U.S. newspaper journalist numbers dropped in 2007
By Erina Lin, Tuesday 15 April 2008 at 23:58 :: Labor & Employment :: #1539 :: rss
The number of U.S. newspaper journalists declined last year by almost five percent to 52,600, the lowest in almost 25 years and the biggest drop in 30 years, according to the figures released by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
The figures reflected the attrition happening in the U.S. media industry, and also aroused a debate over the number of "minority" journalists employed by U.S. papers.
According to ASNE, the number of "journalists of colour" actually did not decline over the past year - steady at between 13 and 14 percent. However, this is still not satisfactory because it does not match the percentage of minorities in the American population. About one-third of Americans are classified as members of racial or ethnic minorities, and in four states they account for over 50 percent of the population, according to Press Gazette.
When ASNE first launched this annual census in 1978, it set a target of achieving parity by 2000. Later it set a new goal of 2025. Now, due to the increasingly rapid growth of racial and ethnic minorities, and a slowdown in the hiring of minority journalists, as well as an overall slowdown in hiring, it seems unlikely that the new deadline will be achieved.
The leaders of several organisations representing minority journalists have labelled the situation "dismal," Press Gazette reported.
The largest number and percentage of minority journalists are black (2,790 in total, or more than five percent), followed by Hispanic (2,346, or 4.6 percent), then Asian (l,692, or 3.2 percent). Native Americans are the smallest group, with 284 journalists, or 0.5 percent of editorial employees.
Minority journalists, according to the report, are most likely to be reporters, with only 11 percent holding executive or supervisory jobs. Men still outnumber women in newsrooms, by nearly two to one.
For a previous article on this topic, visit our partner site, Editorsweblog.org.
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