Inducting IAB Education Foundation’s iDiverse and Randall Rothenberg into Diversity Hall of Honors During CES

In the late 1970s, Randall Rothenberg’s first post-college editorial role was writing was for The Nation.  Now president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, he recalls that “the Nation introduced an internship program and all the interns were white and had upper middle class/upper class backgrounds.”  Ten years later, while covering media and advertising at The New York Times, Randall observed the same reality across the industry.  “It always rankled me and I saw it everywhere," he says.  "The young people who were getting internships -- and remember, internships in media and advertising became your first job credential -- were typically from well-do-do families.  Who else could afford to work for free?  For decades, this reality kept getting worse.  If the only people who can afford to get credentials are wealthy white kids, then the media will reflect that same perspective and not reflect the way the country is advancing and expanding.”