WFYI’s Commitment To Inclusion, Diversity and Equity

Public media is for everyone. WFYI is committed to representing the rich diversity of our community and amplifying stories that represent the experiences of all.

We have created a framework to support our long-term commitment to inclusion at WFYI. Both our board of directors and our staff are working to mobilize our public media resources to serve our communities with an emphasis on equity and humanity in all our activities.

From its founding, public media has aimed to achieve a core community role: to be a public service that serves all through trusted journalism, inspiring stories and lifelong learning. Our goal is to provide a culture of belonging — on the air, online, in the halls of our facilities and in our interactions with the community — that includes diversity of age, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, language, physical ability,  race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background. Ultimately, our vision is an informed, inspired and inclusive Indiana.


From Intention to Action

With that vision in mind, WFYI has adopted five pillars of work that center diversity, equity and inclusion in our everyday actions. These pillars are:

  • WFYI is committed to utilizing our public media resources to serve our communities with an emphasis on equity and humanity in all our activities.
  • WFYI is committed to impactful journalism and inspiring stories that are fact-based, independent, timely and responsive to the needs of our communities.
  • WFYI is committed to listening to and engaging with our communities to clarify our focus and to enhance understanding among all, thereby deepening the impact of our programming.
  • WFYI is committed to universal access, sharing the stories of Central Indiana and delivering our mission on platforms where audiences are now and in the future.
  • WFYI is committed to the ethical, efficient and effective use of our resources to deliver on our mission of service and ensure our sustainability.

Through these pillars, we can accomplish much. We will insist that our organization, our staff and our work reflect the diversity of the communities we strive to serve. We will include new voices in our storytelling to achieve that goal. We will partner with organizations who share our values to amplify their impact and strengthen our communities. As we realize on our commitment to universal access, we will focus on platforms reaching underserved audiences.



WFYI License Plate graphic

 

Our Internal Work

In 2020, WFYI’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Working Group initiated new internal planning to support increased focus and action around creating a culture of belonging. With 16 members who meet biweekly in open meetings, this working group represents 18% of the organization’s staff, with a goal of all teams represented.

As a first step of assessing the culture of our organization and identifying needs for improvement, we engaged with an independent organization to conduct an anonymous cultural assessment survey of our employees, board, and organization. The results help us set a benchmark for where we are and how our internal efforts and impacting the culture of the organization. We intend to repeat the assessment at regular intervals to measure progress as well as any new areas identified for improvement.

WFYI has signed on to Public Media For All, a diverse coalition of public media stations and individual workers, led by people of color. This commitment comes with several action items that WFYI is actively focused on achieving and maintaining in the years to come. WFYI is working intentionally toward these efforts and tracking our progress for staff, board and our audiences.

The group’s charge, to promote and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion to be a priority of the organization, is being supported through these 2023 calendar year goals:

  • Provide regular opportunities for staff to become educated and empowered to be good stewards in this work.
  • Provide multiple spaces for staff to share concerns and experiences related to inclusion, diversity and equity. 
  • Reviewing and improving internal processes through a lense of equity.  
  • Continuing review and updates of hiring practices with management.

Questions about WFYI’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Staff Working Group can be directed to inclusion@wfyi.org.