Published: 24 September 2012
Country: US
The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) published a report which consists of two studies examining current diversity figures within 295 US television stations owned by 19 companies, and the diversity of newsroom management at the major networks. Though strides have been made, the report, the only one of its kind, recognizes the lack of parity that still exists among managers within television newsrooms, says NABJ.
According to the 2010 United States Census, non-whites comprise nearly 35 percent of the US population, but the study finds that people of color fill only 12 percent of the newsroom managerial position. “Race continues to be one of the great fault lines in our nation. It’s also a fault line in our nation’s media, which tends to marginalize people of color in news coverage”, reports Free Press.
According to the Free Press blog, a study released in September provides more evidence that American nation’s media inequality is deepening, with too few people of color working in decision-making positions at local TV news outlets.
More than half of US television stations examined in the study do not employ a single person of color in a management position — even though these stations are located in large, ethnically diverse cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. Another 86 stations have just one person of color in a management role.
Out of 1,647 managers surveyed, 87.9 percent are white, 6.9 percent are African American, 3.4 percent are Latino, 1.6 percent are Asian and 1 percent are Native American.
“These reports,” said NABJ President Gregory Lee, “highlight the urgent need for news organizations to go further to make newsrooms inclusive.” Bob Butler, NABJ’s vice president of broadcast, called the report’s findings “discouraging” and criticized the Federal Commissions Commission for neglecting its statutory obligation to address diversity in the media.