I’m covering some of the insidery media stories about big magazines and newspapers coming to terms with the racism in their own newsrooms and editorial rooms. And while I appreciate that the events of the past three weeks have been a major turning point for so many people and so many businesses and organizations, I do feel like some of this sh-t is too little, too late. Awareness of racism, awareness of Black Lives Matter, awareness of larger issues of diversity, representation and inclusion didn’t just start this month or this year. In many cases – the NYT’s newsroom, the Vogue editorial room – there’s been long-standing criticism of the blinding whiteness and lack of diverse voices. But we’re just getting an apology from Anna Wintour NOW. And “we” are not really getting it – she only sent an internal email to Vogue staff:

Vogue’s Anna Wintour has apologized in an internal email for “mistakes” made in her 32-year tenure in not doing enough to elevate black voices on her staff and publishing images and stories that have been racially and culturally “hurtful or intolerant.” The fashion doyenne wrote in the June 4 email: “I take full responsibility for those mistakes.”

The magazine’s editor in chief, who is also Conde Nast’s artistic director and global content adviser, had no further comment Wednesday on the email obtained by The Associated Press. It was first revealed Tuesday in the New York Post. Wintour’s mea culpa surfaced soon after Adam Rapoport, the editor in chief of another Conde Nast title, Bon Appetit, resigned after a photo surfaced of him in brownface, amplifying outrage over how the food magazine treats employees of color. On Monday, the top editor and a co-founder of the lifestyle site Refinery29, Christene Barberich, resigned after former employees complained on social media of a toxic culture and unfair treatment of staff members of color over the years.

Meanwhile, Samira Nasr on Wednesday was named the first editor in chief of color in the 153-year history of U.S. Harper’s Bazaar.

In her email, Wintour referenced the country’s “historic and heartbreaking moment” after the death of George Floyd and other black people at the hands of police, events that sparked rage and grief in protests playing out for more than two weeks around the world.

“I want to start by acknowledging your feelings and expressing my empathy towards what so many of you are going through: sadness, hurt, and anger too. I want to say this especially to the Black members of our team — I can only imagine what these days have been like. But I also know that the hurt, and violence, and injustice we’re seeing and talking about have been around for a long time. Recognizing it and doing something about it is overdue,” Wintour told her staff. She called for the tumult to be a “time of listening, reflection, and humility for those of us in positions of privilege and authority. It should also be a time of action and commitments.”

Wintour didn’t specify what content she was referring to as offensive, or what steps will be taken to rectify hiring and bring on a new creative approach. She pledged, “On a corporate level, work is being done to support organizations in a real way. These actions will be announced as soon as possible.”

[From The AP]

Too little too late or better late than never? Both are fine with me. Anna Wintour has been aware of diversity issues/racism issues at Vogue and Conde Nast for years. For years, she barely allowed women of color on the cover of Vogue, although she’s gotten *slightly* better about that recently (but the women of color featured on Vogue covers are almost always very light-skinned). Wintour also used Andre Leon Talley as an inclusion prop for years too – if she “had” Talley, then she could have a 99% white staff. Basically, Wintour is still massively responsible for the lack of diversity on and behind Vogue’s covers and she’s been aware of her own racial blind spots this whole time. This apology needs to be better, and she needs to do better.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.