Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo... 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

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo

Tupelo, Mississippi

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

10.3

2004

8.1

2003

7.9

2002

8.1

2001

5.6

2000

2.6

1999

2.6

1998

8.6

1997

8.8

1996

8.6

1995

13.3

1994

9.4

1993

6.1

1992

2.2

1991

Did not report

1990

Did not report

The latest year at peak is

1995

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

Newsroom Diversity Index

for Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

10.3

22.6

2004

8.1

22.6

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.)

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

Peer group comparison

for Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo

This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 46.

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 67 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 The Jackson Sun, Tennessee, with a 37.5 percent non-white staff in a community that is 24.7 percent non-white. Its index is 152.

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

approximately 35,490 ranks 285 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 Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

1.4

3,827

Black

20.3

55,655

Asian and Pacific Islander

0.3

691

Native-American

0.2

400

Other non-white

0.0

Multi-racial

0.5

1,424

Non-white

22.6

62,066

White

77.4

212,535

Total

274,601

Home county: Lee

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

1.2

882

Black

24.4

18,495

Asian and Pacific Islander

0.5

400

Native-American

0.1

Other non-white

0.0

Multi-racial

0.7

494

Non-white

26.9

20,388

White

73.1

55,367

Total

75,755

The home county of this newspaper is Lee.

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

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo

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

38801 / Tupelo / MS / 9 mi.

6,790

10,799

62.9

$38,274

34.3

1.2

31.3

0.2

0.8

38804 / Tupelo / MS / 0 mi.

2,214

6,693

33.1

$34,697

27.1

1.5

24.2

0.1

0.6

38863 / Pontotoc / MS / 20.4 mi.

2,014

6,810

29.6

$30,941

15.6

1.9

12.8

0.3

0.1

38652 / New Albany / MS / 20.8 mi.

1,885

6,060

31.1

$32,361

23.8

2.2

20.8

0.1

0.2

38866 / Saltillo / MS / 4.4 mi.

1,776

3,510

50.6

$38,431

7.5

0.9

5.4

0.1

0.4

38821 / Amory / MS / 28 mi.

1,704

5,070

33.6

$31,653

19.2

0.6

17.9

0.1

0.2

38843 / Fulton / MS / 21 mi.

1,418

4,424

32.1

$30,794

11.8

1.3

9.8

0.1

0.3

38829 / Booneville / MS / 24.6 mi.

1,187

7,199

16.5

$28,253

12.1

0.6

10.4

0.2

38868 / Shannon / MS / 15.7 mi.

1,148

1,995

57.5

$31,500

43.8

0.8

42.4

0.1

38834 / Corinth / MS / 40.6 mi.

1,030

11,186

9.2

$28,491

15.0

1.3

12.7

0.1

0.3

38663 / Ripley / MS / 33.2 mi.

1,007

4,517

22.3

$28,789

19.9

2.6

16.4

0.2

39730 / Aberdeen / MS / 35.5 mi.

853

4,810

17.7

$28,263

49.3

0.6

48.1

0.1

0.3

38824 / Baldwyn / MS / 13.8 mi.

772

3,113

24.8

$30,134

26.1

0.7

24.2

0.3

0.1

38851 / Houston / MS / 33.2 mi.

722

3,466

20.8

$25,376

36.9

3.6

32.4

0.3

38826 / Belden / MS / 10.3 mi.

699

1,395

50.1

$47,413

25.8

0.6

24.2

0.0

0.5

38858 / Nettleton / MS / 18.5 mi.

672

2,764

24.3

$30,599

26.6

0.8

25.1

0.2

38655 / Oxford / MS / 41.9 mi.

603

12,091

5.0

$27,826

28.8

1.2

25.0

0.1

1.6

38860 / Okolona / MS / 26.3 mi.

498

2,215

22.5

$26,155

58.8

0.8

57.4

0.1

38855 / Mantachie / MS / 10.8 mi.

419

1,736

24.1

$31,087

2.7

0.7

1.5

0.1

38849 / Guntown / MS / 7 mi.

412

1,559

26.4

$29,680

14.1

0.7

12.6

0.2

38852 / Iuka / MS / 42 mi.

410

3,873

10.6

$28,023

4.5

0.7

2.8

0.3

0.1

38879 / Verona / MS / 11.1 mi.

372

320

116.3

$25,694

58.0

3.1

53.4

0.0

0.3

38828 / Blue Springs / MS / 13.2 mi.

357

1,248

28.6

$29,933

8.0

0.6

6.6

0.3

0.1

38857 / Mooreville / MS / 5.6 mi.

315

985

32.0

$34,375

3.9

0.8

2.6

0.1

0.2

38862 / Plantersville / MS / 10.2 mi.

281

1,115

25.2

$31,413

32.6

1.7

30.1

0.1

0.0

38827 / Belmont / MS / 25.6 mi.

252

1,125

22.4

$31,128

7.6

6.4

0.8

0.0

38870 / Smithville / MS / 24.6 mi.

251

1,163

21.6

$33,000

11.5

0.7

9.9

0.1

0.2

38916 / Calhoun City / MS / 53.4 mi.

244

2,114

11.5

$24,817

34.7

0.7

33.3

0.1

38873 / Tishomingo / MS / 33.5 mi.

219

1,047

20.9

$26,977

12.6

0.7

11.1

0.3

0.0

38915 / Bruce / MS / 46.4 mi.

206

1,694

12.2

$27,135

32.0

1.2

29.8

0.3

0.1

38850 / Houlka / MS / 30.5 mi.

204

1,052

19.4

$27,540

34.5

1.1

33.0

0.1

0.0

38650 / Myrtle / MS / 30.1 mi.

190

1,348

14.1

$35,104

7.6

0.8

6.3

0.1

0.0

38610 / Blue Mountain / MS / 29.7 mi.

188

1,247

15.1

$30,625

29.9

2.2

26.6

0.2

0.1

38841 / Ecru / MS / 16.7 mi.

177

948

18.7

$34,677

14.2

3.4

10.0

0.2

0.0

38847 / Golden / MS / 29.2 mi.

172

1,332

12.9

$32,476

2.9

1.9

0.3

0.2

0.0

38856 / Marietta / MS / 17.6 mi.

149

721

20.7

$27,500

2.0

0.8

0.6

0.0

0.1

39773 / West Point / MS / 46.6 mi.

146

6,543

2.2

$27,983

56.7

0.8

55.3

0.0

0.2

38633 / Hickory Flat / MS / 36.1 mi.

122

808

15.1

$24,485

8.9

0.4

8.0

0.2

0.0

38635 / Holly Springs / MS / 54.6 mi.

122

5,453

2.2

$24,563

69.8

0.8

68.2

0.1

38865 / Rienzi / MS / 31.9 mi.

118

1,852

6.4

$33,239

12.2

1.3

10.2

0.1

38871 / Thaxton / MS / 28.5 mi.

116

561

20.7

$40,385

8.2

0.7

7.5

0.0

38878 / Vardaman / MS / 40.8 mi.

115

1,054

10.9

$28,259

32.4

7.6

24.2

0.1

0.0

38627 / Etta / MS / 30.6 mi.

327

29.7

$32,879

2.9

1.5

1.4

0.0

38838 / Dennis / MS / 31.2 mi.

571

16.1

$32,014

3.2

0.8

1.5

0.0

39746 / Hamilton / MS / 39.1 mi.

1,238

7.3

$33,873

21.1

1.5

19.0

0.0

0.1

35582 / Red Bay / AL / 35.6 mi.

1,856

4.6

$28,185

3.1

0.7

1.4

0.2

0.0

38864 / Randolph / MS / 32.9 mi.

681

12.3

$33,504

6.2

1.4

4.4

0.0

0.1

38869 / Sherman / MS / 10.3 mi.

180

45.0

$28,092

20.0

0.5

19.3

0.0

38659 / Potts Camp / MS / 42 mi.

1,201

6.6

$32,802

23.4

0.6

22.4

0.0

0.1

39751 / Mantee / MS / 53.4 mi.

312

25.3

$30,388

40.9

1.3

38.8

0.0

38603 / Ashland / MS / 42.9 mi.

1,049

7.0

$22,857

25.2

0.7

22.0

1.1

0.2

38629 / Falkner / MS / 38.9 mi.

579

12.3

$34,375

9.1

1.2

6.9

0.1

38876 / Tremont / MS / 25.6 mi.

512

13.9

$30,583

1.6

0.5

0.0

0.1

39776 / Woodland / MS / 43.6 mi.

756

8.1

$29,519

49.7

2.4

46.9

0.0

0.1

38683 / Walnut / MS / 45.2 mi.

1,934

3.1

$26,087

5.3

0.8

3.9

0.1

0.0

38625 / Dumas / MS / 22.4 mi.

421

13.5

$31,917

4.4

2.6

1.0

0.4

0.0

38833 / Burnsville / MS / 43.7 mi.

976

5.8

$25,372

2.5

1.1

0.4

0.3

0.1

38848 / Greenwood Springs / MS / 32.4 mi.

321

17.4

$35,550

1.0

0.4

0.0

0.1

0.0

38674 / Tiplersville / MS / 41.6 mi.

426

7.0

$36,563

31.0

0.1

29.8

0.2

0.1

38859 / New Site / MS / 20.8 mi.

293

10.2

$27,250

1.6

1.3

0.1

0.0

38951 / Pittsboro / MS / 46 mi.

488

6.1

$32,148

39.3

0.2

38.9

0.0

0.1

38880 / Wheeler / MS / 17.1 mi.

70.6

$20,417

0.0

39756 / Prairie / MS / 36.4 mi.

652

3.7

$20,842

85.0

0.5

84.2

0.0

0.1

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