PND (4/11/2000) -- Freedom Forum Study Finds Newsrooms Lacking in Diversity

A new study released by the Virginia-based Freedom Forum finds that nearly half of all newsroom hires over the next 25 years will have to be journalists of color if U.S. newspapers want to make their newsrooms as racially and ethnically diverse as the nation's population.

The Freedom Forum's analysis of data gathered by the American Society of Newspaper Editors over the last 22 years found that journalists of color continue to be disproportionately underrepresented in newsrooms and that almost as many journalists of color leave the newspaper industry each year as are hired. Despite diversity hiring efforts in the newspaper industry, the overall percentage of journalists of color in newsrooms increased by just 1.2 percentage points between 1994 and 1999.

According to the report, "Newsroom Diversity," the diversity in U.S. newsrooms lags more than 16 percent behind the trend in the general population. In 1999, the Census Bureau estimated the percentage of people of color in the U.S. population at 28 percent; the number of journalists of color was estimated by ASNE at 11.6 percent.

"What is clear from this analysis is that the existing 'pipeline' that contributes new journalists of color to the newspaper industry is too small," said Charles L. Overby, chairman and chief executive officer of the Freedom Forum. "We have to create new pathways to lead people of color into newspaper journalism."

FCnote: The Freedom Forum (VA) is an operating foundation that had assets of $1,053,745,893 and made grants totaling $26,494,872 in the year ending 12/31/98.

"U.S. Newspapers Must Hire Journalists of Color in Record Numbers to Make Newsrooms Reflect the Nation's Growing Diversity." Freedom Forum Press Release 4/10/2000.

See also: Arvidson, Cheryl. "2nd ASNE, APME 'Time Out' to Push News Diversity." Freedom Forum Online 4/11/2000.

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