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Headline-making missteps put focus on newsroom diversity
In electronic media, 12 percent of broadcast journalists are black, similar to the national population figure of 13 percent. It's not only insulting to me, but to black journalists around the country.A failure to include journalists of many different backgrounds means missing stories. Hardy, who just left a job in Greenville, S.C., said that without black journalists there, stories about gentrified neighborhoods would have gone untold. The sweep of national protests following the death of George Floyd has news leaders talking to their staffs about how the story affects them. An internal outcry over the essay wasn't apparent until a number of black journalists tweeted that Cotton's argument in favor of using federal troops to quell violence made them feel unsafe, and others throughout the newsroom supported them.

All-women's fire crew heads to fight fires in Alaska
There are currently more than 200 active fires in Alaska, so the Women's Fire Crew headed off to The Last Frontier. The crew will be in the Upper Yukon of the state for the next 14 days, helping to fight the Hadweenzic River Fire. "I was going into the season a little nervous but ended up tackling challenges and am excited to overcome the unknown in Alaska," Hardy said on Facebook. Right now the need is in Alaska, so the Women's Fire Crew and others have headed up there to help. Jarden, Formiller, Descamps and Hardy are joined by fellow crew members Alex Perez, Patty Derner, Leah Katz and Hannah Zamorski.