Social Responsibility at WHYY
It’s How We Live
WHYY is committed to giving a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyone’s stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news and conversation in our communities and within our workplace.
Social Responsibility at WHYY is anchored in these core beliefs:
EQUITY
- All persons deserve equal rights and equitable opportunities under a democratic society.
- There is no place in our society for racism or other forms of implied or explicit bias.
- In our civil society, all voices deserve to be heard through sharing, discussion, debate and the right to vote.
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION
- Every child deserves access to educational experiences that enable them to reach their full potential.
- Lifelong learners benefit from easily accessible news, information and storytelling media outlets.
- Exposure to world-class arts and culture explores universal truths, promotes diversity and strengthens society.
ACCOUNTABILITY
- WHYY must cultivate a workplace culture that promotes a sense of belonging, respect, and opportunity for all.
- WHYY takes seriously its responsibility to promote knowledge, to cultivate discussion and to shine a light on wrongs in our society.
- The trust of our viewers, listeners and readers is paramount. In embodying and championing these principles, we will honor our role as the region’s trusted news source and an unbiased convener of discussions.
WHYY actively applies our beliefs through these actions:
- Creating news, information, and other program services offering unbiased information and diverse points of view around critical issues in our society.
- Offering media and in-person channels to bring people together for civil exchanges of ideas and to open eyes and ears to wrongful attitudes and behaviors.
- Providing a safe space that connects each of us to important ideas and all of us to each other.
- Developing robust education programs that help citizens of all ages use the power of media to tell their own stories and the journeys of others.
- Providing a safe haven for kids through quality educational programming on air and in the community.
- Encouraging those with the economic means to support our services in ways that offer free and open access for all.
- Ensuring, through annual goals and measurement, that WHYY business practices promote equity in our community through tactics including but not limited to:
- Hiring, internships, compensation, and career advancement
- Vendor selection process
- Partnerships for programming, community engagement, and promotion
We hold ourselves accountable by working together
Ten employee task forces are now at work setting metrics to keep track of where we are and where we want to be in the following areas:
- The diversity of our Board of Directors, Community Advisory Board and staff.
- Equity in wages, benefits, promotions.
- Opportunities for employee professional development and DEI training.
- Spending more with BIPOC-owned vendors.
- Producing and acquiring programs that are created by – and appeal to – diverse audiences.
- Providing news, information and community engagement content that reaches and represents our region.
- Opening doors to opportunity through our Educational Services.
- Ensuring that requests for support for WHYY are welcoming to all.
- Monitoring public opinion about WHYY to measure our achievements and areas for change.