THE BROAD OUTLINES of a possible way forward for the troubled newsroom at St. Louis Public Radio are starting to become clear, as interim General Manager Tom Livingston takes stock of the organization and tries to engage staff members in a new effort to tackle diversity concerns.
Livingston, who took over on Sept. 22, told Gateway Journalism Review he intends to create an internal working group focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. The intent is to form a group with the teeth necessary to address issues raised by more than two dozen staff members in a July 1 letter to former General Manager Tim Eby and Executive Editor Shula Neuman. The letter focused on what the signers called the station’s legacy of structural racism.
Under intense pressure, Eby resigned as GM in September, although he continues to work as a consultant until early April. Neuman remains in her role.
“My job at this point is to listen, and I’ve done a lot of that,” Livingston told GJR during an Oct. 13 phone interview. “In the first meeting I had with the news staff, there were quite a few comments saying ‘we can’t just keep talking about this; we have to do something.’”
Regarding the working group, Livingston said: “We want to invite a broad cross-section of the staff to participate.” He added that he’s working closely with University of Missouri-St. Louis Vice Chancellor Tanisha Stevens, who oversees diversity and inclusion efforts at UMSL, as well as with the university’s human resources office.
“For my purposes, the power of a group like this is in its agency,” said Livingston, who made it clear he expects the station’s staff to have concrete input into matters including the hiring of Eby’s permanent successor. “We need to work together.”
The interim GM conceded that the mood at the station remains tense, with some newsroom staffers still highly skeptical that UMSL is committed to addressing their demands for more diversity and better opportunities for journalists of color.
But if Livingston can convince enough staffers to buy into his efforts, it could mark the beginning of a less contentious phase at STLPR. Since early August, when the accusations of racism went public, several journalists have pointedly criticized the station’s managers for what they say is a lack of concrete action. The staffers also made it clear they have no confidence in an investigation UMSL launched in early August. That investigation is expected to release a report soon on the station’s track record in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion.
[Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Gateway Journalism Review on Oct. 20. The full story is available here. McPherson’s earlier coverage of STLPR is available here.]
