Gannett Newspapers Seeking Minority Dial-a-Quotes

From the NY Times via Romenesko:

Gannett, the biggest newspaper company in the country, with 90 dailies, has one of the strongest records in the industry on hiring and promoting minority employees. And it has long encouraged — and monitored — the use of minority voices in the content of articles.

Still, it came as something of a surprise last week to some at The Detroit Free Press, which was acquired last year by Gannett, when they were told to contribute the names of minority sources to a collective list. Many newspapers keep such lists to help reporters who are assigned to an unfamiliar story, but they identify sources by their expertise. The Free Press list is meant to flag their racial, ethnic or religious backgrounds as well.

Some in the newsroom objected, saying sources should be quoted because they were the most credible on a topic or the most articulate, not because they fit an ethnic profile. They said they feared the day they might have to delete an insightful quote from a majority source in favor of a less useful quote from someone who would help the newspaper meet corporate goals.

Paul Anger, editor and vice president of the Free Press since its acquisition by Gannett, defended the policy, saying the paper was “absolutely committed to this.”

We get the idea. Still, it’s a little weird.

We can see the ProfNet request now:

We’re looking for experts who can provide our readers with advice regarding the asteroid that is currently zooming toward Earth.

But only if they’re black.

Technorati tags: PR, Public Relations, Gannett

Tags: minorities, newspapers