Technically Media, the news organization I cofounded a decade ago, was honored back in November for its commitment to diversity.
It was unexpected — and may be one of the most important honors our organization has received. The praise came from Philly Startup Leaders, a respected nonprofit helmed by Kiera Smalls, during an event PSL organized with advocate Brigitte Daniel, who has known our work for a decade and spoke directly.
“Many of us would not even be in this room if not for Technically Media… “[They] brought us together. They have magnified our work. For a technically-orientated news site, this was never even heard of, never heard of to make an intentional effort to be inclusive.”
We were called for our diverse leadership team and and overall organization – gender parity, age range and racial diversity. It wasn’t empty praise, as we also do benefit by seeking the widest and most representative perspective.
Watch video of the presentation below.
This meant a lot. Also, as is my way, it made me want to fact check and challenge us. I went back and found ways we’ve long covered the topic of diversity and inclusion over the last decade of our work of community journalism. Here are some prominent examples.
- Why this immigrant reporter didn’t stay home for #DayWithoutImmigrants
- ImpactPHL just launched and here’s the first thing it needs to do: Get more diversity in the room. (Which resulted in action)
- Philly’s biggest funder has a big diversity problem
- IMPACT lineup begs the question: where are the women speakers? (Which caused action)
- On carrying on: We wrote about how we addressed internally police violence against Black people
- I’m a woman of color. But that’s not why I felt like an outsider in the Philly tech scene
We report on DEI issues frequently like here, here and here. We get the words right and discussed with our communities before hand like here, here and here. (Update: And here) We host events about it (dating back at least to 2012) and we highlight orgs doing interesting work.
These are just a few examples from the last few years to show it has long been an important focus of ours. DEI is a topic still uncomfortable for many heavily white male tech spaces, so we’ve felt we could contribute positively. I have long believed we’ve had impact. It meant a lot for someone else to confirm as much.
This acknowledgment was truly deserved beyond! Thank you @TechnicallyPHL for your impact, voice and commitment to always ensuring seats at the table! Xoxo B https://t.co/VkUzTBN4HM
— Brigitte Daniel (@BrigitteDaniel) November 14, 2019
