Reclaiming the Narrative: The Urgency of Diverse Voices in Media and Leadership

“The news has always had color—because power has always shaped the story. A just world doesn’t need more of the same voices telling new stories. It needs new narrators telling the whole truth.” - Mary Coughlin

I’ve been noticing something lately—something that has always been there but now stands out in stark relief. The voices shaping our collective consciousness, the ones reporting the news, analyzing world events, and setting the tone for public discourse, are overwhelmingly white. Mostly men, and then white women.

And the more I notice it, the more unsettling it becomes.

Because media isn’t just a neutral backdrop—it’s a force that constructs reality. It tells us who matters, what stories deserve attention, and whose experiences are valid. And when the same voices tell the same stories, power stays in the hands of the few while entire truths go untold.

But what if we reimagined the narrative?

The Myth of “Neutral” News

Some argue that journalists are simply “reporting the news,” that the news itself “doesn’t have color.” But is that really true?

If news were truly neutral, we wouldn’t see:

• Protests framed as violent unrest instead of resistance to oppression.

• Immigration stories framed as border security crises instead of humanitarian crises.

• Economic disparities explained as personal failures instead of systemic inequities.

The reality is: News has always had color—it has always been shaped by those in power.

Who tells the story shapes the story.

Who tells the story controls the story.

Who tells the story decides what version of truth gets told.

Journalists are taught to embrace a “view from nowhere”—the idea that presenting “both sides” makes them neutral. But false balance is not neutrality. When one side is fighting for survival and the other side is upholding oppression, treating them as equal forces isn’t fairness—it’s complicity.

These patterns aren’t always intentional. Most people working in media today aren’t consciously setting out to distort reality. They’re simply operating within systems that have acculturated all of us to accept white, Western, male-dominated perspectives as the default. And unless we question that framework, we allow it to continue.

The Trauma of Erasure

From a trauma-informed perspective, representation in media isn’t just about visibility—it’s about belonging, justice, and truth.

When certain perspectives are privileged over others, we send a message:

• Your experience is secondary.

• Your truth is an afterthought.

• Your voice is not necessary.

And that is a form of harm.

In my work with trauma-informed developmental care, I often talk about how early life adversity leaves an imprint—how a lack of attunement, recognition, and care can have lasting consequences on a child’s nervous system and sense of self. The same applies to our collective culture. When voices of color, Indigenous wisdom, and non-Western perspectives are sidelined, we are not just missing diverse viewpoints—we are depriving ourselves of the full truth.

And dominant narratives don’t just exclude—they distort.

When media is controlled by a white, Western, and often male perspective, we see:

• Protest movements framed as threats rather than calls for justice.

• “Both sides” rhetoric that equates oppression with the resistance to it.

• News that prioritizes comfort over truth, neutrality over justice.

In trauma work, we know that healing begins with acknowledgment—naming harm, recognizing its impact, and creating space for truth to emerge. If we are serious about justice, healing, and care, we must ask: Who controls the stories shaping our world?

A Call for Collective Reimagining

In the framework of B.U.F.F.E.R., we talk about Belonging, Feeling Understood, Forgiveness, Frameworks, Equanimity, and Respect as pillars of trauma-informed leadership. What if we applied these principles to media?

• Belonging: Who gets to shape the conversation? Who is missing?

• Feeling Understood: Are we truly listening to underrepresented voices, or just filtering them through dominant perspectives?

• Forgiveness: How do we move forward—not with shame, but with accountability?

• Frameworks: What systems need to change so power isn’t hoarded?

• Equanimity: How do we hold multiple truths without defaulting to false neutrality?

• Respect: What does it mean to tell stories with dignity, justice, and care at the center?

Reimagining the narrative doesn’t mean discarding everything we know. It means asking deeper questions about the structures that shape public discourse, and making intentional choices about what voices we uplift.

Reimagining the Narrative

This isn’t just about frustration—it’s about possibility.

The voices we uplift today will shape the world we live in tomorrow. If we are serious about trauma-informed leadership, about care as an act of justice, then we must challenge the stories we accept as truth—and the storytellers we allow to frame them.

It’s not enough to notice the imbalance. We must actively reimagine a media landscape that is trauma-informed, justice-driven, and expansive enough to hold the fullness of human experience.

And that starts with us.

With the stories we consume.

With the platforms we support.

With the courage to demand better.

Because caring is essential.

And so is truth.

A Personal Reflection

I say all of this as a white woman who has never felt powerful.

I have seen and felt the ways power is hoarded, the ways voices—mine included—are shaped by systems designed to favor the few. I have experienced the dissonance of existing within a system that privileges my whiteness while still making me feel powerless in other ways.

But acknowledging this isn’t about centering myself—it’s about recognizing that if I, with all the privilege that comes with whiteness, have felt powerless, how much more must these structures silence those who are further marginalized?

This is why we must reimagine the narrative. Because power should not be hoarded—it should be shared.

With clarity, conviction, and the unwavering belief that truth matters,

Mary

P.S.: Discomfort isn’t the enemy. It’s an invitation. Sit with it. Then do something with it.

#ReimagineTheNarrative