At Chicas Poderosas, for almost 10 years we have been working for more and more voices to be heard, to make the media more diverse, to see more women in leadership positions, BIPOC in command and people from the LGBTQ+ community making decisions about editorials.
Journalists have the great power to present the reality as it is, whilst connecting to its variety through different investigations — making us think differently. This is how their work has the ability to change the world.
Chicas Poderosas’ mission is to transform the media so it becomes more representative and inclusive. We believe journalism should portray, not only the diverse realities and realities of women, but LGBTQ+ communities, afro descendants, indigenous and other dissenting voices.
Because today 79% of the directors of newspapers and television are white middle class. With the diversity of media we play a lot. Much remains to be said when the media is monopolized by white men. What happens when you read a newspaper that is not inclusive?
You only receive a small part of the story, important problems fall in the shadows, you do not understand reality for what it is and it creates polarization, marginalization and lack of representation in politics, in business leadership positions — leading to an ultimately weak democracy.
More inclusive media is the fast track to creating greater acceptance and openness to all that transcend the norm.
The media are the ultimate “influencers.” The media are, for better or worse, the ones that can exert the most pressure on the most powerful people and groups in the world. If you manage to influence from the top down, the rest of the world will follow you. This power is huge.
Those who lead the media are always the same. They say that it is important for them to be diverse and inclusive, and it is true that this reality is changing, but having women journalists and reporters is not the same as having women leading a newspaper — because it’s the leaders who decides how each story is published. There are very few leaders in the media who put people of diverse origin in decision-making positions.
Why is it necessary to have diversities in command of the media? Because it will result in a more balanced, healthier society with a smaller gap between those who have a lot and those who have nothing. You will form a more peaceful, empathetic, tolerant, and cooperative mindset. This will materialize in more sustainable, stronger, and diverse economies, less loneliness, fewer mental disorders and suicides, less gender injustice.
With the new generations coming up, we see fewer and fewer people accepting a working life where their rights are not respected — not only in newsrooms but also in corporations. As an organization of journalists, we have several challenges for 2023: to increase diversity in the media, to have narratives that provide a real reflection of the world, and to stop violence, so that our journalists stay alive. Together, we can create an equal and strong democracy.
Mariana Santos is the founder and CEO of Chicas Poderosas.
At Chicas Poderosas, for almost 10 years we have been working for more and more voices to be heard, to make the media more diverse, to see more women in leadership positions, BIPOC in command and people from the LGBTQ+ community making decisions about editorials.
Journalists have the great power to present the reality as it is, whilst connecting to its variety through different investigations — making us think differently. This is how their work has the ability to change the world.
Chicas Poderosas’ mission is to transform the media so it becomes more representative and inclusive. We believe journalism should portray, not only the diverse realities and realities of women, but LGBTQ+ communities, afro descendants, indigenous and other dissenting voices.
Because today 79% of the directors of newspapers and television are white middle class. With the diversity of media we play a lot. Much remains to be said when the media is monopolized by white men. What happens when you read a newspaper that is not inclusive?
You only receive a small part of the story, important problems fall in the shadows, you do not understand reality for what it is and it creates polarization, marginalization and lack of representation in politics, in business leadership positions — leading to an ultimately weak democracy.
More inclusive media is the fast track to creating greater acceptance and openness to all that transcend the norm.
The media are the ultimate “influencers.” The media are, for better or worse, the ones that can exert the most pressure on the most powerful people and groups in the world. If you manage to influence from the top down, the rest of the world will follow you. This power is huge.
Those who lead the media are always the same. They say that it is important for them to be diverse and inclusive, and it is true that this reality is changing, but having women journalists and reporters is not the same as having women leading a newspaper — because it’s the leaders who decides how each story is published. There are very few leaders in the media who put people of diverse origin in decision-making positions.
Why is it necessary to have diversities in command of the media? Because it will result in a more balanced, healthier society with a smaller gap between those who have a lot and those who have nothing. You will form a more peaceful, empathetic, tolerant, and cooperative mindset. This will materialize in more sustainable, stronger, and diverse economies, less loneliness, fewer mental disorders and suicides, less gender injustice.
With the new generations coming up, we see fewer and fewer people accepting a working life where their rights are not respected — not only in newsrooms but also in corporations. As an organization of journalists, we have several challenges for 2023: to increase diversity in the media, to have narratives that provide a real reflection of the world, and to stop violence, so that our journalists stay alive. Together, we can create an equal and strong democracy.
Mariana Santos is the founder and CEO of Chicas Poderosas.
Julia Angwin Democracies will get serious about saving journalism
Jarrad Henderson Video editing will help people understand the media they consume
Sue Robinson Engagement journalism will have to confront a tougher reality
Paul Cheung More news organizations will realize they are in the business of impact, not eyeballs
Eric Ulken Generative AI brings wrongness at scale
Richard Tofel The press might get better at vetting presidential candidates
Alan Henry A reckoning with why trust in news is so low
Francesco Zaffarano There is no end of “social media”
Anika Anand Independent news businesses lead the way on healthy work cultures
Hillary Frey Death to the labor-intensive memo for prospective hires
Zizi Papacharissi Platforms are over
Ryan Gantz “I’m sorry, but I’m a large language model”
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Anna Nirmala News organizations get new structures
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Ayala Panievsky It’s time for PR for journalism
Rachel Glickhouse Humanizing newsrooms will be a badge of honor
Alex Sujong Laughlin Credit where it’s due
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Eric Nuzum A focus on people instead of power
Bill Adair The year of the fact-check (no, really!)
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David Skok Renewed interest in human-powered reporting
Tim Carmody Newsletter writers need a new ethics
Cindy Royal Yes, journalists should learn to code, but…
Simon Galperin Philanthropy stops investing in corporate media
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Alexandra Svokos Working harder to reach audiences where they are
Jennifer Choi and Jonathan Jackson Funders finally bet on next-generation news entrepreneurs
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Jonas Kaiser Rejecting the “free speech” frame
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Anita Varma Journalism prioritizes the basic need for survival
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Bill Grueskin Local news will come to rely on AI
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Alex Perry New paths to transparency without Twitter
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Mar Cabra The inevitable mental health revolution
Ariel Zirulnick Journalism doubles down on user needs
Christina Shih Shared values move from nice-to-haves to essentials
Ryan Nave Citizen journalism, but make it equitable
Alexandra Borchardt The year of the climate journalism strategy
Kerri Hoffman Podcasting goes local
Gabe Schneider Well-funded journalism leaders stop making disparate pay
Delano Massey The industry shakes its imposter syndrome
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Rodney Gibbs Recalibrating how we work apart
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Sarah Marshall A web channel strategy won’t be enough
Don Day The news about the news is bad. I’m optimistic.
Peter Bale Rising costs force more digital innovation
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Amy Schmitz Weiss Journalism education faces a crossroads
Joanne McNeil Facebook and the media kiss and make up
A.J. Bauer Covering the right wrong
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Sarah Stonbely Growth in public funding for news and information at the state and local levels
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Eric Thurm Journalists think of themselves as workers
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Leezel Tanglao Community partnerships drive better reporting
John Davidow A year of intergenerational learning
Sam Gregory Synthetic media forces us to understand how media gets made
Gordon Crovitz The year advertisers stop funding misinformation
Nikki Usher This is the year of the RSS reader. (Really!)
Jim VandeHei There is no “peak newsletter”
Megan Lucero and Shirish Kulkarni The future of journalism is not you
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Michael Schudson Journalism gets more and more difficult
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Sue Cross Thinking and acting collectively to save the news
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Anthony Nadler Confronting media gerrymandering
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Jakob Moll Journalism startups will think beyond English
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Brian Stelter Finding new ways to reach news avoiders
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Danielle K. Brown and Kathleen Searles DEI efforts must consider mental health and online abuse
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Jim Friedlich Local journalism steps up to the challenge of civic coverage
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Karina Montoya More reporters on the antitrust beat
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Brian Moritz Rebuilding the news bundle
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Ryan Kellett Airline-like loyalty programs try to tie down news readers
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Lisa Heyamoto The independent news industry gets a roadmap to sustainability
Andrew Losowsky Journalism realizes the replacement for Twitter is not a new Twitter
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Basile Simon Towards supporting criminal accountability
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Jesse Holcomb Buffeted, whipped, bullied, pulled