Financial Dispute Weakens Journalists’ Push for Unity

Nearly every four years since the mid-1990s, hundreds of journalists like those gathering in Las Vegas this week have come together under the banner of “Unity: Journalists of Color,” a nod toward the conference’s efforts to increase the number of minorities in newsrooms across the country. But for the first time, the National Association of Black Journalists, once a cornerstone of the event, is missing, having withdrawn from the conference and its parent organization amid a disagreement over finances.

And a new group, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, is attending, bringing not only new faces to the event, but a new name: “Unity Journalists.” The name change comes as the number of minority journalists in American newsrooms is in decline — total newsroom employment at daily newspapers fell by 2.4 percent in 2011, according to the American Society of News Editors, while minority employment declined by 5.7 percent — and it has caused mixed feelings among some journalists who belong to the member groups. It also has raised questions about Unity’s decision to broaden its efforts to improve newsroom representation by including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender journalists, as well as racial and ethnic minority journalists.