Global Culture

When you think of the appearance of a newspaper editor, what type of person comes to mind? This is the question Lauren Gustus, former executive editor at the Coloradoan, once asked a room full of potential future journalists during a 2016 panel on diversity in media. The answer most gave? They pictured an older, white male — and they’d be correct. As of November 2018, 77 percent of newsroom employees were white.

The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, which aired in September of 2019, awarded many fresh faces in Hollywood for their powerful acting, directing, writing and other achievements in television — but the question of diversity and cultural representation remained.

My earliest childhood memory is a jumbled concoction of airport images. Rough landings on rocky tarmac and the irritatingly redundant voices over the loudspeaker announcing gate changes. Delayed departure times. Layovers, turbulence and sleeping on leather benches — the arm-rest sharply stabbing me in the ribs. Duty-free perfume samples. Metal detectors. Overweight luggage. Airsick bags. Passport control — my eyes heavy and legs shaky, as I slowly waddle forward in the crowd, waiting for my turn. A deep grumbling in my stomach lets me know I’m either hungry or nauseated.

There’s an old adage that says, “Love comes when you least expect it.” Cara and Brandon Kelley, and now their son Sidney, are living proof that there’s truth to that proverb. Growing up a world apart, they had no clue that a chance encounter on social media would end in the creation of a happy family. For anyone who hears the story, it seems like destiny.

When I decided to travel to Kenya, I centered my documentary for Global Storytelling for Global Development around understanding the beauty of the Maasai culture. I couldn’t have been more excited about spending time with the people and learning about their traditions, rituals and daily life.

The Hollywood film industry has been heavily criticized in the past because of the lack of representation and diversity among casts of films and movies. In recent years, the rise of social media and the ability to state our thoughts on a public platform have upped the conversation around this issue — and the 71st Emmy Awards, which aired September 22, 2019, was no exception.

Emmy nominees Laverne Cox and Patricia Arquette speak out about the Title VII U.S. Supreme Court case happening on October 8th, 2019.

Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi take home the Outstanding Directing Emmy for their documentary, “Free Solo.”