Black Broadcast Journalists: Implications of Mentorship and Race in the Newsroom

Abstract

In this study, 23 African American broadcast journalists, who graduated from college between 1994 and 2014, were interviewed about their experiences working in network television news, specifically the role their mentor played to help their professional success. Mentors largely provided both vocational and psychosocial support, but were overwhelmingly not seen as role models. The majority of mentees also believed race was a factor in their careers. The findings led to recommendations on how mentors can guide their mentees toward career progression, such as verbal encouragement, guiding mentees to position themselves so “Others” see the value they bring to the newsroom, and networking opportunities.