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Jane Ripps
Managing Editor, ODYSSEY Media Group
commitment to diversity
Growing up in such a diverse community and attending an equally diverse school, I have always made it a priority to interview and tell the stories of diverse stakeholders.
On social media, I worked to create informative packages on our platforms that spotlighted diverse communities, including featuring a Black History Month package and a Women's History Month package during their respective months.
In the past two years, my media group has also taken measures to promote diversity and inclusivity within our practices. This includes filling out a diversity audit and reflecting weekly on our interview data to recognize areas we need to improve in.
Black History Month on social media
When I was Social Media Coordinator in Feb. 2022, I started this series on our Instagram where I interviewed people at our school and in our community who exhibited Black Excellence. I was very new to the social media world at this time, but in the SCENE I spotlighted a beloved coach and teacher at my school.
As the month continued, I also interviewed a teacher about the importance of representation of minorities in the classroom. Her quote was extremely moving, and it got a lot of love on our Instagram and Facebook.
In early February I reached out to an Activist and District Commissioner in our community and asked them to talk about BHM with me. They are an amazing public speaker and so I recorded the meeting and created a short broadcast video.
Women's History Month on social media
Similar to BHM spotlights, I was inspired to do the same thing for Women's History Month in March, 2022. I tried to cover different areas women should be recognized in, and so in this SCENE I interviewed the girls varsity tennis coach and asked her about female representation in sports.
I also had the opportunity to talk to CCHS alum who is now a doctor. I asked her about being a woman in STEM, and the importance of female scientists, doctors, medical specialists, etc.
In this caption, I featured a quote from another CCHS alum who went into cosmetology. All of these SCENES gave me the opportunity to practice my interview skills and follow-up questions, especially when it became personal. Gansiry talked to me a lot about the women who came before her and what they taught her about beauty, and so I wanted to highlight how that impacts her work in the caption.
As the month came to a close, I reached out to Athens-Clarke and Oconee County District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez to talk about her journey in politics as a Latinx woman. Her interview was so empowering that I ended up turning it into a Q&A for our website as well as a feature on social media. Read the full story below:
feature writing
I co-bylined this investigative story about the discrepancies between male and female sports teams at my high school with a senior on my staff. From uncovering the differences in locker-rooms to funding, this piece caught a lot of attention of students and administrators at my school. Between interviewing dozens of people to writing it, I had to be committed to telling the incredibly important story of female athletes. Read more about "Gaps between Glads" in the feature section:
representation audit
Following every interview, each person on staff is required to fill out this form. All of the information is then compiled into a spreadsheet and our Diversity and Representation Editor processes it and shares how accurately we are representing our student body. This form holds me accountable and shows me the progress our publication needs to make.
instating a Diversity and Representation Editor
As we wrapped up the end of the 2023-2024 school year, I worked with the OMG EIC and adviser to assign positions for the following year. Given the increasing need for DEI in the workplace, we recognized that equal necessity within our newsroom. To find a solution, we created the editorial position of "Diversity and Representation Editor." Instated in Aug. 2024, our Diversity and Representation Editor compiles our interview data weekly and updates our editorial board on which minorities need to be better represented.
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