Last Updated: March 23, 1999
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ASNE on the
move
You’ve probably seen it by now: the ASNE annual Newsroom Employment
Census. Now in its 22nd year, the survey is used to report the number of
professional newsroom employees in the United States and the number of
minorities in those newsrooms.
In October, the ASNE board of directors decided to begin asking about
the number of women in each of the broad categories, as well. That appears
in this year’s survey for the first time.
ASNE works hard each year to ensure a comprehensive and accurate look
at newspaper newsrooms, including multiple mailings of the survey, numerous
follow-up telephone calls and meticulous attention to statistical detail.
This work is rewarded with a very high accuracy rate and a participation
rate that is the envy of many in other businesses.
All of that work, though, depends on editor participation. If you haven’t
sent your survey in yet, please do. ASNE would like to count (and count
on) your newspaper and your newsroom.
The information gathered — the number of minorities in U.S. newsrooms,
the number of editorial employees and the number and positions of women
— will be reported at the April convention in San Francisco.
When the annual census started in 1978, minority journalists were 4
percent of the total newsroom work force. Over the past two decades, significant
growth in the representation of minority journalists has been achieved,
although the yearly gains have been small. From 1978 to 1998, minority
employment has grown 270 percent, while non-minority employment during
the same period increased 17 percent.
