March 27, 2019

The Media’s Diversity and Inclusion Responsibilities, with Mette McLoughlin

Episode 4:

Mette McLoughlin is a HR executive who most recently served as the senior vice president of human resources and chief human resources officer at American Public Media Group (APMG). She was with APMG for over 14 years. In the executive role, she led the human resources strategy, planning and implementation including all D, E & I efforts for all the APMG companies—American Public Media, Minnesota Public Radio, and Southern California Public Radio.

She was previously responsible for all programs and activities related to organizational culture and employee engagement, including performance communication programs, employee surveys, all compensation programs and learning and development opportunities for APMG staff.

Prior to APMG, she worked for the Hazelden Foundation as well as Lutheran Social Service of MN in HR management roles with primary responsibility for compensation & benefits, performance communication, and payroll services. Mette and her family live in South Minneapolis.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How Mette found her way into the HR industry “by accident”, and how she integrates cultural competency into her work
  • How doing diversity and inclusion work in public radio put Mette under more public scrutiny and pressure than usual
  • How diversity issues have changed the “right” way to tell an authentic story and maximize the media’s reach
  • Why Mette believes the media has a huge obligation and responsibility to be as neutral and objective as possible, despite the natural human bias
  • Why the definition of “media” includes diverse information channels like movies and commercials, as well as traditional news
  • How a change in reporting perspectives within the news media has helped push more extreme political views
  • What Sara learned from the experience of working in HR for American Public Media during the Garrison Keillor #MeToo accusations
  • Why Sara believes that the female-leaning HR field is in a difficult position during the era of #MeToo
  • How the Garrison Keillor episode helped make people feel empowered to come forward with their own experiences
  • What advice Mette would share with people new to diversity and inclusion work