Black History Month Profile: Tyler Batiste
02/15/2016
Sports editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tyler Batiste, a 2009 graduate of the Manship School, plans and oversees the day-to-day operation and coverage across digital and print platforms of professional, college, high school and other Western Pennsylvania sports.
Batiste recently moved into his management-level position in the sports department, covering teams from Penn State to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Before becoming sports editor, he was a digital news editor for the Post-Gazette, managing online operations for breaking news, web publishing, social media and more.
While at LSU, Batiste worked for The Daily Reveille as a news and sports writer, sports editor, managing editor and editor-in-chief. After graduation, he became the copy desk chief at two sister newspapers, the Daily Comet of Thibodaux and The Courier of Houma. Batiste won two Louisiana Press Association awards while working for the South Louisiana newspapers.
In 2012, Batiste was hired as assistant sports editor at The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, where he helped supervise a staff of 6-7 reporters and oversaw the nighttime sports operations. Two years later, he moved to Pittsburg when he was hired on at the Post-Gazette.
Batiste says Black History Month is time set aside to honor and recognize African Americans who came before us and their contributions to society, but it’s also something that should be celebrated year-round.
“Without their hard work and sacrifice, many of us, including myself, may not be where we are today,” he says.
Celebrating black history and promoting diversity is significant because it enhances our understanding of and communication with one another, Batiste says.
“Mass communication is just about that – communication. The more diverse the backgrounds, voices and experiences of those doing the communicating, the better – hopefully – we’ll be for it,” Batiste says. “There have been improvements in that area, sure, but there’s still a ways to go.”