The Back Bay Publishing Co. Board of Directors conducts an anonymous demographics survey each semester to better understand The Daily Free Press’ demographic makeup. This is the first published report of our findings.
Each question is made optional as we understand our members may not feel comfortable answering all of them. Additionally, almost all questions allow for respondents to click one or more box as well as an “other” option to more accurately describe their identity.
We administered two surveys this year, one to general members, which includes reporters, photographers, podcasters, graphic artists, columnists and anyone who is not on the editorial board. We also sent it to our leadership, which is comprised of section editors and the Board of Directors. This is in effort to see how our leadership compares to the demographics of our general members.
The responses from this survey are from the Spring 2023 semester. The survey was sent to all current and new members. Fifty-nine people responded to the general member survey, and 30 people responded to the leadership survey.
At the time of the making of this report, 41 people were active on the BBPC Board of Directors and the Editorial Board and 308 in general positions on the paper.
The Daily Free Press is committed to running an inclusive newsroom that appreciates the diversity of our community and campus. We understand that some of these categories are socially constructed, such as race and “ability” status, but we find it important and beneficial to understand the demographics of our staff to better understand the tangible impacts of our identity.
We will use these findings to take actionable steps toward increasing the diversity of our newsroom and equipping our editors to properly report on nuanced issues of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality and disability status.
For any questions or concerns about this report, please contact board@dailyfreepress.com.
