The Roanoke Times... Racial diversity of its news staff and community

Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists

at America's daily newspapers

with the communities that they serve

Newsroom diversity report for

The Roanoke Times

Roanoke, Virginia

Owner: Landmark Communications (Va.)

From a report for the Knight Foundation

by Bill Dedman and Stephen K. Doig, June 2005

Click here to read the national report or to select another newspaper

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

2005

6.0

2004

4.2

2003

8.4

2002

8.9

2001

5.8

2000

7.2

1999

7.0

1998

6.2

1997

5.2

1996

5.4

1995

10.7

1994

8.3

1993

7.4

1992

8.0

1991

9.6

1990

9.7

The latest year at peak is

1995

See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.

Newsroom Diversity Index

for The Roanoke Times

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

6.0

11.6

2004

4.2

11.7

How the index is calculated

The Newsroom Diversity Index is the non-white percentage of the newsroom staff

divided by the non-white percentage of residents in the circulation area.

(Parity = 100.)

Company index

This newspaper's owner, Landmark Communications (Va.),

has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 38.

See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.

Peer group comparison

for The Roanoke Times

This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 52.

This paper

Peer group

Compare that with 50, which is the median Diversity Index for all newspapers

reporting in this circulation category of 50,001 to 100,000 daily sales.

In that group, this newspaper's Diversity Index ranks 42 out of 90

newspapers reporting in the category of 50,001 to 100,000 daily sales.

An example of a newspaper of similar circulation, in an area of similar level of non-white residents, but one that has a relatively high Diversity Index, is Lincoln Journal Star, Nebraska, with a 9.9 percent non-white staff in a community that is 8.3 percent non-white. Its index is 119.

FYI, in circulation, this newspaper's average weekday circulation of

approximately 98,687 ranks 105 out of 1,410 daily newspapers in the US.

See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.

Details on race/ethnicity

in the circulation area

and the home county

of The Roanoke Times

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

1.2

7,994

Black

8.0

51,704

Asian and Pacific Islander

1.2

7,480

Native-American

0.2

1,075

Other non-white

0.1

640

Multi-racial

1.0

6,102

Non-white

11.7

74,995

White

88.3

568,026

Total

643,021

Home county: Roanoke

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

1.0

888

Black

3.3

2,855

Asian and Pacific Islander

1.6

1,377

Native-American

0.1

Other non-white

0.1

Multi-racial

0.8

680

Non-white

7.0

5,969

White

93.0

79,809

Total

85,778

The home county of this newspaper is Roanoke.

About this report

This third annual report for the Knight Foundation adds context to an annual survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. ASNE has set a goal that

every newspaper, to help it know its community and gather the news, should employ at least one non-white journalist, and that newspapers should strive to

employ non-whites in proportion to their share of the community. ASNE's report, at www.asne.org, shows each newspaper's non-white employment, but does

not disclose how closely that employment mirrors the newspaper's circulation area.

That gap is filled by the report you are reading now. This report was not done by ASNE, but was done for the Knight Foundation by Bill Dedman and

Stephen K. Doig. It shows how close each newspaper is to ASNE's goal, by comparing the newsroom staffing with the circulation area population.

The full report is at www.powerreporting.com/knight.

Notes and definitions

1. The Newsroom Diversity Index is the non-white percentage of the newsroom staff divided by the non-white percentage of the circulation area's residents. Parity = 100.

2. Source for staffing: Survey by American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 2005. Newspapers report non-white staff as of the end of the previous year.

3. Following ASNE's definition, newsroom staff includes only supervisors, reporters, editors, copy/layout editors and photographers.

4. Also following ASNE's definition, "whites," "blacks," etc., exclude Hispanics, who are counted in a separate category.

5. Source for boundaries of this newspaper's circulation area: ZIP Code circulation data, Audit Bureau of Circulations, latest available.

6. A paper may define its circulation area differently for marketing efforts, or news coverage, or to set advertising rates.

7. If ZIP Codes or counties are used, this report applies a threshold: 10 percent household penetration is required to include an area in the circulation area.

8. Source for the demographics of residents of that circulation area: US Census 2000.

9. Source for total circulation: Editor & Publisher magazine, Monday-Friday average at year-end 2004.

10. Staff of non-English publications, such as the Miami Herald's El Nuevo Herald, are excluded from the ASNE staffing survey for the first time this year.

Demographics of ZIP Codes

where sales were reported by

The Roanoke Times

Note that some ZIP Codes listed here may not have been included in determining the newspaper's circulation area. In calculating the Diversity Index, a

ZIP Code was included only if the household penetration was at least 10 percent. Any lower-penetration ZIP Codes are also listed here for your information.

Also, if the newspaper reported more than 300 ZIP Codes, only the top 300 in weekday sales are listed here.

ZIP / City / State / Approx. distance in miles from the newspaper's home office

Weekday sales

Households

Penetration % (daily sales per 100 households)

Median household income

Non-white
% of
population

Hispanic
% of
population

Black
% of
population

Native
% of
population

Asian
% of
population

24153 / Salem / VA / 7.3 mi.

8,223

14,104

58.3

$40,477

7.1

0.7

4.6

0.1

0.8

24018 / Roanoke / VA / 5.4 mi.

7,881

12,126

65.0

$55,734

6.2

1.2

2.0

0.1

2.2

24012 / Roanoke / VA / 2 mi.

5,871

12,197

48.1

$31,691

19.0

1.7

13.7

0.2

1.6

24060 / Blacksburg / VA / 24.6 mi.

5,382

16,905

31.8

$26,390

14.8

2.1

3.9

0.1

6.6

24019 / Roanoke / VA / 4.3 mi.

5,308

9,518

55.8

$49,801

10.6

1.0

7.0

0.2

1.4

24014 / South Roanoke / VA / 2.5 mi.

5,273

10,277

51.3

$42,416

8.4

1.2

4.0

0.1

2.0

24073 / Prices Fork / VA / 25.2 mi.

4,639

10,248

45.3

$39,777

6.1

0.9

3.8

0.2

0.3

24017 / Roanoke / VA / 2.9 mi.

3,961

9,449

41.9

$26,216

70.4

1.2

66.1

0.1

0.9

24179 / Vinton / VA / 3.1 mi.

3,798

7,212

52.7

$39,351

4.1

0.8

2.0

0.1

0.5

24015 / Roanoke / VA / 2.2 mi.

3,454

7,519

45.9

$37,314

7.7

1.1

4.2

0.1

1.0

24141 / Radford / VA / 33.6 mi.

2,905

8,358

34.8

$29,281

10.2

0.9

6.8

0.2

1.0

24151 / Rocky Mount / VA / 17.7 mi.

2,597

7,146

36.3

$31,761

20.2

1.6

17.0

0.2

0.6

24450 / West Lexington / VA / 41.4 mi.

1,968

5,740

34.3

$35,595

8.8

1.0

5.6

0.2

1.2

24523 / Bedford / VA / 21.8 mi.

1,846

7,207

25.6

$35,117

17.2

0.7

15.1

0.2

0.4

24121 / Scruggs / VA / 18.1 mi.

1,663

3,651

45.5

$42,042

6.8

1.0

4.9

0.2

0.1

24301 / Snowville / VA / 44.9 mi.

1,458

6,516

22.4

$28,160

9.5

1.6

6.4

0.1

0.4

24084 / Dublin / VA / 39.7 mi.

1,390

4,289

32.4

$38,621

7.9

0.5

6.0

0.1

0.3

24382 / Wytheville / VA / 62.6 mi.

1,368

5,917

23.1

$30,947

6.7

0.6

4.5

0.1

0.6

24175 / Troutville / VA / 8.7 mi.

1,331

3,121

42.6

$50,296

4.9

0.4

3.3

0.1

0.4

24426 / Jordan Mines / VA / 33 mi.

1,228

6,463

19.0

$35,404

9.0

0.4

6.8

0.3

0.5

24333 / Meadowcreek / VA / 64.1 mi.

1,212

7,533

16.1

$29,503

10.4

5.7

3.6

0.2

0.3

24013 / Roanoke / VA / 0.8 mi.

1,175

3,190

36.8

$23,402

9.8

1.3

5.1

0.3

0.9

24134 / Pearisburg / VA / 40.7 mi.

1,074

2,388

45.0

$37,551

4.0

0.6

2.3

0.0

0.3

24016 / Roanoke / VA / 0.6 mi.

1,052

4,003

26.3

$18,869

51.4

2.4

45.1

0.3

0.9

24091 / Floyd / VA / 30.2 mi.

890

2,708

32.9

$29,551

5.6

1.8

2.8

0.1

24083 / Daleville / VA / 9.5 mi.

862

776

111.1

$62,045

4.6

0.9

2.7

0.3

0.4

24064 / Blue Ridge / VA / 9 mi.

790

1,794

44.0

$50,776

4.6

0.4

2.4

0.2

0.9

24112 / Martinsville / VA / 37.9 mi.

789

14,406

5.5

$30,434

41.6

2.3

37.8

0.1

0.5

24184 / Wirtz / VA / 18.4 mi.

782

1,309

59.7

$37,191

7.8

1.1

5.1

0.3

24416 / Buena Vista / VA / 42.2 mi.

744

3,447

21.6

$33,289

6.2

1.0

3.9

0.3

0.4

24101 / Hardy / VA / 12.2 mi.

730

1,996

36.6

$47,973

4.7

0.9

3.1

0.0

0.2

24090 / Fincastle / VA / 14.8 mi.

724

1,529

47.4

$42,015

5.5

0.7

3.2

0.3

0.5

24065 / Boones Mill / VA / 6.7 mi.

720

2,288

31.5

$40,605

5.4

1.0

3.6

0.1

0.3

24354 / Thomas Bridge / VA / 85.8 mi.

720

6,446

11.2

$30,169

4.9

0.9

2.8

0.2

0.3

24127 / New Castle / VA / 17.2 mi.

695

1,708

40.7

$37,021

1.3

0.3

0.2

0.1

24011 / Roanoke / VA / 0.2 mi.

678

3766.7

48.0

2.7

33.3

0.0

5.3

24066 / Lithia / VA / 20.8 mi.

666

1,857

35.9

$38,247

5.5

0.5

3.9

0.2

24343 / Richardson / VA / 52.5 mi.

657

3,710

17.7

$32,206

2.4

1.7

0.1

24078 / Collinsville / VA / 35.4 mi.

597

3,391

17.6

$30,885

16.9

3.9

11.3

0.1

0.7

24422 / Clifton Forge / VA / 35.7 mi.

590

2,964

19.9

$30,226

12.3

0.7

9.9

0.1

0.0

24095 / Goodview / VA / 9.9 mi.

499

1,647

30.3

$41,985

5.4

0.7

3.5

0.2

24149 / Riner / VA / 30.3 mi.

418

1,083

38.6

$34,429

2.1

1.1

0.4

0.1

0.3

24124 / Narrows / VA / 44.6 mi.

416

1,807

23.0

$32,361

1.8

0.7

0.3

0.1

24087 / Lafayette / VA / 12.9 mi.

365

1,465

24.9

$34,420

5.3

1.1

2.5

0.4

0.2

24088 / Ferrum / VA / 22.4 mi.

349

1,514

23.1

$35,497

9.0

1.4

6.6

0.2

24104 / Huddleston / VA / 24.3 mi.

341

1,457

23.4

$39,917

6.7

0.7

5.0

0.4

0.3

24162 / Shawsville / VA / 21.3 mi.

332

905

36.7

$37,146

4.5

0.7

2.9

0.2

24055 / Sanville / VA / 33.5 mi.

321

5,871

5.5

$29,559

18.1

5.7

11.4

0.2

0.1

24401 / Staunton Park / VA / 71.8 mi.

284

13,735

2.1

$36,486

13.8

1.1

10.7

0.2

0.5

24324 / Draper / VA / 49.5 mi.

282

973

29.0

$37,872

1.7

0.3

0.7

0.1

0.3

24174 / Thaxton / VA / 13.5 mi.

266

994

26.8

$35,084

3.5

0.9

1.4

0.2

0.3

24136 / Pembroke / VA / 32.9 mi.

265

1,280

20.7

$35,300

4.7

0.7

3.4

0.1

24137 / Penhook / VA / 23.5 mi.

258

1,049

24.6

$38,722

14.7

0.6

13.0

0.0

0.2

24171 / Stuart / VA / 44.2 mi.

252

3,835

6.6

$30,281

10.0

2.0

7.0

0.3

0.2

24128 / Newport / VA / 27.8 mi.

250

810

30.9

$42,011

2.1

0.4

0.2

0.4

0.2

24122 / Montvale / VA / 15.7 mi.

229

799

28.7

$34,688

3.8

0.3

2.0

0.2

0.3

24077 / Cloverdale / VA / 6.3 mi.

226

240

94.2

$53,750

5.7

0.3

2.7

0.3

1.3

24092 / Glade Hill / VA / 19.4 mi.

226

1,046

21.6

$37,454

9.5

1.9

6.6

0.0

0.1

24067 / Callaway / VA / 16.4 mi.

214

827

25.9

$37,039

4.1

0.5

2.5

0.1

0.4

24504 / Lynchburg / VA / 42.5 mi.

213

3,543

6.0

$24,714

61.8

0.9

59.2

0.3

24085 / Eagle Rock / VA / 25.6 mi.

208

903

23.0

$35,179

4.8

0.7

3.2

0.6

0.0

24360 / Max Meadows / VA / 62 mi.

208

2,055

10.1

$37,262

2.5

0.5

1.3

0.2

0.1

24079 / Kings Store / VA / 16.6 mi.

204

689

29.6

$38,049

3.5

0.1

2.3

0.1

24368 / Rural Retreat / VA / 72.7 mi.

197

1,676

11.8

$30,661

2.3

0.6

0.8

0.2

0.3

24551 / Forest / VA / 34.1 mi.

177

6,208

2.9

$56,329

8.6

1.0

5.4

0.2

1.2

24070 / Catawba / VA / 13.4 mi.

176

457

38.5

$46,667

4.7

0.3

2.6

0.3

0.1

24380 / Willis / VA / 38.6 mi.

175

1,024

17.1

$31,192

3.2

1.5

0.8

0.0

24555 / Glasgow / VA / 34.2 mi.

175

795

22.0

$31,932

16.5

0.4

13.8

0.2

0.3

24176 / Union Hall / VA / 21.9 mi.

174

430

40.5

$56,111

5.3

0.9

4.1

0.3

0.0

24445 / Hot Springs / VA / 45.3 mi.

174

1,066

16.3

$39,444

6.2

0.5

4.8

0.2

0.4

24059 / Bent Mountain / VA / 12.2 mi.

171

324

52.8

$48,333

6.2

1.2

3.0

0.2

0.5

24330 / Stevens Creek / VA / 66 mi.

170

1,644

10.3

$23,779

3.3

1.7

0.7

0.1

24315 / Bland / VA / 55.7 mi.

162

1,343

12.1

$29,727

7.3

0.5

5.7

0.0

0.2

24348 / Independence / VA / 74.9 mi.

159

1,819

8.7

$27,784

5.6

2.0

2.8

0.1

24210 / Osceola / VA / 111.1 mi.

149

6,410

2.3

$30,836

3.9

0.8

1.9

0.1

0.4

24138 / Pilot / VA / 23.8 mi.

141

618

22.8

$42,679

1.6

0.7

0.4

0.0

0.2

24133 / Patrick Springs / VA / 39.2 mi.

136

1,048

13.0

$31,944

7.8

0.9

5.9

0.2

24381 / Woodlawn / VA / 57.2 mi.

121

1,410

8.6

$33,327

3.1

0.9

1.4

0.1

24579 / Natural Bridge Station / VA / 30.2 mi.

116

638

18.2

$30,938

7.9

0.9

4.0

1.3

0.3

24120 / Meadows of Dan / VA / 42.6 mi.

114

880

13.0

$28,125

3.6

1.7

1.0

0.4

0.2

24072 / Simpsons / VA / 21.7 mi.

107

392

27.3

$30,682

5.0

1.6

2.7

0.0

0.1

24312 / Austinville / VA / 56 mi.

107

1,032

10.4

$32,984

2.2

0.9

0.2

0.0

24148 / Ridgeway / VA / 42.5 mi.

103

3,525

2.9

$35,496

18.5

1.0

16.2

0.1

0.5

24347 / Hiwassee / VA / 40.8 mi.

103

757

13.6

$32,950

3.0

0.3

1.8

0.3

0.1

24578 / Natural Bridge / VA / 32.4 mi.

423

23.4

$33,625

2.9

0.0

1.0

0.2

0.7

24102 / Henry / VA / 28.2 mi.

729

12.3

$31,653

5.8

1.1

3.4

0.0

0.4

24147 / Rich Creek / VA / 45.4 mi.

448

19.0

$34,318

1.9

1.1

0.5

0.0

0.2

24435 / Fairfield / VA / 50.8 mi.

692

12.3

$42,017

3.5

0.3

2.2

0.2

24319 / Chilhowie / VA / 94.5 mi.

2,855

2.8

$30,471

3.7

1.1

1.7

0.2

0.1

24375 / Sugar Grove / VA / 81.4 mi.

634

12.6

$30,456

3.7

0.5

2.6

0.1

0.0

24311 / Atkins / VA / 79.1 mi.

891

8.6

$29,750

1.0

0.7

0.0

0.1

0.0

24185 / Woolwine / VA / 34.7 mi.

460

16.3

$25,194

5.4

0.6

3.2

0.0

0.1

24326 / Elk Creek / VA / 73.5 mi.

535

12.0

$36,090

4.5

0.4

3.1

0.3

0.2

24473 / Rockbridge Baths / VA / 49.1 mi.

387

15.0

$41,875

1.9

0.1

0.4

0.0

0.2

24352 / Laurel Fork / VA / 46.8 mi.

389

14.7

$41,250

2.3

1.7

0.5

0.0

24370 / Saltville / VA / 97 mi.

2,834

2.0

$28,560

1.1

0.4

0.2

0.1

0.0

24363 / Mouth of Wilson / VA / 85.9 mi.

663

8.1

$28,807

1.6

0.6

0.1

0.0

0.1

24328 / Fancy Gap / VA / 55.4 mi.

685

7.7

$37,784

2.2

1.5

0.0

0.1

24556 / Goode / VA / 28.8 mi.

1,046

4.6

$54,145

9.5

0.9

7.5

0.0

0.4

24325 / Dugspur / VA / 45.2 mi.

421

11.2

$29,491

3.1

2.0

0.0

0.5

0.4

24318 / Nebo / VA / 75 mi.

285

16.1

$26,538

1.6

0.0

24089 / Fieldale / VA / 36.6 mi.

1,105

4.1

$25,917

27.1

1.5

24.8

0.1

0.0

24150 / Ripplemead / VA / 38.5 mi.

149

30.2

$22,708

1.4

0.3

0.0

1.1

0.0

24165 / Spencer / VA / 45 mi.

714

6.3

$36,738

23.7

0.6

22.6

0.1

0.0

24460 / Millboro Springs / VA / 51 mi.

666

6.8

$36,127

10.6

0.6

8.5

0.4

0.6

24526 / Snowden / VA / 32.6 mi.

749

6.0

$35,521

14.7

0.4

12.9

0.4

0.2

24448 / Iron Gate / VA / 34.6 mi.

146

26.0

$24,333

6.8

0.0

6.5

0.0

24374 / Speedwell / VA / 71.8 mi.

335

11.0

$30,750

2.2

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.2

24350 / Ivanhoe / VA / 62.2 mi.

510

6.9

$28,250

4.1

0.5

3.4

0.0

24472 / Raphine / VA / 59.4 mi.

929

3.8

$39,688

2.9

0.6

1.5

0.2

0.6

24058 / Belspring / VA / 38 mi.

36.4

$32,292

3.4

0.0

3.4

24378 / Troutdale / VA / 85.6 mi.

601

5.3

$31,179

36.4

0.8

34.7

0.2

0.3

24474 / Selma / VA / 34.5 mi.

38.2

$36,042

0.0

24086 / Eggleston / VA / 34.7 mi.

35.4

$23,750

3.0

0.5

1.5

0.0

24105 / Indian Valley / VA / 40.5 mi.

175

16.0

$27,708

0.7

0.0

0.2

0.0

24323 / Crockett / VA / 70 mi.

410

6.8

$29,565

2.7

1.2

0.5

0.2

0.0

24340 / Glade Spring / VA / 99.3 mi.

2,185

1.3

$32,274

4.3

0.3

3.4

0.1

0.2

23219 / Richmond / VA / 129.4 mi.

987

2.7

$11,306

77.3

1.3

69.3

0.7

3.6

24167 / Staffordsville / VA / 42.4 mi.

24.5

$30,469

0.8

0.4

0.0

24201 / Bristol / VA / 122.4 mi.

7,323

0.3

$27,165

8.3

1.0

5.7

0.2

0.4

24132 / Parrott / VA / 35.6 mi.

209

11.0

$29,167

1.0

0.0

0.4

0.0

24457 / Low Moor / VA / 33.4 mi.

19.4

$21,953

4.4

0.0

3.6

0.4

0.0

File

va_the_roanoke_times

Time

5/17/05 5:24 PM

Page

105

Member

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