And at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, rank-and-file journalists are fighting back after editors banned a black reporter from covering local protests.
NPR has learned that a white reporter at the paper who had tweeted a vulgar disparagement of a man accused of looting also received a warning on the same day as his black colleague.
Editors sideline a black reporter over a tweet
In this case, Alexis Johnson remembers coming into the newsroom one week ago full of story ideas about the protests.
Now one of Burris' reporters, Johnson, says she believes her editors discriminated against her because of her race.
Editors respond differently to white journalist
Like Johnson, digital sports reporter Joshua Axelrod is in his late 20s — 28 to be exact — and less than a year into his job.