Minorities Gain on Local Television News Staffs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Noreen Welle
202.467.5203 or noreenw@rtnda.org

WASHINGTON (July 5, 2006) - The percentage of minorities working in local television news last year rose to the highest level ever, according to a survey released today by the Radio-Television News Directors Association. The percentage of minorities working in local radio news was down.

According to the 2006 RTNDA/Ball State University Annual Survey, minorities comprised 22.2 percent of local television news staffs in 2005, compared with 21.2 percent in 2004. At non-Hispanic stations, the minority workforce was 20.4 percent, also an increase over the previous year. In local radio, the minority workforce fell to 6.4 percent, down from 7.9 percent in 2004.

The percentage of minority TV news directors was 13.2 percent, up from 12 percent the year before. In radio, the percentage of minority news directors was 4.4 percent.

The percentage of women in the television news workforce was 40 percent, up from 39.3 percent in 2004. The percentage of women news directors was 25.2 percent, up from 21.3 percent in 2004.

The percentage of women in radio news fell to 24.8 percent from 27.5 percent in 2004, while the percentage of women radio news directors dropped from 24.7 percent to 20.4 percent.

“The gains for minorities on local television news staffs should help stations better serve their increasingly diverse communities," says Barbara Cochran, RTNDA president. "RTNDA is committed to assisting electronic newsrooms as they seek to reflect the communities they serve."

RTNDA published the survey in the July/August issue of Communicator. Survey results cover local radio and television stations, not networks.

Resources
Download a PDF of complete survey results at http://www.rtnda.org/research/2006diversity.pdf
Get your copy of RTNDF’s Diversity Toolkit at http://www.rtnda.org/diversity/toolkit.shtml

Methodology
The RTNDA/Ball State University Survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2005 among all 1,617 operating, non-satellite television stations. Surveys were sent to all radio news directors in addition to a random sample of 1,200 radio stations. Valid responses came from 1,120 television stations (69.3 percent) and 181 radio news directors and general managers representing 602 radio stations. Data for women TV news directors is a complete census and is not projected from a smaller sample.

About RTNDA
The Radio-Television News Directors Association is the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism, and represents local and network news professionals in broadcasting, cable and other electronic media in more than 30 countries. Along with the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation, RTNDA sponsors scholarships, fellowships, training seminars, mentoring programs and more as part of its diversity efforts.