More TV jobs for women, fewer for minorities

Women make up more than 40 percent of the workforce in local television news and almost 30 percent of TV news directors. Both are all-time highs, according to the latest RTNDA/Hofstra survey released today.

But the number of minorities in broadcast news fell in 2008. People of color made up 21.8 percent of local TV news staffs, a decline of almost 8 percent from the previous year. One major reason was a 10 percent drop in the number of Hispanics working for Spanish-language stations. The percentage of minority television news directors dropped slightly from a record 16.5 percent in 2008, with the sharpest decline among Hispanic news directors.

And the report says the bigger picture remains unchanged: broadcast newsrooms overall do not reflect the population as a whole.

In the last 19 years, the minority population in the U.S. has risen 8.5 percent; but the minority workforce in TV news is up 4.0 percent, and the minority workforce in radio is actually down. Still, TV news diversity remains far ahead of newspapers.

According to ASNE, minority journalists make up 13.4 percent of newsroom employees at daily newspapers.

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