Austin, Texas (Sept. 12, 2018) - The American Society of News Editors announced today at the annual News Leadership Conference that it will delay releasing the results of the 2018 Newsroom Employment Diversity Survey to drive greater participation.
Only 234 out of nearly 1,700 newspapers and digital media outlets submitted data for this year's survey. The resulting response rate of less than 14 percent means that data collected thus far could not be interpreted as representative of the contemporary media landscape. ASNE will continue to collect data for another 30 days until Oct. 12.
"We realize how busy editors are, juggling a growing list of priorities with dwindling resources, but we must rally to get a better handle on where we stand so we may identify trends and solutions," said ASNE Diversity Committee Co-Chair Karen Magnuson, editor and vice president of news at the Rochester (New York) Democrat & Chronicle. "If you're struggling with diversity in your newsroom, ASNE is here to help. We're in this together. Diversity in staffing and news reports is a business imperative. If we as an industry do not reflect and connect with communities of color, we won't be able to grow and uphold our First Amendment responsibilities. Please participate!"
ASNE is asking news organizations that have not completed this year's survey to please contact immediately lead researcher Dr. Meredith Clark, assistant professor of the University of Virginia's Department of Media Studies, at mdc6j@virginia.edu, or ASNE Executive Director Teri Hayt at thayt@asne.org. The new expected release date of survey results and analysis, along with data visualizations from the Google News Lab, is early November.
The purpose of the ASNE diversity survey, launched in 1978, is to document employment trends in U.S. print and online publications and help newsrooms reflect the growing diversity of their audiences. The survey measures progress toward ASNE's goal of having the percentage of minorities working in newsrooms nationwide equal to that of minorities in the nation's population by 2025.
"The ASNE diversity survey is a valuable tool for news organizations to better plan their strategies and fill the gaps they might have in terms of newsroom staffing and how diverse and inclusive their stories are," said ASNE President Alfredo Carbajal, managing editor of Al Día at The Dallas Morning News. "We ask and encourage news organizations to complete the survey before the Oct. 12 deadline to achieve a more representative percentage of newsrooms participating this year."
To make sufficient progress to attain the goal of parity, ASNE, along with our many partners, has undertaken a number of changes to the diversity survey this year.
For the first time, ASNE is conducting interviews and focus groups with current and former news professionals during the annual conferences of several affinity groups, including the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Native American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association, and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
The focus groups and one-on-one interviews will provide context about newsroom hiring practices and recommendations in relation to diversity. This new qualitative approach will draw perspectives from news leaders across all platforms to discuss the efforts and challenges in diversifying their staffs. A series of findings (case studies) from the qualitative research will be released later in the fall.
Since 2012, ASNE's Emerging Leaders Institutes (known as the Minority Leadership Institutes until 2015) have trained nearly 400 up-and-coming and mid-level news leaders to develop the skills needed to lead and drive change in their organizations and in the industry.
In addition, ASNE has championed diversity in journalism through its Diversity Committee, which in the past, partnered with Journalism That Matters and together launched
The Engagement Hub
to help news organizations better cover untapped and emerging communities and integrate more diverse voices into the news. This year, the committee joined forces with APME's Diversity Committee to provide professional development at the News Leadership Conference and select the
2018 winner
of the McGruder award for excellence in diversity leadership.
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About the American Society of News Editors
The
American Society of News Editors
focuses on leadership development and journalism-related issues. Founded in 1922 as a nonprofit professional organization, ASNE promotes fair, principled journalism; defends and protects First Amendment rights; and fights for freedom of information and open government. Leadership, innovation, diversity and inclusion in coverage and the journalism work force, opinion journalism, news literacy and the sharing of ideas are also key ASNE initiatives.
