ASNE needs to revise minority hiring plan
Commentary
By Charles L. Overby
Chairman and CEO, The Freedom Forum
06.15.98
Leaders of the American Society of Newspaper Editors have painted themselves into a corner.
The ASNE board is considering new goals for minority hiring in newsrooms. Minority groups are criticizing the proposal as a retreat.
Here are the facts:
Edward L. Seaton, the very smart and capable ASNE president, explains the new approach this way in his column in The American Editor: "An unrealistic goal would be a disincentive."
The 20% goal is a key element of a three-part proposal: "Encourage and assist newspapers to reach newsroom parity with minorities in the population. As a bench mark, the representation of journalists of color should reach at least 20% industry wide by 2010. At a minimum, every newspaper should employ journalists of color, and every newspaper should reflect the diversity of its local community."
When the board considers this proposal again in October, it could regain the high ground simply by deleting the sentence about 20% hiring. Local parity is the issue.
Progress has been made in newsrooms (4% minorities in 1978 vs. 11.5% today). But that is not nearly enough.
Local editors need to confront the issue. Is the goal of parity proper? Does it matter? If it does, there should be no retreat.
Here is the dirty little secret to ASNE's failing miserably to meet its goal: Big-city newspapers have fallen way behind the goal of parity. Their large gaps, in cities with large minority populations, make it virtually impossible for ASNE to reach its goal nationally.
ASNE leaders don't want to criticize big-city newspaper editors because they have done a lot to increase hiring of minorities. But the commitment of big-city editors seems to be lagging. The proportion of minority journalists actually has declined at newspapers with circulations of more than 500,000.
The use of percentages masks the human dimension of this problem.
About 6,300 minorities work in newsrooms, according to Veronica Jennings, diversity director for ASNE.
Turnover of employees at newspapers (all departments) is about 13%, according to the Newspaper Association of America. If newsroom turnover is about 10%, that means 630 minorities have to be hired every year just to stay even.
If the overall newsroom work force stays the same at about 55,000, a goal of parity by 2010 would mean 18,150 minorities would be working in newsrooms, about three times the current level.
If the goal is achieved over a 12-year period, it would require nearly 1,000 new minority journalists every year, plus replacements for minorities who leave.
So between 1,500 and 2,000 new minorities must be educated and trained every year to come close to the goal of parity.
ASNE leadership can do more to increase minority hiring in the next decade by focusing more on educating, training and retaining minorities for newsrooms. An entire new call to arms needs to be made in this area.
Unless significantly more minorities are encouraged and assisted through every step of the pipeline, an even larger gap will exist by 2010. ASNE can and should marshal bold new plans that include universities as well as newsrooms.