Hello readers of The State Hornet!
My name is Julianna Rodriguez and this is my midway audit for this spring semester as the current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion editor for The State Hornet.
Since fall 2021, The State Hornet has published a midway and end-of-semester diversity audit 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 ensuring our team is committed to covering these communities.
For example, social media staffer Leah Stewart highlighted the queer, women-owned local business named Strapping in honor of Women’s History Month in March.
Updates (Since the previous audit)
Instead of having four quarterly audits, we have decided to combine the dates from the second and third audit into one to serve as a midway check-in. That means there will now only be three audits performed throughout the semester.
With the events of spring break and the Big Sky Tournaments, The State Hornet experienced a pause in our regular content. As a result, an extension of two weeks was given so that sections could make up for content they couldn’t get out earlier with audit data now taken over the span of six weeks instead of four.
We have also decided to include our social media in this audit, something we have not done before. As our social media team produces more original content, it is important to encourage DEI-related content from them as well, and including them in this audit will allow for their section to hold themselves accountable in the same manner as everyone else.
Audit Results
Compared to the previous audit, there has been an increase of centered sources in our coverage. Although there may not have been as much published content, many of our stories focused on intersectionality where one article contained more than one centered source instead of multiple articles with one centered source.
As the previous audit recommended, we still need to increase our coverage of the Native/Indigenous community. Our way of improving on this was through our Women’s History Month coverage where arts and entertainment staffer Mia Huss wrote about the trailblazing diverse women in media right now, including Native American actress Lily Gladstone who has opened many doors for future Native and queer actresses.
We still need to increase our coverage of the Latinx/Hispanic community and the community of people with disabilities, as the previous audit recommended. We also need to increase our coverage of the Black community.
RELATED: LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Spring 2024 first quarter audit results
Section Content Analysis
Since our previous audit, when we switched to conducting a midway audit, many of our sections have seen an increase in content. In allowing for an extension to account for six weeks of content rather than four weeks, sections were able to uphold the type of numbers they had during the midway point last semester.
Our sports section covers a variety of sports, with tight deadlines to ensure our coverage is timely for our audience.
Recaps account for 77% of their published articles. While there has been an increase in stories featuring centered sources, profiles are only 3% of the section’s content.
According to the U.S. News and World report, Sac State is considered the fourth most diverse university in the west. The State Hornet is committed to producing diverse content to reflect its audience. By 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.
