IRE board launches new initative to support investigative editors and managers of color
April 30, 2026
By Marina Villeneuve & Caresse Jackman
IRE board members, and DEI Committee chair and vice chair, respectively
Back in 2023, the IRE Diversity and Inclusion Committee sent out a needs assessment to its members. And the responses clearly showed a frustration: Members of color reported the lack of journalists of color in managerial roles in their newsrooms and a need to have more leaders with underrepresented backgrounds who would better support telling the stories of their communities. They wanted more support for managers and editors of color, who are sometimes the only leaders of color in their newsroom and haven’t felt the targeted support they crave from IRE.
The IRE Investigative Managers of Color Task Force hopes to address the need by first building a community of editors and managers – journalists editing stories, in leadership, or in managerial or supervisory roles in their newsrooms – online and through regular events. It seeks to provide trainings for professional development for newsroom leaders not only to gain confidence in their abilities, but to work through some of the unique challenges they’re presented with in their organizations. That includes often having to mediate difficult situations, play diplomat between white leaders and the people of color they oversee, often alone, without others who look like them. The ultimate goal is to eventually expand the program to include journalists of color interested in development for editor roles, to find mentors, and to create a pipeline into leadership.
This program isn’t a solution, but it’s a start.
These trainings are put on by editors and managers of color, for editors and managers of color. But we need your help to make sure we’re offering the trainings that are most useful to you, and events that will offer the kind of targeted support you need. We hope you’ll join us for our first round of webinars!
- Friday, May 1 at 12:30-1:30pm ET
- Intro webinar: Welcome to IRE's Investigative Editors and Managers of Color community. Intros, what would you like to see from us (community, networking, specific training etc. (Zoom link)
- Friday, May 8th at 2pm ET
- Lisa Allen, Vice President and General Manager for Gray Media’s Washington D.C. Operations, will discuss her career path and provide advice for people wanting to move from news producing or reporting into management roles. (Zoom link)
- Friday, May 29 at 12:30-1:30 pm
- Ron Nixon will speak about his journey from reporting to management and share his insights on being a senior editor and manager of color. Ron Nixon most recently was the Director of the Associated Press Local Investigative Journalism Program and previously was Global Investigations Editor and VP of News and Head of Investigations at the AP as well as a Washington Correspondent for the New York Times. (Zoom link)
As we build this community, we have also launched a new Slack channel on the Journalists of Color Slack.
To apply to join the JOC Slack, click this link.Once you’re approved, simply search in the channels sidebar for #investigative-managers-and-editors. Then, feel free to introduce yourself as we get to know each other!
Looking forward to getting to know all of you soon!