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The 1998 industrywide survey on employment of
women and minorities by U.S. daily newspapers found:
| • |
Eighteen percent
of employees are minorities with slightly more men than
women, at 10% and 8%, respectively. |
| • |
Representation by
race and ethnic group remained stable with African Americans
comprising the largest population at 10%; Hispanics, 5%;
Asian Americans, 2%; and Native Americans, 1%. |
| • |
Minorities represent
11% of executives and managers overall. |
| • |
Minorities represent
7.7% of news executives. |
| • |
Women represent
43% of newspaper employees overall and 35% of executives
and managers. |
| • |
Female employment
is highest in the accounting/finance (80%) and advertising
(70%) departments; lowest in production (19%) and information
services (28%). The latter number represents a 5% decline
from 1995. |
| • |
Minority employment
increases as circulation size increases (e.g., newspapers
with circulations below 10,000 have 7% minority employment,
while newspapers over 50,000 circulation have 22% minority
employment). |
| • |
Minority employment
is highest in the circulation (26%) and production (22%)
departments; lowest in the news/editorial (12%) and new
media/online (13%) departments. |
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The American Society of Newspaper Editors' annual survey
shows substantial growth in minority employment in the newsrooms
of daily newspapers over nearly two decades. In 1978, daily
newspapers had 1,700 minorities in their newsroom workforce
of 43,000, a percentage of 3.95. In 1997, daily newspapers had
6,269 newsroom employees among a total newsroom workforce of
54,700, a percentage of 11.46. That's a 270% increase. White
employment during the same period grew by only 17%.
Among the positive newsroom diversity developments in 1997
are:
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The number of newspapers that employ no minorities continues
to decline, now down to 42%. Thirty-one percent of newspapers under 10,000
circulation now employ minorities, compared to 27% the previous year.
| • |
Of the new full-time
hires in 1997, 21.5% were minorities. That number has steadily
risen from 16.4% in 1985, the first year ASNE collected
figures for this category. |
| • |
Nine percent of
newsroom supervisors are minorities, compared to only 1%
in 1978. The representation of minority reporters and writers
has doubled to 12.5%, since 1978. |
| • |
Minority copy and
layout editors represented 10.2% of the newsroom last year,
compared to 3% in 1978. The proportion of minority photographers
and graphic artists has almost tripled since 1978 to 14.6%. |
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