It was an extraordinary hour of journalistic self-criticism. Newspapers record history. Reporters and photographers are eyewitnesses to the events and experiences and personalities that define our world, whether we're covering a small-town school board meeting, a presidential election or a war in some distant corner of the globe. We like to think we seek truth, without fear or favor, and then follow wherever it leads us.
Some journalists argue that's the case.
But others suggest the gender gap in our coverage has more to do with the presumptions we make about what's important and whose words and viewpoints we consider worth amplifying. Of course our coverage will be skewed if our primary beat reporters are men who talk to other men. Making our newspaper a truer mirror of the citizenry we serve is a longstanding, ongoing effort that informs our daily decision-making, as well as the less frequent philosophical group discussion. We always aim for a mix of stories about a mix of people, in terms of not just their gender, but also their race, ethnicity, income, lifestyle and vantage point. We strive every day to recognize our own inherent biases, and to fight the tide of tradition that reinforces them.