NEWSROOM DIVERSITY: Falling short could be fatal.

The Washington Post’s ombudsman Andrew Alexander, writing on “diversity” in the newsroom, appears to believe that news is color and gender based. Reader Meredith Ellsworth takes exception:

I was appalled at ombudsman Andrew Alexander's column "Newsroom diversity: Falling short could be fatal" [Sunday Opinion, March 26], in which Alexander defines "diversity" largely by color. He and the people he quoted appeared to assume that black people are interested only in "black" news, whatever that is.

Consultant Bobbi Bowman's contention that "You can't cover your community unless you look like your community" is insulting to serious reporters as well as to the "community" and could be construed as racism.

A little more balance and some shoe-leather journalism in the news section might rebuild your readership more than trying to conform coverage to your idea of what minorities want to hear. It's just possible that African Americans, Latinos, Italians and Afghans might all be interested in the same news.

Alexander did get one thing right: if the Washington Post is going to remain competitive, the “key will be whether The Post can deliver content that's relevant and credible.” It’s a pity he doesn’t understand what he wrote. If he had a truly “diverse” newsroom, he might.

Goodbye, Washington Post. Will the last newsroom employee please turn out the environmentally correct, ecologically friendly flourescent light?