Media, Ethnic Participation in

Employment

In the late 1980s, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) recorded the number of media experts of different ethnicities. Overwhelmingly, experts in the media were white—more than 90 percent in many cases—and nonwhite commentators were often “ghettoized” into commentating on minority issues. These kinds of findings continued to validate the need for the ASNE surveys. By 1998, though, ASNE's goal was realized, and it extended the deadline to 2025. In 1999, racial minorities made up 27.3 percent of the American population, but only 11.6 percent of America's news staff. Continuing at that rate, the 2025 deadline would also prove unreachable. In 1999, television news staffs were slightly more diverse than their newsroom counterparts, while magazine staffs were even less diverse. There were few high-level executives or decision makers of color.

By 2011, ASNE reported that racial and ethnic minorities still held less than 13 percent of all newsroom jobs. Minorities owned only 3 percent of television stations and 7 percent of radio stations. This is disproportionate to the 36 percent of American society that is made up of ethnic and racial minorities. Furthermore, 2011 was the third year in a row that minority representation in mainstream media actually dropped. In addition, 441 newspapers reported not even one minority [Page 1425]staff member in 2011, and this number of all-white news staffs had been growing since 2006.

Another part of the problem is that recent journalism and communications graduates face different prospects for employment, based in part on their race. The 2009 to 2010 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates reported that only 48.6 percent of minorities graduating in these fields found full-time employment, compared to 63.9 percent of white graduates in the same fields. According to the survey, this was the widest gap since 1987. Additionally, African American editors and other newsroom professionals have been moving steadily into ethnic media positions, especially since the 2000s. While this is a positive move in many ways, it leaves the mainstream media with even less diversity.

Ownership

One measure that was adopted for a short while in the late 1970s was a “tax certificate” program. This program was designed to increase minority ownership of media outlets by offering tax breaks to owners of broadcast or cable outlets who sold their media outlet to minority buyers. It also gave the tax credit to anyone who invested in a minority-owned outlet. Unfortunately, the program was cut because of alleged misuse. Ownership and participation continued to lag behind.

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