The Town Talk, Alexandria... 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 Town Talk, Alexandria

Alexandria, Louisiana

Owner: Gannett Co. (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

7.9

2004

8.1

2003

Did not report

2002

12.1

2001

7.7

2000

4.9

1999

7.3

1998

7.7

1997

6.1

1996

Did not report

1995

2.4

1994

0.0

1993

2.3

1992

0.0

1991

Did not report

1990

Did not report

The latest year at peak is

2002

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

Newsroom Diversity Index

for The Town Talk, Alexandria

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

7.9

32.4

2004

8.1

32.4

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, Gannett Co. (Va.),

has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 89.

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

Peer group comparison

for The Town Talk, Alexandria

This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 24.

This paper

Peer group

Compare that with 44, which is the median Diversity Index for all newspapers

reporting in this circulation category of 25,001 to 50,000 daily sales.

In that group, this newspaper's Diversity Index ranks 110 out of 140

newspapers reporting in the category of 25,001 to 50,000 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 Longview News-Journal, Texas, with a 23.1 percent non-white staff in a community that is 28.4 percent non-white. Its index is 81.

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

approximately 34,040 ranks 300 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 Town Talk, Alexandria

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

1.8

5,091

Black

28.0

79,983

Asian and Pacific Islander

0.7

1,968

Native-American

0.8

2,302

Other non-white

0.1

302

Multi-racial

1.0

2,863

Non-white

32.4

92,509

White

67.6

193,189

Total

285,698

Home county: Rapides

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

1.4

1,739

Black

30.3

38,298

Asian and Pacific Islander

0.9

1,110

Native-American

0.7

892

Other non-white

0.1

Multi-racial

0.9

1,148

Non-white

34.3

43,278

White

65.7

83,059

Total

126,337

The home county of this newspaper is Rapides.

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 Town Talk, Alexandria

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

71360 / Pineville / LA / 7.7 mi.

5,941

14,216

41.8

$32,653

16.8

1.3

12.8

0.7

1.0

71301 / Alexandria / LA / 0 mi.

5,587

8,837

63.2

$24,350

56.2

1.2

52.4

0.3

1.2

71303 / Alexandria / LA / 5 mi.

3,301

7,423

44.5

$34,656

31.2

1.3

27.1

0.4

1.6

71302 / Alexandria / LA / 7.2 mi.

1,785

5,526

32.3

$23,389

79.5

0.5

77.8

0.3

0.4

71409 / Boyce / LA / 15.9 mi.

1,142

2,544

44.9

$34,645

23.7

1.5

20.0

0.8

0.2

71342 / Jena / LA / 36.8 mi.

1,094

2,843

38.5

$27,321

17.8

0.8

15.5

0.6

0.2

71446 / Leesville / LA / 39.4 mi.

1,025

8,558

12.0

$29,684

28.3

4.3

17.9

1.5

1.9

71457 / Natchitoches / LA / 53.7 mi.

1,009

9,603

10.5

$25,905

49.5

1.5

45.0

0.8

0.6

71328 / Deville / LA / 16.5 mi.

864

2,312

37.4

$35,833

3.0

0.5

1.0

0.2

71351 / Marksville / LA / 28.6 mi.

837

4,144

20.2

$23,720

32.9

0.7

28.6

2.3

0.2

71433 / Glenmora / LA / 21 mi.

826

1,582

52.2

$23,587

17.4

1.5

12.8

1.4

0.4

71463 / Oakdale / LA / 33.7 mi.

795

3,498

22.7

$23,460

36.6

8.9

25.3

0.7

0.9

71483 / Winnfield / LA / 43.5 mi.

778

4,188

18.6

$24,116

40.3

0.8

38.2

0.3

0.2

71467 / Pollock / LA / 19.6 mi.

766

1,721

44.5

$32,520

4.0

1.2

0.6

0.8

0.2

71454 / Montgomery / LA / 33.9 mi.

696

977

71.2

$29,875

15.9

1.3

12.0

1.2

0.0

71322 / Bunkie / LA / 28.4 mi.

481

2,721

17.7

$21,596

42.6

1.6

40.2

0.1

0.2

71346 / Lecompte / LA / 10.8 mi.

465

1,186

39.2

$26,420

43.7

1.7

40.6

0.2

0.5

71341 / Hessmer / LA / 24.5 mi.

375

998

37.6

$23,656

6.8

1.2

4.0

1.2

0.0

71343 / Jonesville / LA / 37.3 mi.

357

3,104

11.5

$24,600

25.5

0.9

23.7

0.2

0.1

71430 / Forest Hill / LA / 16 mi.

356

795

44.8

$34,180

22.5

13.0

5.7

1.3

1.5

71417 / Colfax / LA / 19.5 mi.

352

1,926

18.3

$24,290

39.2

0.8

36.8

0.5

0.1

71449 / Many / LA / 61.9 mi.

346

3,696

9.4

$25,006

28.5

1.7

23.4

2.0

0.3

71350 / Mansura / LA / 28.1 mi.

345

1,660

20.8

$24,722

36.6

0.7

34.2

1.0

0.1

71465 / Olla / LA / 43.3 mi.

341

1,183

28.8

$30,259

5.3

1.0

3.4

0.4

0.2

71327 / Cottonport / LA / 29.8 mi.

336

1,547

21.7

$22,831

47.5

0.7

45.8

0.3

0.1

71407 / Bentley / LA / 15.6 mi.

318

205

155.1

$40,556

3.4

0.7

0.0

2.1

0.2

71485 / Woodworth / LA / 8.7 mi.

313

584

53.6

$43,021

12.0

1.9

9.2

0.2

0.0

70638 / Elizabeth / LA / 33.4 mi.

312

319

97.8

$34,432

8.6

1.7

4.2

1.0

0.0

71423 / Dry Prong / LA / 27.3 mi.

290

1,728

16.8

$34,191

5.7

1.5

1.1

1.3

0.3

71333 / Evergreen / LA / 30.9 mi.

265

293

90.4

$25,774

36.6

2.6

33.1

0.4

0.3

71373 / Vidalia / LA / 60.2 mi.

237

2,708

8.8

$26,843

25.7

0.9

23.9

0.2

0.3

71424 / Elmer / LA / 13 mi.

234

384

60.9

$37,629

3.8

1.5

0.7

1.2

0.2

71330 / Echo / LA / 17.3 mi.

232

627.0

$15,156

12.0

5.3

4.0

1.3

0.0

71331 / Effie / LA / 23.9 mi.

221

336

65.8

$25,688

2.3

1.2

0.7

0.0

0.1

71371 / Trout / LA / 28.8 mi.

210

671

31.3

$29,439

8.4

0.9

5.8

1.6

0.0

71367 / Saint Landry / LA / 28.9 mi.

209

552

37.9

$29,420

9.5

1.2

6.9

1.1

0.0

70586 / Ville Platte / LA / 40.1 mi.

204

7,803

2.6

$20,192

34.5

1.2

32.6

0.2

71403 / Anacoco / LA / 55.3 mi.

201

1,642

12.2

$32,440

5.9

1.7

0.2

1.7

0.3

71427 / Flatwoods / LA / 26.3 mi.

179

138

129.7

$25,000

6.7

0.5

3.4

1.8

0.0

71354 / Monterey / LA / 48 mi.

165

632

26.1

$30,317

4.9

0.5

3.1

0.1

0.0

71323 / Center Point / LA / 16.8 mi.

163

332

49.1

$37,292

4.4

0.3

2.5

0.9

0.1

70585 / Turkey Creek / LA / 27.1 mi.

148

224.2

$23,750

2.9

0.0

0.6

71459 / Fort Polk / LA / 48 mi.

141

3,466

4.1

$32,514

44.4

11.7

25.5

0.8

2.5

71362 / Plaucheville / LA / 37.1 mi.

135

676

20.0

$23,750

3.3

0.8

1.2

0.4

0.6

71474 / Simpson / LA / 31.8 mi.

128

242

52.9

$36,818

7.2

1.5

0.7

4.7

0.0

71434 / Gorum / LA / 30.2 mi.

126

257.1

$14,167

9.1

2.7

4.6

0.0

0.9

70634 / Deridder / LA / 57.3 mi.

125

8,933

1.4

$33,221

20.5

2.0

15.8

0.6

0.7

71432 / Georgetown / LA / 32.4 mi.

118

407

29.0

$30,250

1.3

1.0

0.0

0.2

0.0

71369 / Simmesport / LA / 42.8 mi.

116

1,135

10.2

$18,346

42.1

0.8

40.5

0.3

0.1

71447 / Lena / LA / 21.2 mi.

579

13.3

$28,636

32.9

1.4

17.6

11.1

0.2

71325 / Cheneyville / LA / 18.7 mi.

521

12.7

$19,808

48.5

2.0

45.7

0.3

0.0

71466 / Otis / LA / 17.4 mi.

194

17.5

$28,281

3.5

0.2

0.4

1.6

0.2

71461 / Newllano / LA / 49.4 mi.

929

1.8

$35,476

56.8

8.5

39.5

0.7

3.8

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