Bristol Herald Courier... 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

Bristol Herald Courier

Bristol, Virginia

Owner: Media General (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

3.2

2004

3.2

2003

Did not report

2002

Did not report

2001

Did not report

2000

Did not report

1999

0.0

1998

2.7

1997

0.0

1996

Did not report

1995

Did not report

1994

Did not report

1993

2.9

1992

3.1

1991

Did not report

1990

Did not report

The latest year at peak is

2005

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

Newsroom Diversity Index

for Bristol Herald Courier

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

3.2

3.6

2004

3.2

3.7

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, Media General (Va.),

has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 39.

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

Peer group comparison

for Bristol Herald Courier

This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 89.

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 20 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 La Crosse Tribune, Wisconsin, with a 5.3 percent non-white staff in a community that is 4.9 percent non-white. Its index is 107.

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

approximately 39,109 ranks 269 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 Bristol Herald Courier

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

0.7

1,712

Black

2.0

5,193

Asian and Pacific Islander

0.3

740

Native-American

0.2

405

Other non-white

0.1

127

Multi-racial

0.5

1,395

Non-white

3.7

9,572

White

96.3

251,451

Total

261,023

Home county: Washington

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

0.6

322

Black

1.3

674

Asian and Pacific Islander

0.3

149

Native-American

0.1

Other non-white

0.1

Multi-racial

0.6

282

Non-white

3.0

1,509

White

97.1

49,594

Total

51,103

The home county of this newspaper is Washington.

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

Bristol Herald Courier

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

37620 / Bristol / TN / 1.9 mi.

7,143

16,389

43.6

$30,912

4.3

0.6

2.3

0.3

0.5

24201 / Bristol / VA / 1.5 mi.

4,267

7,323

58.3

$27,165

8.3

1.0

5.7

0.2

0.4

24210 / Osceola / VA / 13.1 mi.

3,492

6,410

54.5

$30,836

3.9

0.8

1.9

0.1

0.4

24202 / Bristol / VA / 3.6 mi.

2,661

5,070

52.5

$32,979

2.1

0.7

0.5

0.2

0.1

24211 / Abingdon / VA / 13.1 mi.

1,692

3,766

44.9

$45,390

2.1

0.5

0.1

0.4

24354 / Thomas Bridge / VA / 38 mi.

1,670

6,446

25.9

$30,169

4.9

0.9

2.8

0.2

0.3

37618 / Bluff City / TN / 8.5 mi.

1,616

4,904

33.0

$33,712

2.1

0.5

0.6

0.2

0.3

24266 / Lebanon / VA / 20.3 mi.

1,479

3,586

41.2

$30,067

2.7

0.4

1.7

0.1

0.0

37617 / Blountville / TN / 9.7 mi.

1,087

5,087

21.4

$39,150

2.1

0.7

0.6

0.2

24370 / Saltville / VA / 28.5 mi.

1,085

2,834

38.3

$28,560

1.1

0.4

0.2

0.1

0.0

24319 / Chilhowie / VA / 29.4 mi.

1,014

2,855

35.5

$30,471

3.7

1.1

1.7

0.2

0.1

24224 / Dickensonville / VA / 19.4 mi.

960

2,769

34.7

$26,341

2.0

0.5

0.8

0.1

24260 / Venia / VA / 29.5 mi.

804

2,460

32.7

$24,776

1.1

0.7

0.1

0.0

24361 / Meadowview / VA / 20.4 mi.

738

1,947

37.9

$30,952

2.9

0.8

1.1

0.1

0.4

24609 / Wardell / VA / 37.1 mi.

735

3,242

22.7

$28,360

9.6

1.3

7.7

0.2

0.0

24340 / Glade Spring / VA / 24.8 mi.

732

2,185

33.5

$32,274

4.3

0.3

3.4

0.1

0.2

24228 / Honeycamp / VA / 38.4 mi.

728

3,133

23.2

$24,705

1.2

0.3

0.1

0.2

24641 / Richlands / VA / 37.6 mi.

703

3,065

22.9

$23,211

2.4

0.4

0.1

1.4

24236 / Damascus / VA / 20.1 mi.

507

1,394

36.4

$25,960

1.8

0.6

0.7

0.1

0.2

24230 / Coeburn / VA / 26.6 mi.

470

3,679

12.8

$25,038

4.5

1.1

2.3

0.1

24614 / Stacy / VA / 44.2 mi.

394

3,807

10.3

$21,768

3.4

0.6

2.1

0.0

0.3

24283 / Saint Paul / VA / 23.6 mi.

381

902

42.2

$25,552

3.0

0.3

1.2

0.4

0.3

37686 / Piney Flats / TN / 12.1 mi.

380

2,585

14.7

$36,157

1.4

0.5

0.2

0.3

0.2

24293 / Wise / VA / 31.3 mi.

335

4,040

8.3

$30,237

3.0

0.7

1.1

0.1

0.6

24225 / Cleveland / VA / 25 mi.

313

835

37.5

$25,247

1.2

0.4

0.3

0.0

0.1

24656 / Vansant / VA / 36.5 mi.

302

1,632

18.5

$25,381

1.1

0.4

0.2

0.1

0.2

37660 / Kingsprt / TN / 18.8 mi.

250

17,494

1.4

$30,403

6.6

0.9

3.8

0.2

0.7

24251 / Snowflake / VA / 19.9 mi.

230

3,838

6.0

$30,427

2.3

0.4

1.0

0.2

0.1

24311 / Atkins / VA / 44.6 mi.

213

891

23.9

$29,750

1.0

0.7

0.0

0.1

0.0

24273 / Norton / VA / 31.4 mi.

199

2,741

7.3

$23,258

6.0

0.8

3.7

0.1

0.7

24280 / Rosedale / VA / 28.1 mi.

187

259

72.2

$37,413

0.6

0.0

0.5

0.0

24382 / Wytheville / VA / 61.1 mi.

183

5,917

3.1

$30,947

6.7

0.6

4.5

0.1

0.6

24219 / Big Stone Gap / VA / 34.9 mi.

178

4,474

4.0

$26,297

4.0

0.4

2.2

0.1

0.4

24637 / Pounding Mill / VA / 37.7 mi.

178

1,011

17.6

$35,147

1.3

0.4

0.1

0.2

0.5

24639 / Raven / VA / 43.8 mi.

171

1,353

12.6

$19,276

0.7

0.2

0.0

0.1

0.0

24279 / Pound / VA / 30.6 mi.

167

1,881

8.9

$27,336

1.3

0.6

0.0

0.1

0.0

24649 / Swords Creek / VA / 34.3 mi.

151

953

15.8

$20,383

1.7

1.2

0.0

24631 / Patterson / VA / 41.6 mi.

141

774

18.2

$29,542

19.1

0.6

18.1

0.0

0.2

24256 / Haysi / VA / 40.7 mi.

127

1,091

11.6

$22,196

1.4

0.7

0.3

0.1

0.0

24237 / Dante / VA / 29 mi.

125

513

24.4

$20,833

2.4

0.6

1.4

0.2

0.1

24651 / Tazewell / VA / 48.4 mi.

122

2,341

5.2

$30,614

7.3

0.5

5.6

0.1

0.4

24220 / Birchleaf / VA / 36 mi.

120

288

41.7

$21,488

0.4

0.1

0.0

0.1

0.0

24226 / Clinchco / VA / 35.2 mi.

103

777

13.3

$22,075

3.3

0.5

2.0

0.2

0.0

24375 / Sugar Grove / VA / 42.7 mi.

103

634

16.2

$30,456

3.7

0.5

2.6

0.1

0.0

37683 / Mountain City / TN / 21.6 mi.

100

4,710

2.1

$22,344

5.0

0.8

3.3

0.3

0.1

24368 / Rural Retreat / VA / 51.1 mi.

1,676

5.9

$30,661

2.3

0.6

0.8

0.2

0.3

24270 / Mendota / VA / 9.2 mi.

199

43.2

$36,250

2.7

0.0

24630 / Tiptop / VA / 49.3 mi.

2,533

3.0

$27,264

3.4

0.3

1.8

0.2

0.6

24620 / Hurley / VA / 53.6 mi.

1,240

5.1

$17,122

1.1

0.5

0.2

0.0

24272 / Nora / VA / 29 mi.

218

27.1

$27,708

1.1

0.5

0.4

0.0

37688 / Shady Valley / TN / 16.1 mi.

477

12.4

$22,659

2.1

0.9

0.2

0.5

0.1

24327 / Emory / VA / 20.5 mi.

933.3

$56,250

10.1

0.8

6.3

0.0

1.9

24612 / Doran / VA / 37.9 mi.

114

45.6

$17,313

4.0

2.2

0.0

24239 / Davenport / VA / 29.9 mi.

115

40.9

$17,321

1.4

1.1

0.0

24646 / Rowe / VA / 35 mi.

317

14.2

$21,250

1.3

0.0

37601 / Johnson City / TN / 19.2 mi.

14,468

0.3

$30,197

8.3

1.5

4.7

0.3

0.5

24217 / Bee / VA / 31.4 mi.

224

17.4

$22,679

1.5

1.2

0.0

24605 / Yards / VA / 62.8 mi.

4,157

0.9

$29,371

7.5

0.7

4.5

0.3

1.0

37643 / Elizabethton / TN / 16.4 mi.

14,017

0.3

$27,176

3.2

0.9

1.1

0.2

0.3

24216 / Stonega / VA / 36.6 mi.

1,328

2.3

$22,090

4.8

0.8

3.0

0.2

24634 / Pilgrims Knob / VA / 47.6 mi.

193

14.5

$22,625

1.3

0.4

0.0

0.2

24624 / Keen Mountain / VA / 40.4 mi.

81.8

$12,031

0.0

37604 / Johnson City / TN / 20.9 mi.

14,034

0.2

$30,951

10.6

2.0

5.8

0.3

1.4

37664 / Kingsprt / TN / 16.4 mi.

10,952

0.2

$36,625

3.7

0.9

1.4

0.2

0.4

37680 / Laurel Bloomery / TN / 23.4 mi.

220

12.3

$36,290

4.5

1.3

1.5

0.4

37663 / Kingsprt / TN / 17.7 mi.

5,613

0.2

$46,601

2.8

0.7

0.1

0.6

24292 / Whitetop / VA / 31.7 mi.

265

2.6

$28,646

1.1

0.0

File

va_bristol_herald_courier

Time

5/20/05 9:22 PM

Page

269

Member

147500