The year we stop pretending the industry has changed

"If journalism is the patient, the condition is chronic relapse: Whenever the country's foundational truths surface - racial, historical, or structural - newsrooms retreat, and coverage collapses at the very moments honesty is required. Inclusivity - in coverage, priorities, and who newsrooms reflect - has always been a weather vane for America. The external climate doesn't stay outside; it walks in with leadership and culture."

"The Washington Post's wave of departures included many Black journalists, who were pushed out. NBC BLK, Latino, Asian American, and LGBTQ verticals - eliminated. CBS's Race and Culture team (and, apparently, many Black journalists) - gone. Teen Vogue's identity-focused newsroom - absorbed. No organization near a federal court calls these choices racial - they call them "restructuring." Budget cuts kill urgency, but the same forces reappear."

In 2025 major news organizations reduced, reorganized, or eliminated race and identity coverage across the industry. CNN disbanded its race team and multiple outlets cut or folded Black, Latino, Asian American, LGBTQ, and other identity-focused verticals. Many Black journalists departed or were pushed out from legacy outlets. Newsrooms label these changes as "restructuring" rather than racial decisions, and budget cuts are cited while structural forces recur. Race and inclusivity reporting now survives mainly when individual reporters insist on carrying it. When national reckonings emerge, coverage often retreats instead of addressing foundational racial and institutional truths.

Read at Nieman Lab