The ASNE survey was released April 11 during the association's annual convention.

The ASNE survey found that the overall percentage of journalists of color working in the newsroom climbed by only a third of a percentage point from 11.55 percent in 1998 to 11.85 in 1999.

"I am upset that the survey results year after year remain basically stagnant," said Baca, who is also the president of UNITY: Journalists of Color. "I know there are people in the industry committed to diversity, but somewhere along the lines, the message is lost."

The figures also revealed that the percentage of Hispanic newsroom employees climbed from 3.46 in 1998 to 3.68 in 1999. While the increase was larger than in previous years, it still fails to keep up with the overall growth of the nation's Latino community.

Latinos currently make up 11 percent of the U.S. population. That percentage is expected to increase to 16. 3 percent by 2020 and to 18.9 percent by 2030.

"If newspapers are serious about reflecting the community they cover, the make up of their newsrooms have to change drastically as well," said Baca.

ASNE's new diversity goal, adopted by its board last year, calls on newsrooms to reach parity by 2025. People of color currently make up 28 percent of the nation's population. That percentage is expected to increase to 38.2 percent by 2025.

ASNE will begin measuring the industry's progress in hiring and promoting journalists of color against benchmarks the ASNE board adopted last year. Baca said she was encouraged that the percentage of interns of color increased slightly from 31.13 percent in 1998 to 31.42 in 1999. However, she was discouraged that the percentage of people of color who were first time hires decreased from 18.72 in 1998 to 17.74 in 1999.

The survey also revealed that 39 percent of newspapers still do not employ a single journalists of color and that less than a third of all new hires last year (1,100) were journalists of color (300). The survey also noted that nearly 91 percent of all supervisors were white.

Baca referred to a Freedom Forum study released April 10 which highlighted several disturbing trends undermining newsroom diversity efforts. The study found that each year between 1994 and 1999, nearly as many journalists of color (400) left the newspaper industry as were hired (550). It also found that nearly half of all new hires over the next 25 years must be people of color in order to reach parity by 2025.

"Clearly, the industry needs to do a better job retaining journalists of color as well as recruiting future journalists at an earlier age and not when they are about to graduate college," said Baca. "Otherwise, future survey results will continue to reveal more of the same."

The NAHJ, founded in 1984, has 1,500 members. Its mission is to increase the number of Hispanic journalists entering the profession and to improve news coverage of the nation's Hispanic communities.