Women making Gains in the Media

WASHINGTON -- The percentage of journalists of color and women working in local television and radio news rose in 2007, as did the percentage of both groups in newsroom leadership positions, according to a survey released today by the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

The 2008 RTNDA/Hofstra University Annual Survey shows that minorities comprised 23.6 percent of local television news staffs, an increase over the 21.5 percent result in 2006, and the second highest percentage since the peak in 2001.

The number of Asian Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic journalists all increased, while the number of African Americans remained steady at 10.1 percent of the workforce.

At non-Hispanic stations, the minority workforce was 20.1 percent, an increase of the previous year's 19.4 percent.

Asian Americans and African-Americans gained ground while the number of Hispanic and Native American journalists remained the same.

In local radio, the minority workforce was 11.8 percent, the first increase after a steady decline for more than a decade.

The percentage of minority television news directors reached an all-time high of 15.5 percent, up from 10.9 percent in 2006.

In radio, the percentage of minority news directors returned to 5.9 percent, down from the previous year's spike, but more in line with earlier percentages.

Measurement of minority news directors in radio fluctuates each year based on which stations complete the survey.

Women in Local News


At 40.2 percent, there was no significant change in the percentage of women in the television news workforce in 2007, but the number of women news directors reached an all-time high of 28.3 percent.

Furthermore, women are as likely to be found as news directors in the largest markets as in the smallest, something that has not been the case in the past.

In radio, the picture for women was not as good.

The percentage of women fell again in 2007 from 24.4 percent to 22.7 percent.

The percentage among news directors also fell back to the 2005 levels of 20 percent after rising to 23.5 percent in 2006.

"As thousands of journalists of color gather for the quadrennial UNITY convention, I'm pleased we are still seeing progress in diversity in electronic newsrooms," said Barbara Cochran, RTNDA president.

"There is still more to be done to help newsrooms keep pace with the growing diversity of the U.S. population and RTNDA will continue to provide resources and share best practices to assist with those efforts."

RTNDA published the survey in the July/August issue of Communicator, RTNDA's monthly magazine.

This article is from an RTNDA newsletter
NEWS RELEASECONTACT: Stacey Staniak, 202.467.5214 or staceys@rtnda.org RTNDA/Hofstra Survey: Women and Journalists of Color Advance in Local Broadcast News