Latinos: 4.5% of Journalists in US Newsrooms
If it weren’t for the dismally low number of Latino journalists in US newsrooms there would probably be no need for News Taco. It’s that simple.
News Taco was conjured out of a need for more news and information by, for and about US Latinos, from a Latino perspective. We started doing this because we weren’t satisfied with what we found on the Internet. It stands to reason that if there were more Latinos in American newsrooms there would be more news about American Latinos.
We’ve known for many years about the lack of minorities in print and broadcast news. But a recent study published by the Maynard Institute drove the point home.
The number of journalists of color in daily newspaper and online-only newsrooms declined for the third consecutive year, the American Society of News Editors reported Thursday in disclosing the results of its annual diversity survey.
A breakdown of minority journalists in decline
Overall, the percentage of minorities in newsrooms declined by .47% between 2010 and 2011.
| Minorities in Newsrooms | 2010 | 2011 |
| Latinos | 4.63% | 4.54% |
| African American | 4.88% | 4.68% |
| Asian | 3.27% | 3.10% |
| Native American | .48% | .48% |
The numbers are said to reflect the general downsizing of newsroom personnel, but I have an inkling that there are more than the reported decline in Latino journalists. The official number is 145 less Latino reporters in 2011 than in 2010.
“At a time when the U.S. Census shows that minorities are [36] percent of the U.S. population, newsrooms are going in the opposite direction. This is an accuracy and credibility issue for our newsrooms,” Milton Coleman, ASNE president, said in Wednesday’s ASNE news release.
