Hello readers of The State Hornet!
My name is Jasmine Ascencio and I’m the current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion editor for The State Hornet. Since fall 2021, The State Hornet has published the diversity audit midway and end-of-semester to hold itself accountable for goals and suggestions made in previous audits.
As the DEI editor, part of my responsibility includes auditing The State Hornet’s coverage of centered sources, finding ways to improve our coverage of underrepresented communities and leading a team of staffers committed to covering these communities.
Updates since the previous audit
Every section editor has become responsible for keeping track of the centered sources in their posted content and contributing to collecting this data.
With this information, we’ve added to the definition of centered source to make it clear and purposeful.
The previous definition of centered sources was:
Story coverage focusing on people from underrepresented communities.
The updated definition is:
Story coverage focusing on people from underrepresented communities. This is meant to encourage an increase in diverse content and angles that either profile individuals from underrepresented communities and/or center topics of race, ethnicity, and disability.
This has greatly affected our numbers within this audit, but has also challenged every section to diversify its angles, go beyond just gathering quotes from diverse sources and go out of our way to create content that captures the unique voice of our centered sources.
The use of the terms Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x and Chicano/a/e/x has been a topic of discussion for a while. In an effort to minimize harm and respect our sources, we’ve decided to add an editor’s note prior to every story that uses these terms, providing context for the use of these terms throughout the article.
The editor’s note is as follows:
Editor’s Note:The usage of Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x and Chicano/a/e/x is in accordance with the preference and language of the sources and/or organizations included in this story.
Audit results
Comparing previous audit results to our current audit results shows the impact of our updated definition. A question is raised of whether or not our past audits would maintain their results if the updated definition of centered sources was retroactively used.
Like the previous audit recommended, we still need to increase our coverage of people with disabilities, Native and Indigenous communities. Additionally, there is a need to increase our coverage of the Asian and Pacific Islander American and LGBTQ+ communities.
RELATED: LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: End of spring plus summer 2023 audit results
Section content analysis
Our sports and news sections were the most affected by the new definition of centered sources.
Sports doesn’t miss a beat with covering football, volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer. This includes writing timely previews and recaps of every game.
So far this semester, recaps are 75% of their published articles.
News is another busy section that has handled very timely coverage throughout the semester. This has involved the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act audit hearing, California State University tuition increase, CapRadio audit and subsequent resignations, CSU union strike, President Luke Wood’s listening forum and other breaking news.
Podcasts and video had a slow start in the semester with many new staffers learning how to use the equipment and struggling to get access to Adobe programs for editing. Now, there’s a consistent flow of content being posted that will be recognized in the next audit.
According to the U.S. News and World report, Sac State is considered to be the fourth most diverse university in the West. The State Hornet is committed to producing diverse content to reflect its audience. In giving a platform to underrepresented communities, we aim to promote cultural awareness, understanding and inclusivity.
By performing this audit periodically, The State Hornet can hold itself accountable to the goals set by the previous audit. Our aim with these audits is to maintain and continue to build trust with our audience, and be transparent.
