April 25, 2006

Contacts:
Melanie Hall
Finance and Administration Manager
UNITY
(703) 854-3585

UNITY: INCREASING DIVERSITY IN NEWSROOMS MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE

MCLEAN, VA. – Nearly every company in the newspaper industry has undoubtedly looked at its bottom line over the past year to gauge success. UNITY: Journalists of Color contends that if the bottom line is what matters, then most companies are poised to fail because they have not kept pace with the changing racial makeup of its readers. Diversity in newsrooms isn’t just a goal or ideal to achieve, it’s the answer to the future livelihood of our industry.

The results of American Society of Newspaper Editors’ annual census of newsrooms released today show that there was again only an incremental gain in the number of journalists of color. In 2006, only 13.87 percent of the newsroom workforce was made up of journalists of color, compared to 13.42 percent the year before.

At this rate of increase – which amounts to about .5 percent every year for the past five years – it will take another 40 years before newsrooms reach parity with the current U.S. population. But in another 40 years, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that people of color will no longer be just a third of the population, they will make up about half the people in the country.

“It’s time for forward-thinking managers in the industry to implement bold strategic and comprehensive plans to diversify their newsrooms,” said Mae Cheng, UNITY president.

For the first time, ASNE provided a breakdown of each reporting paper by race. The UNITY alliance associations applaud ASNE for providing this level of detail in the data because it allows each group to better target its work with individual newspapers.

In 1978, ASNE started its annual census, setting a goal of 2000 for when newsrooms will achieve parity with the U.S. population. While the parity goal has been pushed back to 2025, it is evident that the industry at its current pace will nevertheless greatly miss the new targeted year.
“Diversity had been a buzz word in the industry some ten or more years ago. Now it has since been replaced by concerns over revenues and margins,” Cheng said. “At UNITY, we believe they are all one and the same. Planning for the financial growth of a newspaper needs to go hand-in-hand with strategizing on increasing diversity in the newsroom.”

Recent studies have shown that the ethnic media is a booming segment of our industry. In fact, many in communities of color have said they prefer ethnic media over the mainstream. For the mainstream media to remain relevant to the growing diverse communities across the country, newsrooms must continue to hire and promote journalists who reflect that diversity and who can help bring coverage that resonates with all people.

For its part, UNITY will soon begin providing industry success stories written by people who have been able to make a difference in diversifying newsrooms and news coverage. These shared tips, which will be provided through e-mails weekly to those who registered for the UNITY 2004 convention, are intended to show that every news organization can do something to build diverse newsrooms.
UNITY and its alliance associations are asking publishing executives and newsroom managers alike to stop the rhetoric and take immediate action. It’s clear there’s no more time to lose.

COMMENTS FROM UNITY ORGANIZATIONS

FROM AAJA:

“We are pleased with the gain in the percentage of Asians in the newsroom, however the numbers are still not where they need to be in order to reach parity,” said Esther Wu, president of the Asian American Journalists Association. “The U.S. census indicates that the Asians are the fastest growing race in the United States. Now more than ever, it is important for us to look at the number of Asian Americans in the newsroom if we are to reflect the communities we serve.”

“AAJA challenges all editors to set a personal goal of increasing the number of journalists of color in his or her newsroom to help ASNE meets its goal of achieving parity by 2025,” Wu said.

FROM NABJ:
“Once again, the newspaper industry has failed to step up to the plate,” said Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and assistant vice president/news at Knight Ridder. “If they are to be graded not on their intentions but their results, they would get an F.”

At the rate the industry is going – about ½ a percentage point gain each year - it would take more than 35 years to reach their goal of parity with the U.S. population, Monroe said. “And that’s assuming the population stays the same, which we all know it won’t,”
Monroe added, “By 2050, America will have passed the newspaper industry by, and it will have been our fault.”

FROM NAJA:
 “Many native people are invisible in mainstream media. This is from a number of sources, but mostly from media outlets not serving their entire community,” said Mike Kellogg, president of the Native American Journalists Association, pointing to the need to increase the number of Native Americans in newsrooms.

FROM NAHJ:
“Our community continues to change dramatically, and the industry’s failure to keep up with these changes adds to the major threats facing the long-term future of journalism,” said NAHJ Vice President for Print Rafael Olmeda. “We need to get even more aggressive about achieving these goals, making the case everywhere from high school classrooms to publishers’ offices.”

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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 www.unityjournalists.org, email info@unityjournalists.org or call (703) 854-3585.