Newsroom diversity has passed its peak
at most newspapers, 1990-2005 study shows
Report for the Knight Foundation
shows trends at 1,410 US newspapers
by Bill Dedman and Stephen K. Doig
June 1, 2005
Summary:
Newsroom diversity is below its peak levels at most daily newspapers in the US, including three-fourths of the largest papers, according to a study for the Knight Foundation of newspaper employment from 1990 to 2005.
While the newspaper industry may be slowly adding journalists of color overall, the gains have been uneven. The share of journalism jobs held by non-whites has receded from its high-water mark in most newsrooms, large and small.
Among the 200 largest newspapers, 73 percent employ fewer non-whites, as a share of the newsroom jobs, than they did in some earlier year from 1990 to 2004. Only 27 percent of these large dailies were at their peak as 2005 began.
Looking more broadly at all newspapers, only 18 percent were at their peak, while 44 percent have slipped. And those are the papers that employ any non-whites at all. The remaining 37 percent of daily newspapers that divulged their employment figures reported an all-white newsroom.
This third annual report for the Knight Foundation adds context to an annual survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Each year ASNE surveys its members, and each year the editors bemoan the industry's slow progress in employing journalists of black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American descent as newsroom supervisors, reporters, copy/layout editors, or photographers.
But ASNE does not show the year-by-year changes for individual newspapers, nor which newspapers are meeting ASNE's goal of parity between newsroom and community.
That gap is filled by this report, done for the Knight Foundation by journalists Bill Dedman and Stephen K. Doig. Their report includes a separate Web page for each of 1,410 newspapers, tracing the historical record of non-white employment at each newspaper, and comparing its employment with the circulation area that it serves.
Largest newspapers slip
The nation's six largest newspapers have fallen from their peak: Gannett, the company with the best overall record on diversity, has seen non-white employment at its flagship USA Today slide steadily since 1994 (employment at year-end 1993). The Wall Street Journal peaked in the 2000 report, The New York Times in 2003, The Los Angeles Times in 2000, the New York Daily News in 1995, and the Washington Post in 2004.
Tribune Co.'s Sun newspaper in Baltimore is an example of a paper with stagnant employment of journalists of color, well below its peak. Draw a line around the Sun's circulation area, and the population was 33.9 percent non-white in the 2000 Census.
In the Sun's newsroom, meanwhile, employment of journalists of color peaked back in 1991 at 19.6 percent of the supervising editors, reporters, copy editors and photographers. That fell to 14.2 percent the next year, struggled back up to 18.0 by 1996, and has drifted lower, settling this year at 15.9 percent of the staff.
Other papers in the top 25 that are below their peak level of non-white employment are the Dallas Morning News (peaked in 2004), San Francisco Chronicle (1998), Newsday, Long Island (2002), Newark Star-Ledger (1998), Minneapolis Star-Tribune (2001), Philadelphia Inquirer (2004), Cleveland Plain Dealer (1995), and The Miami Herald (1999).
Papers in the top 25 that reached their peak employment of non-whites this year are the Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, The Boston Globe, Arizona Republic (Phoenix), The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Detroit Free Press, The Oregonian (Portland), The St. Petersburg Times, and The San Diego Union-Tribune. (Papers in the top 25 that didn't respond to this year's ASNE survey were The New York Post and The Chicago Sun-Times.)
One can easily browse the trend lines for all of the 200 largest newspapers on a single page, or select from the menus at the left to see any paper's full details.
Few reach parity
Comparing newspapers with their communities, only 13 percent of newspapers responding to the survey have reached ASNE's goal of parity between newsroom and community. That's the same share as last year.
Even that figure gives an optimistic portrait, because the researchers use figures from the 2000 Census. The non-white population has continued to grow rapidly, putting ASNE's goal of parity farther out of reach each year. In most communities, a newspaper maintaining the same non-white staff percentage would be losing ground each year.
Company matters
Ownership is a large factor in determining a newspaper's newsroom diversity. Gannett Co. continues to be the leader, measured by a Newsroom Diversity Index, which compares the share of jobs held by journalists of color with the non-white share of the population in the newspaper's circulation area. Gannett's index is 89. (100 equals parity with the circulation area.)
Among the larger newspaper groups, the average index of all their newspapers (weighted by circulation) is:
| Rank | Newspaper Company | Average Newsroom Diversity Index (100=parity) |
| 1 | Gannett Co. (Va.) | 89 |
| 2 | Knight Ridder (Calif.) | 76 |
| 3 | McClatchy Co. (Calif.) | 71 |
| 4 | New York Times Co. | 69 |
| 5 | Cox Enterprises (Ga.) | 66 |
| 6 | Advance (Newhouse) (N.Y.) | 63 |
| 7 | Freedom Communications (Ca.) | 59 |
| 7 | Pulitzer (Mo.) | 59 |
| 9 | Scripps (Ohio) | 56 |
| 10 | Tribune Co. (Ill.) | 55 |
| 11 | Dow Jones (N.Y.) | 52 |
| 12 | Washington Post | 48 |
| 13 | Lee Enterprises (Iowa) | 47 |
| 13 | MediaNews Group (Colo.) | 47 |
| 15 | Hearst Newspapers (N.Y.) | 45 |
| 16 | Copley Press (Calif.) | 43 |
| 17 | Community Newspaper Holdings (Ala.) | 41 |
| 18 | Belo (Texas) | 40 |
| 19 | Media General (Va.) | 39 |
| 20 | Liberty Group Publishing (Ill.) | 32 |
| 21 | Journal Register (N.J.) | 24 |
| 22 | Hollinger International (Ill.) | 22 |
| 23 | Morris Communications (Ga.) | 21 |
| 24 | Horizon Publications (Ill.) | 19 |
| 25 | Paxton Media Group (Ky.) | 18 |
| 26 | Ogden Newspapers (W.V.) | 12 |
The list is led by companies with well-known programs of rewarding managers -- with bonuses -- for recruitment of journalists of color.
Some of the larger chains appear to have a farm team of journalists at the smaller newspapers, ready to move up to the larger newspapers. Leave out USA Today, and Gannett's other newspapers have a combined score of 103, or greater non-white employment than the non-white share of their circulation areas.
Detailed rankings of larger newspaper groups are in Table 7: Large newspaper companies, ranked by Newsroom Diversity Index (PDF format), or see the table in Excel format.
And groups with fewer newspapers, or lower total circulation, are in Table 8: Small newspaper companies, ranked by Newsroom Diversity Index (PDF format), or see the table in Excel format.
It could be worse
How does the industry generally show improvement in the ASNE surveys, if many papers are falling behind?
It's clear that the increase in non-white employment at some newspapers is masking a decline at others.
And some papers that are below their historic peak have made small gains in recent years. In the past year, 57 percent of the largest 200 papers increased their non-white staffing percentage, while 32 percent of the broader list of all newspapers increased. (These figures reflect only those responding to the surveys.)
Another factor is that ASNE does not divulge for individual newspapers the raw number of non-white journalists. It reports only the percentage of the staff that is non-white. So it's difficult to know whether a paper truly increased its number of journalists of color, or whether just the percentage increased as white journalists left.
Many newsrooms have contracted in recent years, by involuntary layoffs, voluntary buyouts or attrition. Those cuts would tend to affect an older, and therefore more white group of journalists. If the newsroom shrinks, and whites leave, the non-white percentage can increase without a single additional non-white journalist being hired. This year ASNE reported that newsrooms have lost more than 2,200 journalists since 2001, a 4 percent decline, while the number of journalists of color has increased by 700, or nearly 11 percent.
Without the industry contraction, presumably the records on non-white hiring would look worse at many newspapers. Even with the contraction, most newspapers are below their peak non-white employment, as a share of the staff.
346 all-white newsrooms -- or 600+?
The number of newspapers reporting an all-white newsroom declined a bit. There were 346 newspapers this year, 374 last year. Their editors reported no non-white journalists. As a share of all newspapers responding to ASNE's survey, the all-white papers were 37 percent this year, down from 40 percent last year.
Although many of these all-white newspapers are small, they have a combined weekday circulation of 3,337,478 -– about the total of USA Today and The New York Times combined.
That all-white list doesn't include the 486 daily newspapers that ignored the annual ASNE survey. Of those, 275 papers reported an all-white newsroom on their latest report in a previous year. So the latest evidence from 44 percent of all newspapers (621 out of 1,410) showed an entirely white newsroom.
Many of these all-white papers are in relatively white communities, but not all: What do Greenwood, Miss., and Rocky Ford, Colo. have in common with Plainview, Texas, Sumter, S.C., and Liberal, Kan.? These five communities have a majority of non-whites in the newspaper's circulation area, and all their editors reported having an entirely white newsroom. Another 40 all-white newsrooms serve communities where at least a quarter of the population are non-whites.
More information on the all-white newsrooms is below, in Discussion question No. 2, How many communities are still getting their news from all-white newsrooms?
The all-white newspapers are listed in
Table 9: All-white newsrooms: Newspapers employing no journalists of color, ranked by non-white population in circulation area (PDF format),
or see the table in Excel format.
Body of the report
This report gives more detail on the following questions:
- How close are most newspapers to parity with their circulation areas?
- How many communities are still getting their news from all-white newsrooms?
- How many newspapers are at their high-water mark?
- How many newspapers are increasing their employment of journalists of color?
- Are the larger newspapers the ones with more diverse news staffs?
- How many of the largest newspapers have staffs that are as diverse as their communities?
Table of contents
- Why this report?
- List of tables
- Discussion topics
- Methodology
- About the researchers
- About the Knight Foundation
- Where to find more information
Why this report?
Since 1978, the American Society of Newspaper Editors has urged editors to improve news coverage by employing at least enough journalists of color to reflect their diverse communities. ASNE asks papers to report the percentage of editors, reporters, copy/layout editors and photographers who are black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American. This year again ASNE reported slow progress in total non-white employment, as a result falling further behind the growing non-white population of the nation.
Although ASNE's report shows each newspaper's non-white employment, it does not disclose how close that paper is to ASNE's goal, nor which papers are moving closer to the goal.
The Knight Foundation report builds on the ASNE survey by showing which newspapers, and newspaper chains, are closer to the ASNE goal than others. It compares the newsroom staffing, as reported to ASNE, with the circulation area population, using figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations and the US Census.
The report -- on the Web at www.powerreporting.com/knight/ -- includes a separate Web page for each of 1,410 daily newspapers, showing its history of non-white employment from 1990-2005; a Diversity Index comparing the newsroom non-white employment with its circulation area's population; a companywide Diversity Index; a role model, another newspaper of similar size and circumstance with a higher Diversity Index; and details on the race and ethnicity of the circulation area and the home county. In addition, for the 866 papers that file audited sales reports by ZIP Code, the report shows the racial and ethnic breakdown in each ZIP Code, the household income, and sales per household.
The Knight Foundation report is intended to help journalists, newspaper readers and community leaders discuss such questions as:
In which communities and neighborhoods does our newspaper sell well? or poorly?
Are the low-sales neighborhoods explained by household incomes? by competition from other papers? Do race, ethnicity and language play a role?
Does our newspaper have more readers in non-white areas than we had thought? Or fewer?
Is our newspaper missing a business opportunity? Would having more reporters and editors of color help the paper get more news of interest to readers of color? Even with the current staff, what steps can the newspaper take to raise its awareness of news of interest to all readers?
When did our newspaper's non-white staffing reach its peak? What has happened since? What are the barriers to hiring and retaining journalists of color?
What explains the persistent number of all-white newsrooms, even in communities with many readers of color?
List of tables:
Discussion topics:
1. How close are most newspapers to parity with their circulation areas?
The rarities are still the dailies who have reached ASNE's goal. Only 13 percent of newspapers responding to the survey have reached parity between the newsroom and community, unchanged since last year’s report and up slightly from the 11 percent in 2003.
Only 36 percent of newspapers are even halfway to the goal, up from 34 percent last year.
Here's how newspapers were dispersed by Newsroom Diversity Index, which compares the newsroom non-white percentage with the community non-white percentage. (100 = parity.)
| % of Newspapers Reporting | No. of Newspapers Reporting | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| 100 percent parity or better | 11% | 13% | 13% | 101 | 123 | 120 |
| 75 to 99 percent | 7% | 7% | 8% | 61 | 61 | 74 |
| 50 to 74 percent | 14% | 14% | 15% | 129 | 132 | 136 |
| 25 to 49 percent | 21% | 18% | 21% | 195 | 169 | 191 |
| 1 to 24 percent | 8% | 8% | 6% | 75 | 73 | 57 |
| All-white newsrooms | 40% | 40% | 37% | 372 | 374 | 346 |
The Newsroom Diversity Index for larger newspapers is detailed in Table 1: Ranking by 2004 Newsroom Diversity Index: Top 200 newspapers by circulation (PDF format), or see the table in Excel format.
The Newsroom Diversity Index for all newspapers is in Table 2: Ranking by 2004 Newsroom Diversity Index: All daily newspapers, listed by state and city (PDF format), or see the table in Excel format.
2. How many communities are still getting their news from all-white newsrooms?
No people of color work in 346 US newspapers, about one in four newsrooms.
In reality, the number of all-white newsrooms almost certainly is substantially higher, because 486 newspapers did not respond to the ASNE survey.
For a hint at the real number of all-white newsrooms, one can look at how the 486 non-responders did respond to previous ASNE surveys. Of those 486 newspapers, 275 papers reported an all-white newsroom on their latest report in a previous year. So the latest evidence from 44 percent of all newspapers (621 out of 1,410) showed no journalists of color.
Or one can look at use the responding papers of a certain size as a proxy to indicate the employment at the non-responding papers. This analysis suggests the likelihood that there are at least 182 more newspapers with all-white newsrooms, for a total of 528 out of 1,410 newspapers, or 37 percent. Together, those newspapers serve more than 5.3 million readers a day.
Some of these all-white newspapers are in communities that are themselves nearly all white. Even in those communities, ASNE's goal calls for employment of at least one journalist of color. If each of those 528 all-white newsrooms hired just one journalist of color, it would increase the total number of such journalists by more than 7%.
But many of the all-white newsrooms are in communities with substantial non-white populations. And more than a third of the all-white newsrooms serve communities that are at least 10 percent non-white.
The all-white newsrooms serving the most heavily non-white communities are:
| Rank | Circulation area non-white % |
Newspaper, State | Ownership | Weekday circulation |
| 1 | 66.2 | The Greenwood Commonwealth, Miss. | Emmerich Newspapers (Miss.) | 7,607 |
| 2 | 59.7 | Rocky Ford Daily Gazette, Colo. | 3,013 | |
| 3 | 54.9 | Plainview Daily Herald, Texas | Hearst Newspapers (N.Y.) | 6,481 |
| 4 | 54.3 | The Item, Sumter, S.C. | 21,389 | |
| 5 | 50.6 | Southwest Daily Times, Liberal, Kan. | 4,250 | |
| 6 | 48.9 | The Ennis Daily News, Texas | Fackelman Newspapers (Fla.) | 3,214 |
| 7 | 48.3 | Artesia Daily Press, N.M. | 3,550 | |
| 8 | 46.5 | The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga. | Community Newspaper Holdings (Ala.) | 7,416 |
| 9 | 44.5 | Bastrop Daily Enterprise, La. | Liberty Group Publishing (Ill.) | 5,815 |
| 10 | 43.1 | Ruston Daily Leader, La. | Fackelman Newspapers (Fla.) | 5,592 |
| 11 | 42.8 | Natchitoches Times, La. | 4,805 | |
| 12 | 42.5 | The Kodiak Daily Mirror, Alaska | MediaNews Group (Colo.) | 2,735 |
| 13 | 42.1 | Clovis News Journal, N.M. | Freedom Communications (Ca.) | 7,576 |
| 14 | 40.2 | Hope Star, Ark. | HarborPoint Media (Fla.) | 3,031 |
| 15 | 37.3 | The Tifton Gazette, Ga. | Community Newspaper Holdings (Ala.) | 9,046 |
| 16 | 36.9 | The Garden City Telegram, Kan. | Harris Enterprises (Kan.) | 8,912 |
| 17 | 36.4 | Blytheville Courier News, Ark. | Rust Communications (Mo.) | 4,074 |
| 18 | 35.6 | Washington Daily News, N.C. | 8,938 | |
| 19 | 33.5 | The Daily Home, Talladega, Ala. | Consolidated Publishing (Ala.) | 9,872 |
| 20 | 33.3 | Guymon Daily Herald, Okla. | Horizon Publications (Ill.) | 2,568 |
| 21 | 32.9 | The Daily Sitka Sentinel, Alaska | 2,821 | |
| 21 | 32.9 | The Fort Morgan Times, Colo. | MediaNews Group (Colo.) | 4,390 |
| 23 | 32.6 | The Union Daily Times, S.C. | 6,355 |
A full list of the all-white newsrooms is in Table 9: All-white newsrooms: Newspapers employing no journalists of color, ranked by non-white population in circulation area (PDF format), or see the table in Excel format.
Nor are all the all-white newsrooms in tiny communities. The all-white newsrooms with the largest daily circulation are:
| Rank | Weekday circulation |
Circulation area non-white % |
Newspaper, State | Ownership |
| 1 | 47,105 | 10.8 | Billings Gazette, Montana | Lee Enterprises (Iowa) |
| 2 | 47,083 | 9.5 | The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois | Pulitzer (Mo.) |
| 3 | 42,463 | 8.2 | The Macomb Daily, Mount Clemens, Michigan | Journal Register (N.J.) |
| 4 | 33,714 | 5.1 | Observer-Reporter, Washington, Pennsylvania | |
| 5 | 32,745 | 4.0 | The Scranton Times and The Tribune, Pennsylvania | Times-Shamrock (Pa.) |
| 6 | 31,805 | 4.1 | Altoona Mirror, Pennsylvania | Ogden Newspapers (W.V.) |
| 7 | 31,606 | 4.0 | The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | Times-Shamrock (Pa.) |
| 8 | 30,685 | 10.7 | The Hutchinson News, Kansas | Harris Enterprises (Kan.) |
| 9 | 29,964 | 21.0 | The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia | Media General (Va.) |
| 10 | 29,513 | 5.1 | Johnson City Press, Tennessee | Sandusky Newspapers (Ohio) |
| 11 | 29,251 | 4.2 | Valley News Dispatch, Tarentum, Pennsylvania | Tribune-Review (Pa.) |
| 12 | 28,621 | 2.8 | Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, Iowa | |
| 13 | 28,115 | 2.4 | Butler Eagle, Pennsylvania | |
| 14 | 27,998 | 6.5 | The Salina Journal, Kansas | Harris Enterprises (Kan.) |
| 15 | 27,960 | 5.6 | Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Kentucky | Paxton Media Group (Ky.) |
| 16 | 27,186 | 17.4 | The Daily Commercial, Leesburg, Florida | HarborPoint Media (Fla.) |
| 17 | 26,901 | 4.0 | Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wisconsin | |
| 18 | 26,747 | 4.1 | Pottsville Republican & Evening Herald, Pennsylvania | Times-Shamrock (Pa.) |
3. How many newspapers are at their high-water mark?
For a historical perspective, the study looked at ASNE surveys from 1990 through 2005.
Among the 200 largest papers, 176 reported their employment figures for the latest year. Each of these reported at least one non-white employee. Of those 176 papers:
- 48 papers (27 percent) were at their peak.
- 128 papers (73 percent) were below their peak.
Among all 1,410 papers, 924 reported their employment for the latest year. The picture for those papers is more complicated because so many have all-white newsrooms, and many of those have never reported a non-white employee.
Of those 924 papers:
- 168 papers (18 percent) were at their peak, and reported at least one non-white journalist.
- 410 papers (44 percent) were below their peak, and reported at least one non-white journalist.
- 187 papers (20 percent) had at some point employed a non-white journalist, but fell back to an all-white newsroom this year.
- 159 papers (17 percent) reported an all-white newsroom, and have not reported a non-white employee for any year since 1990.
Here are the peak years of non-white employment for the 200 largest newspapers, along with their peak non-white staff percentage and their latest percentage. An asterisk indicates that the newspaper did not report employment for the latest year. The 2005 ASNE report, issued in April 2005, reflects employment at the end of the previous year.
| Rank by size |
Peak year of non-white staffing |
Newspaper, State | Community non-white population % |
Peak non-white staffing (% of staff) |
Latest non-white staffing (% of staff) |
Latest year reporting |
| 1 | 1994 | USA Today, Va. | 30.9 | 21.4 | 17.2 | 2005 |
| 2 | 2000 | The Wall Street Journal, N.Y. | 30.9 | 18.2 | 16.7 | 2005 |
| 3 | 2003 | The New York Times, N.Y. | 30.9 | 17.1 | 16.7 | 2005 |
| 4 | 2000 | Los Angeles Times, Calif. | 58.2 | 20.6 | 19.0 | 2005 |
| 5 | 1995 | Daily News, N.Y., N.Y. | 65.0 | 20.9 | 17.2 | 2005 |
| 6 | 2004 | The Washington Post, D.C. | 43.2 | 22.6 | 21.4 | 2005 |
| 7 | 1994* | New York Post, N.Y. | 40.3 | 17.3 | 13.9 | 2001 |
| 8 | 2005 | Chicago Tribune, Ill. | 28.5 | 17.7 | 17.7 | 2005 |
| 9 | 2005 | Houston Chronicle, Texas | 51.2 | 21.3 | 21.3 | 2005 |
| 10 | 2004 | The Dallas Morning News, Texas | 40.9 | 20.2 | 14.8 | 2005 |
| 11 | 1998 | San Francisco Chronicle, Calif. | 46.8 | 20.7 | 16.8 | 2005 |
| 12 | 2002 | Newsday, Long Island, N.Y. | 33.9 | 26.1 | 25.7 | 2005 |
| 13 | 2005 | The Boston Globe, Mass. | 16.9 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 2005 |
| 14 | 2005 | The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Ariz. | 32.8 | 24.2 | 24.2 | 2005 |
| 15 | 1996* | Chicago Sun-Times, Ill. | 50.3 | 23.0 | 23.0 | 1996 |
| 16 | 1998 | The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J. | 36.8 | 23.4 | 19.8 | 2005 |
| 17 | 2005 | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ga. | 38.1 | 23.0 | 23.0 | 2005 |
| 18 | 2001 | Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn. | 14.6 | 14.6 | 14.5 | 2005 |
| 19 | 2004 | The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pa. | 22.3 | 18.5 | 17.2 | 2005 |
| 20 | 1995 | The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio | 24.5 | 17.9 | 14.8 | 2005 |
| 21 | 2005 | Detroit Free Press, Mich. | 28.1 | 29.2 | 29.2 | 2005 |
| 22 | 2005 | The Oregonian, Portland, Ore. | 18.2 | 18.8 | 18.8 | 2005 |
| 23 | 2005 | St. Petersburg Times, Fla. | 15.8 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 2005 |
| 24 | 1999 | The Miami Herald, Fla. | 70.1 | 46.8 | 29.9 | 2005 |
| 25 | 2005 | The San Diego Union-Tribune, Calif. | 45.5 | 17.1 | 17.1 | 2005 |
| 26 | 2005 | Orange County Register, Santa Ana, Calif. | 48.8 | 27.4 | 27.4 | 2005 |
| 27 | 2004 | The Sacramento Bee, Calif. | 35.0 | 30.4 | 29.2 | 2005 |
| 28 | 2005 | St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mo. | 21.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 2005 |
| 29 | 2004 | The Kansas City Star, Mo. | 20.4 | 17.9 | 17.3 | 2005 |
| 30 | 2005 | The Denver Post, Colo. | 27.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 2005 |
| 31 | 2005 | Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colo. | 25.0 | 14.1 | 14.1 | 2005 |
| 32 | 1991 | The Sun, Baltimore, Md. | 33.9 | 19.6 | 15.9 | 2005 |
| 33 | 2003 | San Jose Mercury News, Calif. | 52.6 | 33.2 | 32.1 | 2005 |
| 34 | 1992 | Orlando Sentinel, Fla. | 32.0 | 20.5 | 18.9 | 2005 |
| 35 | 2005 | The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, La. | 43.6 | 17.1 | 17.1 | 2005 |
| 36 | 2005 | The Indianapolis Star, Ind. | 20.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 2005 |
| 37 | 1991* | The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio | 17.8 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 1991 |
| 38 | 1995* | Boston Herald, Mass. | 24.1 | 11.2 | 5.5 | 2003 |
| 39 | 2005 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wis. | 22.5 | 19.2 | 19.2 | 2005 |
| 40 | 1993 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pa. | 13.2 | 10.8 | 9.6 | 2005 |
| 41 | 2005 | South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale | 36.1 | 28.3 | 28.3 | 2005 |
| 42 | 1998 | The Seattle Times, Wash. | 24.7 | 23.6 | 20.9 | 2005 |
| 43 | 2005 | The Tampa Tribune, Fla. | 32.4 | 9.8 | 9.8 | 2005 |
| 44 | 2004 | San Antonio Express-News, Texas | 57.9 | 31.2 | 30.6 | 2005 |
| 45 | 2001 | The Charlotte Observer, N.C. | 27.2 | 17.1 | 16.3 | 2005 |
| 46 | 2005 | The Detroit News, Mich. | 21.6 | 26.2 | 26.2 | 2005 |
| 47 | 2004 | Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas | 32.8 | 22.5 | 21.0 | 2005 |
| 48 | 2005 | The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky. | 15.7 | 13.8 | 13.8 | 2005 |
| 49 | 2000 | The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va. | 39.1 | 14.0 | 13.7 | 2005 |
| 50 | 2005 | The Oklahoman, Okla. City, Okla. | 24.4 | 25.5 | 25.5 | 2005 |
| 51 | 2003 | The Buffalo News, N.Y. | 16.5 | 12.1 | 10.9 | 2005 |
| 52 | 2003 | Omaha World-Herald, Neb. | 12.1 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 2005 |
| 53 | 1999 | Hartford Courant, Conn. | 21.1 | 16.3 | 11.1 | 2005 |
| 54 | 2002 | St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minn. | 13.9 | 18.0 | 17.9 | 2005 |
| 55 | 2005 | Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va. | 36.6 | 12.9 | 12.9 | 2005 |
| 56 | 1993 | The Cincinnati Enquirer, Ohio | 15.6 | 16.2 | 11.8 | 2005 |
| 57 | 2005 | The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif. | 49.4 | 25.0 | 25.0 | 2005 |
| 58 | 2005 | Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. | 39.0 | 19.9 | 19.9 | 2005 |
| 59 | 1991* | Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock | 21.7 | 14.1 | 8.5 | 1992 |
| 60 | 1999 | Los Angeles Daily News | 52.3 | 17.8 | 16.7 | 2005 |
| 61 | 2005 | Austin American-Statesman, Texas | 37.9 | 23.6 | 23.6 | 2005 |
| 62 | 2003 | The Record, Hackensack, N.J. | 34.9 | 16.5 | 15.5 | 2005 |
| 63 | 1994 | The Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn. | 19.5 | 20.9 | 20.2 | 2005 |
| 64 | 2004 | The Palm Beach Post, West Palm Beach, Fla. | 30.9 | 19.0 | 17.6 | 2005 |
| 65 | 1997* | The Providence Journal, R.I. | 17.3 | 9.4 | 5.4 | 2001 |
| 66 | 1998 | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, N.Y. | 17.9 | 16.7 | 15.3 | 2005 |
| 67 | 1997* | The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Fla. | 29.6 | 18.8 | 10.4 | 2004 |
| 68 | 2005 | The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. | 30.8 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 2005 |
| 69 | 2000 | The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. | 48.1 | 14.8 | 10.6 | 2005 |
| 70 | 1997 | Asbury Park Press, Neptune, N.J. | 15.3 | 13.3 | 11.2 | 2005 |
| 71 | 2003 | The Fresno Bee, Calif. | 57.6 | 30.6 | 25.0 | 2005 |
| 72 | 1993* | Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nev. | 39.3 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 1993 |
| 73 | 2004 | The Des Moines Register, Iowa | 8.3 | 12.5 | 12.3 | 2005 |
| 74 | 2005 | Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Ill. | 22.6 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 2005 |
| 75 | 1995 | Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Wash. | 27.0 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 2005 |
| 76 | 2003 | The Birmingham News, Ala. | 31.6 | 19.0 | 17.6 | 2005 |
| 77 | 1997 | The Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaii | 79.0 | 51.7 | 50.4 | 2005 |
| 78 | 1998 | The Journal News, White Plains, N.Y. | 32.4 | 18.3 | 17.8 | 2005 |
| 79 | 1996 | The Blade, Toledo, Ohio | 16.9 | 10.0 | 6.4 | 2005 |
| 80 | 1996 | The Grand Rapids Press, Mich. | 15.7 | 17.6 | 11.3 | 2005 |
| 81 | 1997 | Tulsa World, Okla. | 27.5 | 10.5 | 9.7 | 2005 |
| 82 | 2005 | Philadelphia Daily News, Pa. | 53.2 | 25.0 | 25.0 | 2005 |
| 83 | 1997 | The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio | 11.8 | 21.6 | 20.8 | 2005 |
| 84 | 2003 | The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah | 16.0 | 7.8 | 4.5 | 2005 |
| 85 | 2000 | The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. | 23.3 | 16.7 | 14.7 | 2005 |
| 86 | 1998 | Dayton Daily News, Ohio | 15.8 | 16.2 | 13.7 | 2005 |
| 87 | 2005 | The Post-Standard, Syracuse, N.Y. | 11.6 | 14.8 | 14.8 | 2005 |
| 88 | 1997 | The News Journal, Wilmington, Del. | 25.7 | 19.8 | 16.5 | 2005 |
| 89 | 2005 | The State, Columbia, S.C. | 41.1 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 2005 |
| 90 | 1998 | Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky. | 10.2 | 16.1 | 10.4 | 2005 |
| 91 | 2005 | The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn. | 8.4 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 2005 |
| 92 | 2002 | The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa. | 12.3 | 10.7 | 10.1 | 2005 |
| 93 | 1997 | Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Fla. | 12.3 | 11.8 | 8.5 | 2005 |
| 94 | 2005 | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pa. | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 2005 |
| 95 | 2005 | Albuquerque Journal, N.M. | 53.5 | 19.2 | 19.2 | 2005 |
| 96 | 2003 | The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fla. | 18.2 | 8.5 | 7.2 | 2005 |
| 97 | 2004 | Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass. | 14.0 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 2005 |
| 98 | N/A | Scripps Treasure Coast, Stuart, Fla. | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 99 | 2003 | Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Ariz. | 40.5 | 27.8 | 23.7 | 2005 |
| 100 | 1993 | Times Union, Albany, N.Y. | 12.8 | 10.3 | 9.4 | 2005 |
| 101 | 1990* | The Washington Times, D.C. | 64.3 | 11.2 | 9.6 | 2002 |
| 102 | 1997 | The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa. | 13.2 | 10.4 | 8.9 | 2005 |
| 103 | 2003 | The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. | 9.3 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 2005 |
| 104 | 2003 | San Gabriel Valley, West Covina, Calif. | 74.3 | 30.4 | 29.7 | 2005 |
| 105 | 1995 | The Roanoke Times, Va. | 11.6 | 10.7 | 6.0 | 2005 |
| 106 | 2005 | Ventura County Star, Calif. | 42.2 | 21.2 | 21.2 | 2005 |
| 107 | 1997* | Press-Telegram, Long Beach, Calif. | 76.8 | 29.6 | 16.4 | 2004 |
| 108 | 1993 | Tribune Newspapers, Mesa, Ariz. | 23.1 | 14.3 | 4.1 | 2005 |
| 109 | 2000* | The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C. | 35.9 | 12.3 | 11.8 | 2001 |
| 110 | 2005 | The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss. | 48.5 | 31.1 | 31.1 | 2005 |
| 111 | 1994* | Mobile Register, Ala. | 32.8 | 13.8 | 8.6 | 2003 |
| 112 | 2001 | North County Times, Escondido, Calif. | 37.4 | 14.4 | 11.3 | 2005 |
| 113 | 2003* | New Haven Register, Conn. | 22.7 | 15.9 | 15.9 | 2003 |
| 114 | 2002* | Daily Press, Newport News, Va. | 38.5 | 17.0 | 13.3 | 2004 |
| 115 | 2000 | The Gazette, Colo. Springs, Colo. | 23.1 | 13.3 | 8.3 | 2005 |
| 116 | 1996 | Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wis. | 9.0 | 6.3 | 4.9 | 2005 |
| 117 | 1996 | News & Record, Greensboro, N.C. | 32.5 | 13.8 | 10.0 | 2005 |
| 118 | 2005 | The News-Press, Fort Myers, Fla. | 19.2 | 18.9 | 18.9 | 2005 |
| 119 | 1994* | The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif. | 25.1 | 17.3 | 12.5 | 2004 |
| 120 | 2005 | The Wichita Eagle, Kan. | 18.6 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 2005 |
| 121 | 2002 | The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La. | 37.2 | 10.0 | 8.1 | 2005 |
| 122 | 1995 | The Times, Munster, Ind. | 25.2 | 16.7 | 11.0 | 2005 |
| 123 | 1999 | The Greenville News, S.C. | 22.8 | 20.4 | 19.1 | 2005 |
| 124 | 2004 | Florida Today, Melbourne, Fla. | 16.3 | 22.6 | 19.1 | 2005 |
| 125 | 2000 | The Republican, Springfield, Mass. | 21.7 | 7.0 | 6.2 | 2005 |
| 126 | 2005 | Winston-Salem Journal, N.C. | 21.7 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 2005 |
| 127 | 1998 | The Flint Journal, Mich. | 21.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 2005 |
| 128 | 1994 | The Modesto Bee, Calif. | 41.5 | 25.3 | 20.5 | 2005 |
| 129 | 2004* | The Times Herald Record, Middletown, N.Y. | 21.4 | 10.8 | 10.8 | 2004 |
| 130 | 2003 | Portland Press Herald/Sunday Telegram, Maine | 3.9 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 2005 |
| 131 | 1996* | Connecticut Post, Bridgeport, Conn. | 28.9 | 7.1 | 3.3 | 2003 |
| 132 | 1993 | Courier-Post, Cherry Hill, N.J. | 23.3 | 17.9 | 16.8 | 2005 |
| 133 | 2003 | Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. | 8.3 | 12.9 | 9.9 | 2005 |
| 134 | 2001 | The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J. | 27.4 | 14.3 | 6.6 | 2005 |
| 135 | 2000 | The Augusta Chronicle, Ga. | 41.8 | 12.7 | 9.0 | 2005 |
| 136 | 2005 | South Bend Tribune, Ind. | 15.5 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 2005 |
| 137 | 1997 | El Paso Times, Texas | 81.4 | 64.4 | 60.0 | 2005 |
| 138 | 2005 | Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, Utah | 13.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 2005 |
| 139 | 1997 | The San Bernardino County Sun, Calif. | 58.2 | 33.8 | 18.8 | 2005 |
| 140 | 2005 | Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn. | 15.8 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 2005 |
| 141 | 1994 | The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore. | 11.1 | 5.3 | 1.5 | 2005 |
| 142 | 2003 | The Ledger, Lakeland, Fla. | 24.9 | 16.5 | 14.1 | 2005 |
| 143 | 2005 | Lansing State Journal, Mich. | 16.7 | 16.9 | 16.9 | 2005 |
| 144 | 2001* | Daily Breeze, Torrance, Calif. | 58.5 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 2001 |
| 145 | 1999* | The Oakland Tribune, Calif. | 68.5 | 47.8 | 17.5 | 2003 |
| 146 | 1996 | Journal Star, Peoria, Ill. | 11.4 | 10.5 | 4.8 | 2005 |
| 147 | 2002 | The Times, Trenton, N.J. | 32.3 | 11.1 | 5.7 | 2005 |
| 148 | 1995* | Vindicator, Youngstown, Ohio | 15.8 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 1995 |
| 149 | 1997 | Anchorage Daily News, Alaska | 26.8 | 7.1 | 3.4 | 2005 |
| 150 | 2005 | Reno Gazette-Journal, Nev. | 24.7 | 17.6 | 17.6 | 2005 |
| 151 | 1993 | The Evansville Courier & Press, Ind. | 7.0 | 9.2 | 4.6 | 2005 |
| 152 | 2003 | The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. | 48.1 | 15.9 | 9.5 | 2005 |
| 153 | 1997 | The Oakland Press, Pontiac, Mich. | 15.6 | 18.8 | 8.1 | 2005 |
| 154 | 1996 | Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana, Merrillville | 31.3 | 25.4 | 8.5 | 2005 |
| 155 | 1996 | The Repository, Canton, Ohio | 10.1 | 11.3 | 7.9 | 2005 |
| 156 | 1994 | The Cincinnati Post, Kentucky Post, Ohio | 8.0 | 8.0 | 4.1 | 2005 |
| 157 | 1995 | Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Ontario, Calif. | 61.4 | 31.5 | 30.5 | 2005 |
| 158 | 2000 | Rockford Register Star, Ill. | 19.7 | 22.2 | 19.0 | 2005 |
| 159 | 1993 | Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Hawaii | 80.0 | 50.0 | 46.1 | 2005 |
| 160 | 2001 | The Gwinnett Daily Post, Lawrenceville, Ga. | 33.0 | 19.0 | 8.0 | 2005 |
| 161 | 2000 | The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa | 6.2 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 2005 |
| 162 | 2002 | Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, Pa. | 11.2 | 20.8 | 14.5 | 2005 |
| 163 | 1995 | The Idaho Statesman, Boise, Idaho | 13.1 | 12.5 | 8.6 | 2005 |
| 164 | 1997 | Pensacola News Journal, Fla. | 23.5 | 31.7 | 18.2 | 2005 |
| 165 | 2004 | The Times, Shreveport, La. | 41.3 | 31.7 | 31.1 | 2005 |
| 166 | 2004 | Bangor Daily News, Maine | 3.6 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2005 |
| 167 | 1993 | The Bakersfield Californian, Calif. | 53.6 | 25.0 | 19.7 | 2005 |
| 168 | 1996 | The Macon Telegraph, Ga. | 41.5 | 19.4 | 15.7 | 2005 |
| 169 | 2002 | Reading Eagle, Pa. | 15.2 | 13.5 | 2.1 | 2005 |
| 170 | 1994 | Staten Island Advance, N.Y. | 28.7 | 19.7 | 12.7 | 2005 |
| 171 | 1992 | The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind. | 12.1 | 13.6 | 11.1 | 2005 |
| 172 | 2005 | Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah | 14.2 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 2005 |
| 173 | 2005 | Springfield News-Leader, Mo. | 5.9 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 2005 |
| 174 | 1992 | The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, Mass. | 30.9 | 8.3 | 5.1 | 2005 |
| 175 | 1992 | Erie Times-News, Pa. | 9.7 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 2005 |
| 176 | 2001* | The Union Leader, Manchester, N.H. | 6.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2001 |
| 177 | 2005 | Asheville Citizen-Times, N.C. | 9.9 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 2005 |
| 178 | 1993 | The Record, Stockton, Calif. | 51.6 | 29.1 | 18.8 | 2005 |
| 179 | 2004 | Home News Tribune, East Brunswick, N.J. | 38.7 | 15.3 | 12.7 | 2005 |
| 180 | 1995 | The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Mass. | 10.0 | 15.0 | 3.8 | 2005 |
| 181 | 2005 | Green Bay Press-Gazette, Wis. | 8.5 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 2005 |
| 182 | 2005 | Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Texas | 62.4 | 37.7 | 37.7 | 2005 |
| 183 | 1994 | Naples Daily News, Fla. | 19.4 | 23.8 | 3.3 | 2005 |
| 184 | 1999 | Kalamazoo Gazette, Mich. | 13.3 | 16.1 | 13.2 | 2005 |
| 185 | 1999 | The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ill. | 9.8 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 2005 |
| 186 | 2004 | Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, N.Y. | 7.2 | 13.5 | 11.3 | 2005 |
| 187 | 2001 | Waterbury Republican-American, Conn. | 16.2 | 5.7 | 2.8 | 2005 |
| 188 | 1997 | Savannah Morning News, Ga. | 39.5 | 13.4 | 6.5 | 2005 |
| 189 | 2004 | Belleville News-Democrat, Ill. | 22.3 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 2005 |
| 190 | 1994 | Star-News, Wilmington, N.C. | 24.9 | 19.1 | 10.4 | 2005 |
| 191 | 2003 | Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D. | 6.4 | 12.5 | 10.0 | 2005 |
| 192 | 2001 | Statesman Journal, Salem, Ore. | 21.6 | 20.0 | 15.6 | 2005 |
| 193 | 1994 | The Huntsville Times, Ala. | 23.9 | 11.5 | 5.5 | 2005 |
| 194 | 1995 | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Texas | 42.5 | 17.1 | 10.0 | 2005 |
| 195 | 2000* | Quad-City Times, Davenport, Iowa | 13.1 | 7.0 | 1.8 | 2004 |
| 196 | 2004 | The Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wis. | 5.2 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 2005 |
| 197 | 2002 | Beaumont Enterprise, Texas | 33.5 | 24.4 | 24.0 | 2005 |
| 198 | 2004* | The Forum, Fargo, N.D. | 6.3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2004 |
| 199 | 2003 | Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass. | 6.6 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 2005 |
| 200 | 1999 | The Ann Arbor News, Mich. | 20.3 | 18.6 | 6.9 | 2005 |
When did the newspapers peak? This chart shows the distribution, by year, for the peak year of non-white employment (for the 176 newspapers out of the top 200 that reported employment this year). Although a sizable group peaked in the most recent report, a larger group peaked in one of the earlier years.
Each newspaper's employment trend is shown on its own report page (choose from the menu above), and in these tables:
Table 3: Historical trends in newsroom diversity, 1990-2004: Top 200 newspapers by circulation (PDF format), or see the table in Excel format.
Table 4: Historical trends in newsroom diversity, 1990-2004: All daily newspapers, listed by state and city (PDF format), or see the table in Excel format.
4. How many newspapers are increasing their employment of journalists of color?
More than half of the largest newspapers employed a higher percentage of non-white journalists than a year earlier.
Looking at the raw ASNE figures for the top 200 newspapers, there were 164 reporting employment for the two latest years. Their trend:
- 57 percent improved, raising newsroom non-white percentages in the past year
- 39 percent declined, lowering non-white percentages
- 4 percent stayed the same
Among newspapers of all sizes, gainers and losers were about even. There were 777 newspapers reporting employment for both years. Their trend:
- 32 percent improved, raising non-white journalist percentages in the past year
- 22 percent declined, lowering non-white percentages
- 46 percent stayed the same
Taking a longer view, newspapers can be compared on their trends over one year, three years, five years, and 10 years:
Largest 200 daily papers:
A steady one-third of the large newspapers are not improving, even over 10 years.
One-year trend (164 papers reporting in both years, 2005 and 2004):
- 57 percent moved increased their non-white staffing percentage
- 39 percent moved lower
- 4 percent stayed the same
Three-year trend (163 papers reporting in both years, 2005 and 2002):
- 69 percent moved higher
- 29 percent moved lower
- 2 percent stayed the same
Five-year trend (165 papers reporting in both years, 2005 and 2000):
- 67 percent moved higher
- 30 percent moved lower
- 2 percent stayed the same
Ten-year trend (152 papers reporting in both years, 2005 and 1995):
- 68 percent moved higher
- 32 percent moved lower
- 0 percent stayed the same
All newspapers:
Improvement has been slower among smaller newspapers, with fewer than half of all the papers showing gains, even over a decade.
One-year trend (777 papers reporting in both years, 2005 and 2004):
- 32 percent increased their non-white staffing percentage
- 22 percent moved lower
- 46 percent stayed the same
Three-year trend (730 papers reporting in both years, 2005 and 2002):
- 43 percent moved higher
- 25 percent moved lower
- 32 percent stayed the same
Five-year trend (715 papers reporting in both years, 2005 and 2000):
- 46 percent moved higher
- 28 percent moved lower
- 26 percent stayed the same
Ten-year trend (691 papers reporting in both years, 2005 and 1995):
- 45 percent moved higher
- 27 percent moved lower
- 29 percent stayed the same
A final way of examining the pattern is a statistical analysis of the data, which does offer evidence that many newspapers are sensitive to building newsrooms that look something like the communities they serve. The analysis shows a moderately strong relationship between the percentage of non-white employees in newspapers' circulation areas and the percentage of non-white journalists. In other words, the greater the community non-white percentage, the more likely a newspaper is to have a larger proportion of non-white journalists.
But the analysis shows that the pattern across the industry does not come near the ASNE ideal of parity. Of the newspapers who reported to ASNE, the analysis shows that every 10 point increase in community non-white percentage is accompanied by only about a 4 point increase in newsroom percentage. But this is an overall view; there is a great deal of variation from newspaper to newspaper. The outliers are the few newspapers that have reached the goal of parity, and the many others still stuck at zero non-white journalists.
The analysis also shows that about 41 percent of the variation in newsroom percentage across newspapers can be predicted by the corresponding community percentage, but that means that other factors figure heavily as well. Ownership clearly is one. But some other factors that can't readily be measured play a role, such as desire to meet the goal, desirability of the community as a place to live, racial change in the community, the reputation of a newspaper, supply of non-white journalists in that area, and extent of the newspaper's recruiting.
5. Are the larger newspapers the ones with more diverse news staffs?
There is a wide variation among newspapers of the same circulation. And some smaller newspapers employ a greater share of journalists of color than do many larger newspapers.
Here's how the Newsroom Diversity Index breaks out by size of newspaper:
| Daily circulation |
Median Newsroom Diversity Index (100=parity) |
Highest Newsroom Diversity Index |
Lowest Newsroom Diversity Index |
| a) Over 500,000 circulation | 46 | 62 (Chicago Tribune) | 26 (New York Daily News) |
| b) 250,001 to 500,000 | 67 | 119 (Boston Globe) | 38 (San Diego Union-Tribune) |
| c) 100,001 to 250,000 | 64 | 177 (Akron Beacon Journal) | 22 (Commercial Appeal, Memphis) |
| d) 50,001 to 100,000 | 50 | 254 (Springfield News-Leader, Mo.) | 13 (Anchorage Daily News) |
| e) 25,001 to 50,000 | 45 | 342 (St. Cloud Times, Minn.) | 0 (many newspapers) |
| f) 10,001 to 25,000 | 32 | 1,251 (Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Ohio) | 0 (many newspapers) |
| g) 5,001 to 10,000 | 0 | 698 (Reporter-Times, Martinsville, Ind.) | 0 (many newspapers) |
| h) 5,000 and under | 0 | 791 (Little Falls Evening Times, N.Y.) | 0 (many newspapers) |
Size matters, judging from the median index. Among larger newspapers, the typical Newsroom Diversity Index is higher.
But there is a wide variation in index scores within each group. For every large newspaper that has met the goal, several have not. And many small newspapers are above parity, or close to it, while hundreds of others are still at zero.
6. How many of the largest newspapers have staffs that are as diverse as their communities?
Among the top 100 newspapers in circulation:
| % of Newspapers Reporting | No. of Newspapers Reporting | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| 100 percent parity or better | 11% | 11% | 15% | 10 | 10 | 14 |
| 75 to 99 percent | 14% | 17% | 15% | 13 | 15 | 14 |
| 50 to 74 percent | 40% | 40% | 42% | 36 | 36 | 38 |
| 25 to 49 percent | 33% | 29% | 25% | 30 | 26 | 23 |
| 1 to 24 percent | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| All-white newsrooms | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(This year, 9 newspapers in the top 100 didn't respond to the survey.)
As this chart shows, there was some improvement at the top for the largest 100 newspapers this year, with three more newspapers reaching at least 75% of parity, for a total of 28. But more than one out of every four large newspapers remain below half of parity.
Among the top 100, the Newsroom Diversity Index at these 14 newspapers reached or exceeded parity:
| Rank | Name | Newsroom Diversity Index (100=parity) |
| 1 | The Akron Beacon Journal | 177 |
| 2 | The Knoxville News-Sentinel | 160 |
| 3 | The Des Moines Register | 148 |
| 4 | St. Paul Pioneer Press | 129 |
| 5 | The Post-Standard, Syracuse | 127 |
| 6 | The Detroit News | 121 |
| 7 | The Boston Globe | 119 |
| 8 | The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City | 105 |
| 9 | St. Petersburg Times | 104 |
| 10 | Detroit Free Press | 104 |
| 11 | The Tennessean, Nashville | 103 |
| 12 | The Oregonian, Portland | 103 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | 102 |
| 14 | Lexington Herald-Leader | 102 |
And among the top 100 papers (excluding the 9 who didn’t report to the ASNE census), these 25 newspapers had a Newsroom Diversity Index that was less than half of parity:
| Rank | Name | Newsroom Diversity Index (100=parity) |
| 91 | The Commercial Appeal, Memphis | 22 |
| 90 | Telegram & Gazette, Worcester | 24 |
| 89 | Daily News, New York | 26 |
| 88 | The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City | 28 |
| 87 | The Tampa Tribune | 30 |
| 86 | Los Angeles Daily News, Woodland Hills | 32 |
| 85 | Los Angeles Times | 33 |
| 84 | Daily Herald, Arlington Heights | 34 |
| 83 | The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk | 35 |
| 82 | Tulsa World | 35 |
| 81 | Richmond Times-Dispatch | 35 |
| 80 | San Francisco Chronicle | 36 |
| 79 | Albuquerque Journal | 36 |
| 78 | The Dallas Morning News | 36 |
| 77 | The San Diego Union-Tribune | 38 |
| 76 | The Blade, Toledo | 38 |
| 75 | The Times-Picayune, New Orleans | 39 |
| 74 | The Daytona Beach News-Journal | 40 |
| 73 | Houston Chronicle | 42 |
| 72 | The Miami Herald | 43 |
| 71 | The Fresno Bee | 43 |
| 70 | The Record, Hackensack | 44 |
| 69 | The Sun, Baltimore | 47 |
| 68 | Philadelphia Daily News | 47 |
| 67 | The State, Columbia | 49 |
Methodology
The analysis used three types of data: (1) ASNE's survey of newsroom staffing, (2) audited circulation data to determine a circulation area, and (3) the 2000 Census to determine the demographics of that area.
The report includes all information on the communities of 1,410 newspapers surveyed by ASNE. Of those, 924 responded to the ASNE survey, a response rate of 66 percent.
Each newspaper was given a score, or Newsroom Diversity Index, to indicate its relative success in reaching parity with its community. A newspaper scored 100, for example, if its news staff and its community had the same percentage of non-whites.
The newsroom staffing figures came from the annual surveys of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The 2005 survey reflects employment at the end of the previous year. ASNE counts as minorities Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians and Native Americans. Its survey includes newsroom supervisors, reporters, copy/layout editors, and photographers. ASNE reports only a single "minority" percentage for each newspaper, not the percentages for individual racial or ethnic groups. ASNE provided a list of newspapers surveyed, allowing the researchers to list the newspapers that did not respond.
The most precise available figure to represent the circulation area was used, following these rules:
1. For the four national newspapers without circulation centered in any one community -- USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Christian Science Monitor -- this study used the U.S. non-white population (30.9 percent in Census 2000) as the target. The four national newspapers are marked as "USA" in the reports.
2. If a newspaper filed circulation figures for ZIP Codes with the Audit Bureau of Circulations, those figures were used to draw the circulation area. In all, 866 newspapers filed ZIPs. Most large and medium-sized newspapers are in this category. These newspapers are marked as "ZIPs" in the reports. To be included, a ZIP Code had to have at least 10 percent penetration (daily sales divided by households).
3. If a newspaper filed only county-level circulation reports with ABC, those figures were used. These 9 newspapers are marked with "Counties." Again, a 10 percent threshold of daily penetration was used.
That leaves 530 (mostly smaller) newspapers with no ABC data to describe a circulation area.
4. Most of those newspapers are the only newspaper in their home county, and for those the home county was presumed to be the circulation area. Those 422 newspapers are marked as "Home County."
5. The remainder of those newspapers posed the Palo Alto problem. When a newspaper was not the only one in the county, and was located in a smaller city in the county, it wouldn't be fair to assign the demographics of all of, say, Santa Clara County (56 percent non-white) to the newspaper in Palo Alto (where the city is only 27 percent non-white). So the home city was used to look up the demographics. These 109 newspapers are marked as "Home city."
This method is intended to define the circulation area as carefully as possible with the available information. A newspaper may define its circulation area differently for marketing efforts, or news coverage, or to set advertising rates.
In looking up the demographics of these areas in the 2000 U.S. Census, ASNE's definition of minority was used, which includes everyone except non-Hispanic whites.
To determine the top 200 newspapers by circulation, this report used the weekday average circulation reported in the online version of Editor and Publisher magazine in April 2005. This is also the daily circulation figure listed in all tables.
One change this year: Staff of non-English publications, such as the Miami Herald's El Nuevo Herald, are excluded from the ASNE survey. This had the effect of pushing down the Herald's non-white staffing this year. Other papers may have been similarly affected.
About the researchers
Bill Dedman is a correspondent for The Boston Globe, where he writes investigative articles, helps other reporters and editors, and trains the staff in computer-assisted reporting. In 1989, he received the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting for "The Color of Money," a series of articles in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on racial discrimination by mortgage lenders. His Power Reporting site on the Web is used by many journalists as a starting point for research, and he has led seminars in more than 100 newsrooms. Bill started in journalism at age 16 as a copy boy at The Chattanooga Times, and has reported for The Washington Post and The New York Times. He has taught advanced reporting at Boston University, the University of Maryland and Northwestern University. E-mail him at Bill@PowerReporting.com .
Stephen K. Doig is interim director of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication of Arizona State University. He also holds the Knight Chair in Journalism, specializing in computer-assisted reporting. Before joining ASU in 1996, he was research editor of The Miami Herald, where he worked for 19 years. Various computer-assisted projects on which he worked at The Herald have won the Pulitzer Prize for public service, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, and other awards. He serves as a member of the board of directors of Investigative Reporters and Editors. Steve's research interests include helping journalists use social science methods and census and other demographic information to enhance their understanding of, and reporting about, community issues. E-mail him at Steve.Doig@ASU.edu .
The researchers thank the staff of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, particularly Bobbi Bowman and Scott Bosley, for their cooperation.
About the Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities.
Where to find more information:
This report is on the Web at
www.powerreporting.com/knight/ .
A PDF version of this report, for easier printing, is in this PDF file. It does not include the tables, which are listed above in their own, separate PDF files.
Last year's Knight Foundation report (for 2004) is archived at
www.powerreporting.com/knight/2004/,
and the 2003 report is at
www.powerreporting.com/knight/2003/.
ASNE's survey report is also on the Web, with information on newsroom diversity, at
www.asne.org .
Lee Becker at the University of Georgia tracks enrollment in journalism programs. He has addressed what he calls the myth that there are not enough journalism students of color, but he says that they may not generally be as well prepared as white students, in terms of internships and work on student newspapers.
Please send comments and questions to Bill Dedman at Bill@PowerReporting.com and Steve Doig at Steve.Doig@ASU.edu .