The percentage of minorities working in local television news last year rose to 22.2 percent, the second highest level ever recorded, according to the 2006 RTNDA/Ball State University annual survey of women and minorities in newsrooms.
The 2005 figure for minorities in local TV newsrooms is a full percentage point higher than the 21.2 percent recorded in 2004. At non-Hispanic stations, the minority workforce was 20.4 percent, also an increase over the previous year. The highest level ever recorded was in 2001 when minorities held 24.6 percent of TV news jobs.
The percentage of minority TV news directors was 13.2 percent, up from 12 percent the year before. 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 survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2005 among all 1617 operating, non-satellite television stations. Valid responses came from 1120 television stations, or 69.3 percent. Data for women TV news directors is a complete census and is not projected from a smaller sample.
To read complete survey results, visit www.rtnda.org/research/2006diversity.pdf.
For more information about the NABJ, visit www.nabj.org.
