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Newspapers’ recruiting message should focus on challenge, career security

By Dr. Lee B. Becker and Dr. Tudor Vlad

01.04.05

This past Spring, a research team we directed selected a community in the Southeast for a study of how ideas for news stories are generated.

On one day — a Friday — we visited the newsrooms of the daily newspaper, a weekly newspaper, the city magazine, a radio station and three television stations in the community.

In each of these newsrooms, we interviewed everyone present who could spare about 30 minutes. Thirty-five journalists shared their insights on story-idea generation with us.

Eleven of the 35 were journalists of color. They, like the other journalists, told us they got many of their story ideas from the people they met and the places they visited as they went about their busy lives. Since most of us are surrounded by people who are like us, that means the journalists of color more than likely got more tips and story ideas from people of color than did the other journalists.

Two of the 10 people we talked to at the daily newspaper were journalists of color.

Seven of the 17 we talked to at the three television stations were.

The conclusion is that the television news in that community on at least that day reflected more news story ideas from people of color — and about people of color — than did the daily newspaper.

Our observations won’t be a surprise to anyone who knows about America’s newsrooms.

In 2002, according to Indiana University researchers David Weaver and Cleve Wilhoit, only 9.5% of the journalists working in this country were journalists of color. In television newsrooms, 14.7% of the journalists were journalists of color. At daily newspapers, 9.6% were. The other industry segments were: wire services (8.7%), radio (8.6%), newsmagazines (8.2%) and weekly newspapers (5.6%). Journalists of color at daily newspapers and in television newsrooms are very similar in terms of age and level of education.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors in April reported a higher figure than the Indiana researchers. ASNE said that 13% of the staffers in daily newspaper newsrooms in 2003 were people of color. The Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation said that 22% of the televisions journalists in 2003 were people of color, and 12% of the radio journalists were minorities. RTNDA said in its Summer 2004 report that the percentage of minorities in 2003 was higher than a year earlier, while ASNE says the figure at daily newspapers was basically stable.

Everyone, it seems, agrees there is a gap, with television historically doing a better job of attracting and hiring minority journalists. A variety of explanations are offered to explain the gap.

Dr. Lee Becker, left, and Dr. Tudor Vlad of the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research, Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Georgia

Data we have gathered as part of the Annual Surveys of Journalism & Mass Communication offer some hints. What is more important, they suggest that daily newspapers have opportunities in recruiting young journalists of color — opportunities they have not yet figured out how to exploit.

These data show that in 13 of the 15 years back to 1989, minority graduates of the nation’s journalism and mass communication undergraduate programs were more likely to have specialized in broadcast journalism than were non-minority graduates. Across the 15 years, the gap was just more than 4 percentage points.

In each of those 15 years, minority graduates were more likely to have looked for a job in the broadcast television industry than were non-minority graduates. Summed across the 15 years, the gap was almost 8%.

In each of those 15 years, minority graduates of the nation’s journalism and mass communication programs were more likely to be offered a job in broadcast television than have non-minority graduates. The gap was more than 3 percentage points across the 15 years.

In 11 of those 15 years back to 1989, minority graduates were more likely to be working in broadcast television six to eight months after graduation than were non-minority graduates. This gap was a little more than 1% across the years.

In 12 of the 15 years, minority graduates also were more likely to have majored in print journalism than were non-minority graduates, though the gap most years was small and, summing across the period, the difference was little more than 1%. Non-minority graduates are more likely to have specialized in advertising and public relations.

In 11 of the 15 years, minority graduates also were more likely to look for jobs at daily newspapers than were non-minority graduates. Across those years, the gap was just a little more than 2%.

In nine of the 15 years, minority graduates were more likely to be offered a job with a daily newspaper than were non-minority graduates, but the gap was less than a half of a percentage point across the time period.

In nine of the 15 years, minority graduates were more likely to be working for a daily newspaper six to eight months after graduation than non-minority graduates. The gap at the end of the period, however, was only one-tenth of a percentage point.

In three of the four cases — looking for work, being offered work and actually taking jobs — minorities favor television and are favored by television. Almost a third of the minority graduates looked for television jobs during that period, while only a quarter of them looked for jobs with a daily newspaper. Across the years, 13% of the minority graduates got an offer from a television station, while 11% of them got an offer from a daily newspaper. Almost 6.5% percent were working for television six to eight months after graduation; less than 5% were working for a daily newspaper.

A little more than 14% of the minority graduates majored in broadcast news during this time period, compared with a little more than 17% of the minority graduates majoring in print journalism. A total of a little more than 27% of the minority students majored in broadcast news, broadcast production, or a combination of the two. The comparable figure for non-minority graduates was a little more than 20%.

Interest is created before college

The strong commitment of minority students to journalism goes back to high school. In 2000, we asked the students in our annual survey of graduates of journalism and mass communication programs what kinds of journalism opportunities existed in their high schools.

Minority students were less likely than non-minority students to report that high school journalism classes were available, less likely to report that their high school had a newspaper, less likely to report their high school had broadcast facilities, and less likely to report the school had a yearbook.

Despite this, minority graduates that year — and in 1992, when we also asked the question — were nearly as likely to report actually working for their high school newspaper, radio or television station or yearbook. Minority graduates were less likely to have attended a high school journalism class.

We asked the graduates of journalism and mass communication programs when they had decided to major in journalism in nine of our annual surveys from 1990 to 2000. Minority graduates in each of those nine years were more likely to report having decided to major in journalism before reaching the university than non-minority graduates. In 2000, just fewer than six in 10 of the minority graduates had selected journalism as their major before entering college, while a little more than five in 10 of the non-minority graduates had.

Minority graduates do report having gotten lower grades in a variety of high school subjects than did non-minority graduates, but the differences are not huge, and large percentages of both groups report getting high marks. In 2000, 66% of the minority graduates reported getting A grades in high school English, compared with 78% of the non-minority students. In 1992, the figures had been 64% and 68% respectively. Both groups report high grades in history, and both groups report lower grades in math and science.

Among eight reasons we’ve presented to graduates for studying journalism in many of our surveys over the years, minority graduates are most likely to pick a general interest in the media as important. Other reasons listed as important are the belief that it is a creative area of study, because they like working with people, and because they like to write. Minority graduates are more likely to pick a general interest in the media and the feeling that the field is creative as reasons.

Minority graduates also are more likely to say they picked the field because they felt they could get a job, because they are interested in current events, and because they like working with visuals.

Minority graduates overall demonstrate more enthusiasm for the field, and they are more likely to have a social motive for entering it than are non-minority graduates. The graduates of color are more likely than other graduates to say that it is important to them that through journalism they can serve society, help people understand the world around them, and give people information they can use in their lives.

Work with visuals has appeal

In response to this question on reasons for studying journalism and others we have asked over the years, minority graduates have expressed a strong interest in working with visual images and in television, consistent with their selection of broadcasting as a major. While they were as likely as non-minority graduates to tell us in response to questions in our 1996 survey that they were avid readers and to enjoy writing, they were more likely to report enjoying working with technology and to report that they enjoyed working with visual images.

Minority and non-minority graduates were almost the same in reporting in both our 1994 and 1996 surveys that they had read a newspaper, a magazine or a book yesterday. Minority graduates were more likely to report having watched television news. Among all students, television news viewing was higher than newspaper readership.

Ironically, in the most recent data on media use released by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, minorities were less likely than non-minorities to report getting most of their news about national and international issues from television than were non-minority respondents. Television was the dominant response for both groups. Minority respondents were more likely to pick the Internet than non-minority respondents.

In our 2002 survey, we included some questions about the graduates’ general feelings about their competencies and interests as they seek jobs, and in the 2003 survey we included some new questions about the types of jobs the graduates were most interested in finding.

The findings are interesting, for they offer some tips for daily newspapers — and any media employer — trying to hire minority graduates.

Both groups of students express high levels of confidence in themselves, but minority graduates are more likely to say "they get along well with people who are quite different from me," more likely to report being able to speak a second language, and more likely to say they like learning "about people who are different from me." Minority graduates are a little more shy, expressing slightly less interest in "telling others about things I’ve done" and slightly more uncomfortable "when people ask me to talk about myself."

Minority graduates report slightly more confidence in their oral communication skills than non-minority graduates and slightly less confidence in their written communication skills.

Strong focus is on opportunity

Minority graduates are more focused on jobs-security issues than are non-minority graduates. They are more likely to say they want a job that offers advancement opportunities, more likely to report that "financial security" is important in selecting a job, more likely to want a job with prestige, more likely to want a job with opportunities to learn new skills, more likely to want "job security," more likely to want to be one’s "own boss," and more likely to want job challenges.

If the daily newspaper industry can convince minority graduates that it offers the kind of security and challenge they seek — and are better at this than the other media — they should be able to change the composition of their newsrooms.

The argument shouldn’t be hard to make. Every year since 1988, graduates of the nation’s journalism and mass communication programs taking jobs with a daily newspaper have earned more than graduates at television. The gap in 1989 was $1,800, based on the median salary reports. In 2003, the gap was $3,500. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the 2003 graduate with a job at a daily newspaper was earning $100 less on average than a graduate who took a daily newspaper job in 1989. At a television station, the 2003 graduate was earning $600 less on average than the graduate in 1989, in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Newspapers can create work environments that challenge minorities, allow them to learn new skills, and offer opportunities for advancement. While television stations clearly rely on the visual technology minorities are interested in, newspapers have jobs requiring those skills as well.

In sum, newspapers must be committed enough to make a strong pitch to the minority graduates — and then to deliver on the promises.

About the authors

Lee B. Becker is a professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and director of the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research at the University of Georgia. Tudor Vlad is assistant director of the Cox Center. The Annual Surveys of Journalism & Mass Communication are housed in the Cox Center and directed by Drs. Becker and Vlad. The Freedom Forum is a sponsor of the Annual Surveys. The authors thank Dr. David Weaver at Indiana University for providing access to findings from his study.