EURweb |
NO. OF BLACKS IN TV NEWS DWINDLING: NABJ plans to address latest numbers at national convention.
*A study by the 2006 Radio and Television News Directors/Ball State University shows that the percentage of blacks in local television news continues to decline, and despite small increases in radio, the overall representation of minorities in radio newsrooms plummeted by more than 8 percent in the past decade.
The numbers are one of several issues to be discussed at The National Association of Black Journalists at the 31st Annual Convention and Career Fair August 16-20 at the Indiana Convention Center.
"While we would hope to see an increase across the board among all underrepresented groups, clearly the numbers show that's not the case," said NABJ President Bryan Monroe in a statement. "As stations seek to diversify their news staffs, such progress should not come at the expense of African Americans. Fair and accurate coverage of African American communities must remain a priority."
Overall, the survey showed an increase in minority journalists in TV newsrooms, with journalists of color representing 22.2 percent of the TV news workforce, up a full percent from 2005 – but the growth came almost entirely from an increase in Hispanics and Asian Americans. Those increases more than offset a 0.8 percent drop in African Americans. Minorities, meanwhile, account for 33.6 percent of the U.S. population.
"The question is, what will the radio and broadcast industries do with these numbers," said Barbara Ciara, NABJ's Vice President for Broadcast and anchor/managing editor at WTKR-TV in Norfolk. "I hope this survey is not an indication that the broadcast industry is just trading one race off for another instead of making a true effort to really diversify our nation’s newsrooms."
Gains were reported in the number of African American television news directors, and blacks were the largest group of minority news directors at non- Hispanic TV stations at 4.2 percent. However 93 percent of general managers of TV stations were white, and four out of five were men - virtually unchanged in the past year.
"If there is no improvement in diversity among the people in charge of overseeing hiring practices," said Ciara, "it makes sense that we resemble a rocking chair - lots of movement yet never moving forward."
For more information about the NABJ convention or to register, visit www.nabj.org or call the NABJ national office at (301) 445-7100.
