Published Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Minority count falls for first time in ASNE newsroom census
BY JASON BEGAY AND SHANNON COMES AT NIGHT
ASNE Reporter
In spite of an increasingly diverse America, the number of minorities in the newsroom has fallen for the first time since ASNE began tracking it in 1978.
In preliminary findings obtained by the ASNE Reporter, the number of minorities in the nation’s newsrooms fell from 6,665 in 2000 to 6,563 in 2001 while the percentage declined from 11.85 percent to 11.64 percent. ASNE had hoped to increase the diversity of newsrooms to 13.5 percent in 2000.
The number of minorities hired was smaller than the number that left the newsroom. “The issue is about retention,” said Carolina Garcia, managing editor of the San Antonio Express-News.
While he would not confirm specific numbers, Gilbert Bailon, executive editor of The Dallas Morning News and a member of the ASNE board of directors, agreed the figures were down slightly. “We’re talking about a small percentage point,” he said.
The official report is scheduled to be released Tuesday morning.
The New York Times published a story about the organization’s annual survey Monday, quoting some ASNE attendees.
Mark Trahant, chairman and chief executive officer of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, was quoted offering reasons why the minority numbers have decreased. However, in an interview Monday afternoon, he said he didn’t know the actual numbers in the ASNE study.
Mr. Trahant said he has heard “grumblings of concern from a number of editors and people in the business,” indicating that there has been a decrease in the past year.
Mr. Bailon said there is still going to be minority hiring, but replacing those minorities who are leaving the business slows the increase. Hiring will be down at the entry level, he said. This is mostly due to a slowdown in the economy, meaning fewer hiring opportunities for all people.
The setback is not a catastrophe but is a tricky problem to overcome, he added.
Mr. Trahant and Mr. Bailon agree with Ms. Garcia that retention is the greater concern.
“The greater question is: ‘Are we making it easier for people to stay in the business?’ ” Mr. Trahant said. “From what I’ve seen in the last year … the answer is ‘no.’ ”
Ms. Garcia, incoming chairwoman of the Diversity Committee, said a committee would be formed in conjunction with minority news organizations to determine why minorities are not being retained. “We’re going to find out who these people are, and why they’re not staying,” she said.
With several recruiting programs aimed at increasing minorities in the industry, Mr. Trahant said, it has been tougher to sell serious training programs. – largely seen as the foundation to retaining journalists.
“People are tired of dealing with this issue,” he said.
Mr. Trahant identified programs already in place that he called effective in recruiting and retaining minority journalists.
“That’s part of the story,” he said. “If we’re not making enough progress, and we know what works, then why aren’t we doing that more?”
Mr. Trahant referred specifically to three programs: his organization, The Maynard Institute; the Chips Quinn Scholars Program; and the Newspaper Association of America Minority Fellowships.
These programs provide training to new journalists, which will not only increase the number of minorities entering the field, but will encourage them to stay.
“I think (editors) are more focused on hiring or about saying ‘we can’t hire,’ ” Mr. Trahant said. “We’re just figuring out how to get minorities. We have to figure out how to keep them.”
Richard A. Oppel, ASNE president, would not comment on the numbers. However, he did call The Times’ story “well-sourced.”
“We’re in a newspaper business where information gets out…” he said.
