Berkeley is a city and campus of incredible diversity — diversity of ideas, experiences and backgrounds.

The Daily Californian always strives to tell stories that matter to this community. This semester, for the first time, we’ve created a race and diversity beat in our news department. Race and diversity beat reporters will be tasked with telling stories that reflect the realities faced by many marginalized communities in Berkeley.

Student and professional media outlets have struggled for years to create a media world more in tune with the communities they cover. According to a 2015 American Society of News Editors report, only 13 percent of all daily newspaper staffs are people of color. It’s a reality that negatively impacts the breadth and depth of stories traditional media outlets can tell.

In Berkeley, marginalized communities face problems every day that need to be reflected upon repeatedly. We’re excited to see how this new beat will highlight the stories, people and movements that matter to our readers in an unprecedented way.