Scripps’ approach to diversity

Scripps is committed to an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities where we live, work and play. We define workplace diversity as inclusive of every employee, including the extent to which they are similar or different. Today, we focus on four pillars (Racial/ethnic; Gender equity; Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual, or LGBTQIA; and Veteran status). We believe this approach improves our news coverage and content, our business practices and performance, and our employee experience.

Leading Scripps’ diversity and inclusion strategies across the enterprise is Chief Diversity Officer Danyelle S.T. Wright. Wright partners with business and human resources leaders across the company to develop and implement an action plan that continues to evolve Scripps’ equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) commitment.

The components of these plans include:

• Objective: To foster diverse, inclusive, respectful workplaces focused on recruiting and developing talent that drives a high‐performance, mission‐oriented culture to support business objectives.
• Mission: Cultivate a culture of inclusion where everyone is valued, informed, and empowered to fully realize their Scripps
• Vision Statement: We transform our business and the communities where we live, work and play by acknowledging, incorporating and uplifting our increasingly diverse world.

 

The EDI team developed plans to direct our company based on our guiding principles:

• Culture – To foster a culture that embraces each person’s diversity and empowers employees to reach their full potential,
• People – To attract and retain diverse talent through strategic recruiting practices and professional development to reflect the communities we serve, and
• Business – To create additional value for Scripps and drive stronger business results by leveraging new ideas and innovation that stem from a culture of inclusion.

We kicked off several new opportunities in 2022, including incorporating EDI discussions into the onboarding process, ensuring each new employee has a firm grasp of our EDI strategy, and regularly offering unconscious bias trainings to all employees. We also have been focused on evolving our television programming through the lens of our EDI goals. In 2022, we created a dedicated position to lead efforts in inclusive journalism, helping our news markets better connect with their audiences. This person partners with news leaders in implementing the company’s audience and demographic research findings, developing EDI best practices and placing a greater emphasis on representing all sectors of our audiences.

In 2022, we held our second annual EDI Symposium, which is our annual, weeklong event featuring internal and external speakers talking to our employees about topics related to EDI. More than 3,800 employees joined 14 inspiring sessions. Of those, 42% were in manager and executive roles.

At its core, our EDI work is about engaging every employee and helping them to participate at work at their fullest level, to achieve the satisfaction of belonging and performing well.