CNN’s Ramon Escobar Unlocks Diversity as a Business Imperative

Holden amp160What is the biggest challenge you face in your roleEscobar amp160While Jeff Zucker President of CNN has made diversity and inclusion a core value of the company my biggest challenge is getting people to understand that diversity is everybodyamp8217s issue amp160This is not about an amp8220inamp8221 and an amp8220outamp8221 group amp160At CNN everyone needs to participate and make it part of their job amp160Diversity is a fact amp160Inclusion is a choice amp160Inclusion is the more important component as it is the action that unlocks the massive power of diversityHolden amp160What was your path to this positionEscobar amp160My path is not traditional amp160I have always been a content creator and curator as a journalist newscast producer executive producer local news director or head of the entertainment division at Telemundo amp160Recruiting coaching and mentoring diverse talent was always part of my role and my passion and over time I have become recognized for it amp160From my days at MSNBC when I brought in Lester Holt Natalie Morales and developed Ashleigh Banfield I have always sought to build an organization that has diversity and inclusion at the coreHolden amp160How do you recruit talentEscobar amp160We are a talent intelligence organization and this philosophy informs everything we do amp160Much like the New York Mets we scout talent the Mets donamp8217t wait for players to come to them they go down to the Dominican Republic to try to find the 16year old player who can throw the ball 100 miles an hour amp160They identify talent often before they even know that they are a talent amp160Similarly we have an intelligence operation that goes into the world to develop long term relationships so when an opportunity arises we have the fit amp160We also train our staff and go to events to host daylong workshops on storytelling performance enterprise reporting ethics and more for a diverse array of organizations amp160Spending time with people doing what they do has really paid off for usHolden amp160At the Multicultural TV Summit 2018 you said amp8220You need to look like America if you want to cover Americaamp8221 amp160How do you ensure this happensEscobar amp160Storytelling amp160Diversity makes storytelling better amp160The journalism is richer and more interesting amp160We donamp8217t embrace diversity for the optics we do so as it makes for better editorial The wrong way to approach diversity is to make every story reflect a rainbow people will react to tokenism and thatamp8217s where youamp8217ll see backlash amp160Just like we scout talent we seek onair experts and vet them prior to needing them for a story amp160This way we have an inclusive pool of qualified experts to tap into for breaking newsHolden amp160How do you think that our growing Gen Z and Millennial multicultural population will impact the midterm electionsEscobar amp160There is a moment going on right now and the question is whether this is a moment or a movement amp160Parkland and DACA have documented the potential power of the younger American amp160CNNamp8217s Town Hall in Broward County was prompted by Gen Z and Millennial voices amp160With voter registrations on the rise the midterms could be impacted in a way that we havenamp8217t seen in our generation amp160The question is whether these young adults will transition from protesting to votingHolden amp160What is the role of a news organization in the era of usergenerated content amp8220fake newsamp8221 and prolific social mediaEscobar amp160Reporting the truth is doing our job amp160In this era of unverified stories and amp8220fake newsamp8221 the value of CNN is measured by the level of trust that audiences place in us amp160The biggest compliment we can receive is when people tell us that they turn to CNN for the truthHolden amp160What does diversity mean to you personallyEscobar amp160It always takes me back to my mom who is my first and most important mentor amp160She was an immigrant who adopted America amp160Her lesson is that to be diverse is a gift amp160She explained that sometimes people will react to difference with anger because they donamp8217t know any better But she told me that I had the option to react in an angry way or take a moment to teach and share my gift by becoming a bridge amp160This prepared me for school my job and my lifeHolden amp160Do you have a closing thought that youamp8217d like to share with our readersEscobar amp160My message to everyone who reads MediaVillage is that diversity and inclusion is great business amp160If youamp8217re not engaged in making this a core value and part of what you do every day youamp8217ll be leaving business on the tableClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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CNN’s Ramon Escobar Unlocks Diversity as a Business Imperative

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Mary Ellen Holden

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CNN’s Ramon Escobar Unlocks Diversity as a Business Imperative

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