GAINS CLAIMED:
Latinos accounted for most of the growth of people of color working in newsrooms at local English-language television stations over the past year, according to the annual survey of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. Just over half -- 52.7% -- of all of the 1,387 operating, non-satellite television stations completed the survey. The figures were released this month in Communicator magazine.
Latino numbers climbed from 4.0% in 2000 to 6.7% in 2001. Employment for all people of color climbed from 18.0% last year to 21.8% this year, it reported. When Spanish-language stations were included in the total, Latinos made up 10.1% of newsroom employees people of color 24.6% Of 35,061 employees in the TV newsrooms, 2,349 Latinos worked at English-language stations.
If the figures are accurate, we are pleased that a greater number of stations are realizing the importance of hiring Latino journalists, said National Association of Hispanic Journalists president Cecilia Alvear. Let's hope it marks the beginning of an upward trend. Industry-wide layoffs and buyouts this year are reason for serious concern, she noted.The percentage of Latino news directors working at English-language TV stations decreased from 4.0% to 2.9%. The percentage of Latinos working at radio stations increased from 3.0% to 5.5%.
NAHJ board member Manuel De La Rosa, Santa María, Calif., bureau chief for Fox KSBY-TV, questioned the figures. I work in a small market where there is a dire need for more Latino journalists. But I didn't see the gains. Study author Bob Papper told Weekly Report he is confident the numbers are accurate. He stated that this year's increase could be the result of the luck of the draw -- which stations chose to return their surveys. Now more stations are sharing newsroom personnel and a greater number are recognizing the demographic changes occurring in their market and hiring more Latino staff, he said.
