Effective today, Virginia Media publications will capitalize the “B” in black when referring to people. We are making this change because “Black,” in this case, means an ethnic identity.
Virginia Media recognizes and respects that.
This decision applies across all websites and newspapers in the Virginia Media Group, including The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, The Virginia Gazette, Tidewater Review, Inside Business and Style Weekly. It is the product of many newsroom conversations over many years. Those discussions became more frequent, focused and immediate over the last weeks and months.
The change is also in step with the Associated Press, which made the same style change recently, and other U.S. news organizations.
Because some news services we use may have a different style, you might occasionally see a lowercase “b.” That is especially true over the coming weeks as we and the AP transition to the new style. But we will work to limit those conflicts as much as possible.
While this is one change that has come from our ongoing discussions about race and identity, it will likely not be the last. We still have much more work to do regarding diversity and inclusion, both in terms of the language we use and the coverage we provide. We welcome your input and feedback as we continue this examination.
