Blog
ASNE prepares to launch 2014 newsroom census
- By: ASNE staff
- On: 01/16/2014 09:30:10
- In: Newsroom diversity survey
The American Society of News Editors is getting ready to launch the 2014 Newsroom Employment Census as part of our long-term goal to increase diversity in U.S. newsrooms. Look for an email that will be sent to you in the next week for your participation in the census, and please help us by responding promptly.
The American Society of News Editors is getting ready to launch the 2014 Newsroom Employment Census as part of our long-term goal to increase diversity in U.S. newsrooms. Look for an email that will be sent to you in the next week for your participation in the census, and please help us by responding promptly.
ASNE has been an industry leader in helping newspapers better reflect their communities. Knowing that a diverse staff provides fuller coverage of a community and that diversity is important to the financial well-being of our industry, ASNE has conducted the newsroom census and released the results annually since 1978.
As an industry, we have made strides, but we are not where we want or need to be. Although there has been progress, the racial diversity of newsrooms does not come close to the fast-growing diversity in the U.S. population as a whole. Click here to read more about the Newsroom Employment Census and see the results available since 1997.
A primary mission of ASNE is to have the percentage of minorities working in newsrooms nationwide equal to that of minorities in the nation's population by 2025. The census has become a tool for measuring the success of this mission, and that's why we need your participation.
A significant grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation funds this important research. ASNE has had great success since partnering for the first time in 2012 with the Center for Advanced Social Research (CASR) -- led by Director Kenneth Fleming -- at the Missouri School of Journalism. In 2012, the response rate jumped from the usual 60 percent to about 71 percent, the highest in our census history. It was also about 71 percent last year. We are confident that we can increase our response rate and make this information even more meaningful.
Your participation means a lot to the success of the project. When you receive an email with instructions, please fill out the completely anonymous survey. We will follow up with phone calls as necessary. The census is consistent from year to year to analyze change in our industry over time. But we know that the industry has changed dramatically. Based on the feedback from many of you, we added questions about gender and diversity among those in top editorial positions. The results will be announced this summer.