Black Journalists Request Meeting with Sinclair Station

Back on March 9th, FTVLive told you how Sinclair’s WKRC (Cincinnati) made a post to social media about International Women’s Day and highlighted the women on-air at the station.

It also highlighted the fact that the Sinclair station does not appear to have a single woman of color on their on-air staff.

It appears that our post got noticed and now The Greater Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists has requested a meeting with WKRC-TV management about the lack of diversity at the station.

"Newsrooms are supposed to reflect the demographics of the community they cover. In a city that's approximately 42 percent Black, and there are no Black women on the staff, it is concerning," said Shaun Elliott, a WLWT Photographer, and the GCABJ Vice President.

The group released this statement:

On Monday, March 8, Local 12 posted to its social media outlets celebrating the "ladies of Local 12 News" for International Women's Day. The photo collage shows the station's thirteen on-air female talent, none of whom are black women. The Greater Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists is concerned about the lack of representation on Local 12's staff, especially when approximately 42 percent of Cincinnati is black.

The Greater Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists has contacted Local 12 News Director Tim Geraghty and General Manager Jon Lawhead, requesting a meeting to discuss how to improve hiring practices to be more representative of the community. We are awaiting a response.

GCABJ President Kyle Inskeep has not been involved in any discussion pertaining to this matter because he is an employee of Local 12, and as an affiliate of the National Association of Black Journalists, policy prohibits anyone from participating in discussions about a company they work for.

Shaun Elliott, Vice President, Greater Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists

Let’s hope we see more action than words from the Sinclair station.