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I would like to share some stories reflecting why I believe diverse representation is important and valuable in media.
It was August 1996 and I was a new reporter for Good Day Sacramento. My assignment was to cover Rick James being released from Folsom Prison. After...
It was August 1996 and I was a new reporter for Good Day Sacramento. My assignment was to cover Rick James being released from Folsom Prison. After...
2 hours of tap dance reporting the transport van holding Rick James and other prisoners emerged from the gates. Media started scrambling into position. There were 5 other news crews waiting to speak with Rick. I saw the reporters gathering for what we in the biz call a media
scrum. I also noticed that I was the only Black reporter there so I positioned myself away from the scrum and I saw his limo about 100 feet away. I stood in front of the door. He walked right past the scrum of questions without a word. He saw me and walked towards me. The limo
door opens and someone hands Rick his son Tazman. He stops and greets me. We are live on air. I ask about his prison sentence etc. takes only 2 minutes and I wrap up before the show ends. To this day, I am 
convinced he spoke to me because I was the only Black reporter there.
convinced he spoke to me because I was the only Black reporter there.
Another example is a few years ago I was anchoring in Sacramento and we had a wonderful Latin reporter interviewing an older Latin couple. She asked them questions in English and they struggled to answer and you could see they were nervous. This reporter quickly switched to speak
in Spanish to them and they opened up and you could see the relief and gratitude on their faces. I was so happy our reporter did that for them and our viewers. My point is: diverse representation is so vital in media and it simply increases and enhances the comfort level for the
people you interview and more importantly for the viewers you are serving. 
