Lightfoot Defends Decision to Block Interview Requests with White Reporters: ‘Started Long-Overdue Conversation About Diversity in Newsrooms’

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) on Friday defended her decision to only grant interviews with reporters of color on the occasion of her two-year anniversary in office.

CNN “New Day” host John Berman asked Lightfoot about the lawsuit she faces for racial discrimination because she excluded white journalists from interviews.

Lightfoot called the lawsuit “frivolous.” The mayor argued she “started a long-overdue conversation about diversity in newsrooms.”

“Well, the lawsuit is completely frivolous,” Lightfoot stated. “I’d use a more colorful term if we weren’t on TV.”

“But here’s the thing,” she continued. “I’m the mayor of the third-largest city in the country. I’m an African-American woman, to state the obvious. Every day when I look out across my podium, I don’t see people who look like me. But more to the point, I don’t see people who reflect the richness and diversity of this city. So, yes, I started a long-overdue conversation about diversity in newsrooms, in coverage. You all are the mirrors on society. You reflect, with a critical and important lens, the news of the day. You hold public officials like me accountable. You must be diverse. It can’t be that in a city like Chicago, with all the talent that we have, that we can’t find diverse journalists of color. Of course, we can. What they need is opportunity. And I hope my conversation has pricked the consciousness of the people who do the hiring decisions in media rooms all across the city and hopefully across the country. We’ve got to do better.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent