Issues

Cover Story: 2008 Women and Minorities Survey

By Bob Papper

Results from the latest RTNDA/Hofstra University Annual Survey show increases in the number of women and minorities working in—and leading—TV and radio newsrooms.


By most measures, this year has been good for women and minorities in both TV and radio news, according to the latest RTNDA/Hofstra University Annual Survey. In fact, it’s been better than good.

At 28.3 percent, there are more women news directors in television than ever before—eclipsing the old record set in 2003 by almost 2 percent. The percentage of minority news directors in TV also reached an all-time high of 15.5 percent. That’s a percent and a half above the previous high in 2000. Overall, minorities in TV news—at 23.6 percent—reached the second-highest level ever, not far behind the peak reached in 2001. The percentage of minorities at non-Hispanic stations also rose, but more modestly, coming in third behind 2001 and 2006. And at 9.1, the percentage of minority TV news directors at non-Hispanic stations reached the highest level in the eight years we’ve tracked that statistic.

Minority numbers in radio rose as well. After years of steady shrinkage, the percentage of minorities rose to 11.8 percent. That’s nowhere near a record, but it’s far better than the last several years.

Not all the numbers were on the plus side. The number of minority radio news directors, which had spiked last year, fell back down to where it had been.

The bigger picture appears more mixed. In the past 18 years, the minority population in the United States has risen 8.1 percent; but the minority workforce in TV news is up 5.8 percent, and the minority workforce in radio is up by just 1 percent. Still, TV news diversity is far ahead of newspaper diversity (see sidebar).

Minority Population v. Minority Broadcast Workforce

Broadcast News Work Force —Television