How many people have you invited to your party and how many of them are dancing with you?
Following the philosophy of this analogy, a year ago the project CNN No Plural works with the objective of bringing more representation and inclusion. Give voice to those who have a place to speak. Show faces, realities and plural discussions that are on our side but, not always, the eyes want to see.
Promoting ‘diversity and inclusion’ is one of my life convictions. It’s a schedule that I carry with me wherever I go or am. I made a commitment to make ‘diversity and inclusion’ a cornerstone of CNN Brasil’s culture. Here, plurality has to be in our DNA. When there is identification with the values and practices of a company, people feel comfortable and free to be proud of who they really are. And they start to feel like they belong there. Therefore, it is our responsibility, as a multiplatform communication company that we are, to be an agent that forms and transforms society.
Renata Afonso, CEO of CNN Brasil
The project CNN no Plural started in CNN Radio on October 6, 2021, debuting with a painting every Wednesday, under the command of Letícia Vidica, Sidney Rezende and Thais Heredia.
“O Plural it allows people to express themselves in an inclusive way. Treating with extreme pride, with a high level, very delicate things and sometimes full of prejudices and preconceptions, as the word itself says. And prejudice is often the result of ignorance”, highlights the presenter of CNN Radio Sidney Rezende.
In those 365 days, the CNN No Plural has already dealt with 62 different themes of diversity and inclusion in reports shown on the program’s CNN Brazil in the newspaper CNN Prime Time .
The project introduced us to a world that seemed very far away from us, but which is actually very close. It’s people who need to see. How many beautiful stories were shown, from people who teach us to fight for recognition, more space and more respect.
Mario Gomes, presenter and anchor of CNN Prime Time
Racial and gender issues, LGBTQIAP+ agendas, issues related to people with disabilities, ageism, fatphobia, refugees. These were some of the subjects already covered in the more than 50 live interviews on the board for the CNN Radio and in the more than 300 articles published on the site with the theme of diversity and inclusion.
And not only those who watch what is discussed feel impacted by the discussions, but also those who make it happen and are in front of the cameras.
It is very special to be able to talk about racism, about LGBTQIA+ issues, about women, about people with disabilities, on the air, within a space where it is exposed to everyone and not just outside that environment, on TV. And the best thing about reporting for CNN No Plural is that the conversations are sincere, from people who understand each other and who understand what is happening, what are the big issues to be discussed”
Matheus Meirelles, reporter who did the first CNN report on Plural, on October 6, 2021
“The most interesting part is precisely that, you realize that you are not only talking about a third-party reality. What is very common in the exercise of journalism, you are talking about reality itself”, says reporter and presenter Jairo Nascimento, who relates with emotion the experience he had of finding himself again when recording a report for the CNN No Plural in a quilombo.
“When I thought I knew enough, the mission of writing and researching the universe of deaf people came to me. I was never the same person again, I grew up as a reporter and as a human being”, completes reporter Bruna Macedo, highlighting the social importance and responsibility that the project brings.
In this first year of the project, many voices have already been heard. And whoever takes their place of speech in this space also celebrates the potency and impact of it all. The specialist CNN Renan Quinalha recalls with emotion his participation in a report on LGBTQIAP+ Pride Day.
The final product was also a very interesting report to precisely point out how the organization of the LGBT community has generated important visibility, has messed with the values of society, making it more inclusive and diverse.
Renan Quinalha, CNN Specialist
For the future, the expectation is that the CNN No Plural continue to be a megaphone that reverberates increasingly plural voices and that more people are invited to this great dance floor.
“May more years come and may other initiatives in the media in Brazil also contemplate racial and gender diversity, in short, the diversity that makes up this gigantic country that is Brazil”, celebrates the Specialist CNN Mauricio Pestana.
Our intention was – and continues to be – to bring more faces and voices to the journalism that we propose to do every day. We are working to break stereotypes and prejudices and unconscious biases. For the future, we want to increasingly impact all the people who follow us on all our channels. Showing the plurality of our society, making our audience have contact and knowledge about these topics, so necessary and urgent. CNN No Plural marks important internal changes, such as the creation of our Diversity & Inclusion Committee. This is the legacy that we are building at CNN Brasil and that will remain beyond my tenure as CEO.
Renata Afonso, CEO of CNN Brasil
Source: CNN Brasil
