Posted July 18, 2005 to Career News | Section Home | Print

UNITY Discouraged by the Slow Progress of Diversifying Broadcast Newsrooms

ARLINGTON, Va. -- UNITY: Journalists of Color is
disappointed with the dismal results from the annual broadcast newsroom survey
conducted by the Radio and Television News Directors Association and Ball
State University. Released on July 11, the report found that over the past 15
years, the presence of journalists of color in broadcast newsrooms has only
increased 3.4 percent.

The survey showed that employment of people of color in local television
broadcast newsrooms declined from 21.8 percent in 2003 to 21.2 percent in
2004. Journalists of color working in local radio also experienced a decline
from 11.8 percent to 7.9 percent. The percentage of people of color at
English-language television stations also dropped from 19.8 percent to 19.5
percent.

UNITY is discouraged by the fluctuation of the percentage of journalists
of color working in local radio over the past couple of years. The percentage
of people of color in radio has dropped 50 percent since 1998 when stringent
EEOC rules were eliminated. Journalists of color made up 16 percent of the
radio workforce that year.

"The data should be a wake up call to the industry that we can no longer
be complacent about finding qualified journalists of color to fill jobs. From
the highest rungs of management to entry-level managers, each needs to take
responsibility for ensuring that the number of journalists of color in the
newsroom does not continue to decline. UNITY advocates for greater diversity
to help ensure fair and accurate coverage of the increasingly diverse
communities newsrooms across the country are covering," UNITY President Mae
Cheng said today.

African Americans working at local TV stations remained constant at 10.3
percent over the past two years. However, their percentage in radio dropped
significantly from 7.3 percent in 2003 to 0.7 percent in 2004. The report
showed that African American radio news directors experienced a dramatic
decline falling from 2.7 percent in 2003 to 0 percent in 2004.

"These numbers are so disheartening that I am almost speechless. They are
as astounding as they are disappointing," said president of the National
Association of Black Journalists Herbert Lowe, reporter at Newsday. "We call
on all broadcast general managers and station owners, and particularly those
in radio to take what ever steps necessary to increase the numbers of black
news directors right away."

Native Americans working in local television newsrooms dropped from 0.5
percent in 2003 to 0.3 percent in 2004. Their presence in radio increased
slightly, inching from 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent.

"It's disturbing to see Native representation falling, both in radio and
in television," said Dan Lewerenz (Iowa Tribe of Kansas & Nebraska), president
of the Native American Journalists Association. "This survey shows short-term
gains in radio, where Native people make up just half of 1 percent of the work
force. But that's down from 1 percent a decade ago. Our numbers are even lower
in television, at one third of 1 percent. That, too, is just half of what it
was a decade ago. If the industry is going to reverse this trend, then news
directors -- especially those in and around Indian Country -- need to go the
extra mile in identifying, training and recruiting Native journalists."

The report showed that Hispanics working in local television dropped from
8.9 percent in 2003 to 8.7 percent in 2004, while Hispanics working in radio
increased from 3.9 percent in 2003 to 6.0 percent in 2004.

In reaction to the survey, Veronica Villafane, president of the National
Association of Hispanic Journalists, said, "There's no excuse for a lack of
growth in Latinos in the newsroom. We're the fastest growing minority in the
United States and yet, that's still not reflected on the air, behind the
scenes or in key decision making positions in television stations around the
country. If help in finding qualified Latino journalists is what they need in
making change, NAHJ is here to help. So far, only two television stations
have accepted our offer to join the Parity Project, which seeks to help
newsrooms in the quest for increased diversity. It's up to each station to
take the initiative to promote change."

The report found that Asian Americans dropped again this year from 2.2
percent in 2003 to 1.9 percent in 2004. This is the fourth consecutive year
that they experienced a decrease in the workforce. Even so, Asian Americans
increased their presence in radio climbing from 0.2 percent to 0.7 percent.
The percentage of news directors remained the same at 1.3 percent.

"For the past few years AAJA has been working to train and attract more
Asian American journalists into the field, particularly Asian males. It's
disheartening to hear that our numbers further dropped to a level even lower
than our numbers in 1995, considering that Asian Americans are the fastest
growing population in the U.S.," said Esther Wu President of the Asian
American Journalists Association. "Our numbers should be going up not down.
We implore news directors to work with us to reverse the trend."

About UNITY: Journalists of Color
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news
coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations
at all levels to reflect the nation's diversity. UNITY, representing more than
10,000 journalists of color, is comprised of four national associations: Asian
American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists,
National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American
Journalists Association.

In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in
the nation, UNITY develops programs and institutional relationships that
promote its mission. For more information on UNITY, visit
http://www.unityjournalists.org, email info@unityjournalists.org or call (703)
469-2100.

SOURCE UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.

Web Site: http://www.unityjournalists.org

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