While the long-predicted downturn among U.S. news publications is taking its toll on journalists everywhere, minorities in the news industry are impacted more than most. Total newsroom employment at daily newspapers declined 2.4 percent in 2011 while the loss in newsroom positions among minorities was 5.7 percent, according to a recently released census by the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Center for Advanced Social Research at the Missouri School of Journalism.
ASNE has conducted its Newsroom Employment Census of professional full-time journalists since 1978. Despite this year’s loss in newsroom positions, the decline in jobs that began in 2006-07 appears to be stabilizing, according to the census report.
“Clearly, we have more work to do,” said Ronnie Agnew, executive director of Mississippi Public Broadcasting and co-chair of ASNE’s 2011-12 Diversity Committee. “While the numbers suggest stabilization, the trend shows that the exodus from this important industry among people of color continues. This is far from just a numbers issue; this is a troubling content issue. The decline will only stop when people in leadership embrace diversity as an essential part of their business.”
Following a decline of approximately 800 minority newsroom positions in both 2008 and 2009, the total loss over the last two years was 500 jobs. There were slight decreases in the percentage of employees in each minority category in 2011, although the census was revised this year to add a category of “multi-racial,” which may account for some of the loss in other categories.
“I’m glad that the percentages appear to have stabilized, but our industry still falls significantly short of accurately reflecting the population it serves,” said Karen Magnuson, editor and vice president of news for the Democrat and Chronicle Media Group of Rochester, N.Y. “As our ‘Future of Diversity in the News’ report warns, diversity is a business imperative. We must ensure that we cultivate diverse, creative staffs to create content that is relevant to growing communities of color. It’s a critical key to our survival.”
It is abundantly apparent that newspapers across the country are struggling. Most recently, The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans announced that it will cut back the city’s daily paper to three days a week, bucking a 175-year history due to declining print revenue. The change, which is slated for this fall, will make New Orleans the largest city without a daily newspaper.
The Washington Post newspaper offered buyouts earlier this year to newsroom staff in an effort to reduce the paper’s payroll. It is the fifth in a series of buyouts that have helped reduce the size of the staff by more than a third over the past decade as circulation and advertising revenue have fallen.
