Leaders from multiple journalism groups, including those that represent Black, Asian American and LGBTQ+ journalists, met with NBC leaders on Wednesday to discuss their concerns about NBC News’ cuts to its community verticals with one decrying the cuts as “a step back in NBC’s longtime commitment to making sure their reporting represents the diversity of this country.”
The groups included leaders from the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Journalism & Women Symposium and NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists was not able to attend the Wednesday meeting, though they have asked for an in-person meeting in New York next month, a spokesperson said.
“The company has said the verticals will continue to be updated by staffers across the newsroom, but dissolving these editorial teams represents a step back in NBC’s longtime commitment to making sure their reporting represents the diversity of this country,” the AAJA said in a statement on behalf of the groups, including NAHJ.
NBC News did not respond to an immediate request for comment on the meeting.
“We appreciate that NBC News reaffirmed their commitment to covering diverse communities and experiences in this week’s meeting,” an NAHJ spokesperson said. “Comcast NBCUniversal remains a leader among national networks in building newsrooms that reflect the communities they cover.”
NAHJ and NLGJA did not respond to immediate requests for comment on the meeting, while JAWS’ statement was largely similar to AAJA’s.
“[Executives] said the decision was related to financial pressures, and reaffirmed their commitment to continuing the work to cover diverse communities and experiences. NAHJ has requested an in-person meeting early next month,” AAJA said. “As groups dedicated to ensuring the news industry and its coverage reflect our audiences, we urge NBC News to remain steadfast in their support for championing essential coverage of Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ communities — and to recommit to representative newsrooms that reflect the diversity of every community.”
The meeting came a week after NBC News laid off 150 staffers due to budget restrictions, cuts that included ending the dedicated teams for its verticals NBC BLK, NBC Latino, NBC Asian America and NBC OUT. A source familiar said the verticals will continue publishing content, and some staffers from the verticals would be offered new jobs in the broader newsroom, but the cuts come amid a broader retreat from diversity-focused endeavors across the media industry and corporate America at large.
NABJ said in a statement it was “deeply disappointed” by the cuts, which it said “weaken the industry’s commitment to equitable and representative storytelling.”
“At a time when diversity and inclusion efforts are under attack across industries, NBC’s cuts send a chilling message, but we know that inclusion is not optional. Diversity in newsrooms is not a luxury or a trend,” the NABJ said. “It is a moral, journalistic and business imperative, and dismantling the very teams that have elevated underrepresented voices undermines the progress that has taken decades to build.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the National Association of Hispanic Journalists has not yet met with NBC News, though they have asked for a meeting next month.