Indigenous journalists in a top-three leadership position.

"Over the past two years, our industry has made issues related to diversity and inclusion a top-priority," said Jolly. "Conducting this survey plays a crucial role in obtaining reliable data to help us all measure how progress is being made."

This survey is made possible through the support of numerous generous partners including the News Leaders Association and the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec. The Canadian Race Relations Foundation has generously provided three years of funding to strengthen the administration of the survey; this includes hiring a part-time diversity survey officer who will help increase the number of newsrooms participating. Qlik provided data analysis and visualizations that made the statistics in the 2021 report possible as well as the interactive website.

Starting today, the second annual survey is being sent to the editor-in-chief, or their equivalent, at radio, television, digital and print outlets across the country. The CAJ will maintain a running list of the newsrooms that have been sent the survey and will provide regular updates on which newsrooms have responded.

The results of the survey will be made publicly available following the June 24, 2022 response deadline. For transparency, a full PDF version of the survey text is publicly available. If you are a newsroom leader that did not receive an editable survey copy, please contact [email protected] to receive one. To learn about the diversity survey, visit: http://www.caj.ca/diversitysurvey.

The CAJ is Canada's largest national professional organization for journalists from all media, representing more than 1100 members across the country. The CAJ's primary roles are to provide high-quality professional development for its members and public-interest advocacy.

SOURCE Canadian Association of Journalists