New Report Shows Newsroom Diversity Sorely Lacking, Slight Improvements for Latinos and Other People of Color in TV

Recently, the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) released its data on the number of women and people of color working in television, radio and print newsrooms and, although some progress has been made, the numbers are far from exciting.

The big news out of the RTDNA report is that the number of people of color in the TV news workforce is at one of the highest levels ever seen, 23.1%. Unfortunately, this hardly reflects a country in which over 1 in 3 people are of color, and the landscape in radio and newspaper is much worse, leaving people of color vastly underrepresented in the newsrooms that inform the American public.

Newsroom Diversity Matters

Even in our digital world, today most Americans get their news and information — particularly their local news — from sources that originate in television, radio and newspaper newsrooms.

A NHMC poll found that news and entertainment media have a strong influence on non-Latinos’ perceptions about Latinos and that media portrayals can diminish or exacerbate negative stereotypes and opinions. Today anti-Latino hate speech, including false facts, are pervasive on many media outlets, poisoning the public debate and undermining the democratic purpose of media to educate the public about the issues of the day.

Few people of color own and produce media, and this disparity prejudices accurate reporting. When people of color own and staff news outlets a greater variety of stories are told from different points of view. According to the FCC’s Hispanic Television Study, Latino-owned stations fill a content niche, providing a variety of programming options besides those found on major non-Hispanic-owned, Spanish-language stations. Other studies have identified that diverse owners are more likely to air formats that appeal to audiences of color and that owners of color are more likely to hire diverse staff. Conversely, the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University found that concentration of ownership decreases the staff’s diversity and increases negative stereotyping of Latinos.

RTNDA Report Findings

The RTDNA report consists of a survey of 1,681 operating, non-satellite television stations and a random sample of 4,037 radio stations. Below is a summary of the RTNDA study’s key findings:

TV

· Latino-owned TV stations employ far more Latinos and African Americans than non-Latino-owned stations.

· In non-Latino owned stations, just one fifth of the staff are people of color, represented primarily by African American (11% of staff) and Latinos (6.7%).

· The percentage of people of color working as local TV news directors is at an all-time high, at 17%, with Latinos representing 8.8% of news directors.

· Latinos make up 3% of general managers in non-Latino-owned stations.

Newspapers

· People of color make up only 13% of the newsroom staff, most of them either African American or Latinos each amounting less than 5% of the staff.

· Newsroom diversity has changed little in more than a decade and does not resemble the growth of people of color in the United States.

· White people have higher retention rates than people of color.

Radio

· People of color decreased to only 9.4% of the radio workforce, following a 20-year trend.

· Larger commercial stations tend to be less diverse.

· In major markets there is, on average, only one person of color per staff, with even less diverse staff in smaller market stations.

· Only 2.4% radio news directors are Latinos, a slight improvement from last year but still a far cry from reflecting American diversity.

We have work to do. Please join NHMC in its fight to elevate talented Latinos in this field, to ensure that Latinos’ stories are accurate and present, and to oppose media consolidation that leads to an uneven playing field for Latinos in media.