NABJ FRUSTRATED BY LATEST DIVERSITY STUDY: Research shows newsrooms are going backwards in its minority hiring.
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www.eurweb.com *According to the latest survey released annually by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the number of black journalists and other journalists of color in newsrooms is slipping once again.
The study found that the number of minorities in America’s newsrooms are declining as people of color increase in numbers throughout the United States, and more newspapers than ever employ no journalists of color. The statistics are a source of outrage among members of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), which works to ensure the inclusion of African Americans in newsrooms.
"At the rate we're going -- less than a 1/2 percentage point gain each year -- newspapers don't have a chance at reaching their parity goals for at least 40 years," said Bryan Monroe, NABJ president and assistant vice president for news at Knight Ridder. "Despite the words of American newspaper editors, the deeds are just not measuring up."
Nationwide, in 2006 newspapers employed only 65 more black newsroom professionals -- reporters, copy editors, photographers and editors -- than they did in 2005. Overall, the percentage of journalists of color working in newsrooms barely changed, moving from 13.42 percent to 13.87 percent.
There are rays of hope among the dismal statistics. In Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper has boosted its number of minorities in the newsroom from 14.9 percent in 1998 to 29 percent in 2006. Also, California’s San Jose Mercury News has increased its minority workforce from 25.8 percent in 1998 to 32.7 percent in 2006.
But for every Sun Sentinel and Mercury News, there are the Tampa Tribune (barely boosting its minority numbers from 8.2 percent in 1998 to 8.5 percent in 2006) and the San Francisco Chronicle (which actually dropped from 20.7 percent in 1998 to 15.2 percent in 2006.)
"At the end of the day, it comes down to leadership," said Ernie Suggs, NABJ vice president for print and a reporter at the Atlanta Journal- Constitution. "We can't understand that where one paper can change, others are stuck in the mud. I guess some folks talk, others deliver results."
NABJ will consider these and other issues of newsroom diversity at its 31st Annual Convention and Career Fair, Aug. 16-20 in Indianapolis. Registration and sponsorship information can be found at
http://www.nabj.org.
Posted By: Candice Johnson
Thursday, April 27th 2006 at 3:30PM
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