Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists | ||||||||||
at America's daily newspapers | ||||||||||
with the communities that they serve | ||||||||||
Newsroom diversity report for | ||||||||||
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | ||||||||||
Columbus, Georgia | ||||||||||
Owner: Knight Ridder (Calif.) | ||||||||||
From a report for the Knight Foundation | ||||||||||
by Bill Dedman and Stephen K. Doig, June 2005 | ||||||||||
Click here to read the national report or to select another newspaper | ||||||||||
Year | Non-white % of newsroom staff |
|
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2005 | 24.1 | |||||||||
2004 | 19.3 | |||||||||
2003 | 16.9 | |||||||||
2002 | 19.0 | |||||||||
2001 | 20.0 | |||||||||
2000 | 13.0 | |||||||||
1999 | 20.6 | |||||||||
1998 | 22.4 | |||||||||
1997 | 28.6 | |||||||||
1996 | 24.1 | |||||||||
1995 | 20.4 | |||||||||
1994 | 21.1 | |||||||||
1993 | 20.3 | |||||||||
1992 | 17.2 | |||||||||
1991 | 14.6 | |||||||||
1990 | Did not report | |||||||||
The latest year at peak is | 1997 | |||||||||
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures. | ||||||||||
Newsroom Diversity Index | ||||||||||
for Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | ||||||||||
Year | Non-white % of newsroom staff | Non-white % of circulation area | Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100) | |||||||
2005 | 24.1 | 44.8 | 54 | |||||||
2004 | 19.3 | 45.6 | 42 | |||||||
How the index is calculated | ||||||||||
The Newsroom Diversity Index is the non-white percentage of the newsroom staff | ||||||||||
divided by the non-white percentage of residents in the circulation area. | ||||||||||
(Parity = 100.) | ||||||||||
Company index | ||||||||||
This newspaper's owner, Knight Ridder (Calif.), | ||||||||||
has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 76. | ||||||||||
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures. | ||||||||||
Peer group comparison | ||||||||||
for Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | ||||||||||
This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 54. | This paper | |||||||||
Peer group | ||||||||||
Compare that with 44, which is the median Diversity Index for all newspapers | ||||||||||
reporting in this circulation category of 25,001 to 50,000 daily sales. | ||||||||||
In that group, this newspaper's Diversity Index ranks 52 out of 140 | ||||||||||
newspapers reporting in the category of 25,001 to 50,000 daily sales. | ||||||||||
An example of a newspaper of similar circulation, in an area of similar level of non-white residents, but one that has a relatively high Diversity Index, is Tucson Citizen, Arizona, with a 31.3 percent non-white staff in a community that is 44.7 percent non-white. Its index is 70. | ||||||||||
FYI, in circulation, this newspaper's average weekday circulation of | ||||||||||
approximately 45,559 ranks 233 out of 1,410 daily newspapers in the US. | ||||||||||
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures. | ||||||||||
Details on race/ethnicity | ||||||||||
in the circulation area | ||||||||||
and the home county | ||||||||||
of Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | ||||||||||
Circulation area | ||||||||||
Race/ethnicity | % of population | Number of residents |
|
|||||||
Hispanic | 3.6 | 11,922 | ||||||||
Black | 39.1 | 128,216 | ||||||||
Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.2 | 3,883 | ||||||||
Native-American | 0.3 | 1,114 | ||||||||
Other non-white | 0.1 | 418 | ||||||||
Multi-racial | 1.2 | 3,957 | ||||||||
Non-white | 45.6 | 149,510 | ||||||||
White | 54.4 | 178,435 | ||||||||
Total | 327,945 | |||||||||
Home county: Muscogee | ||||||||||
Race/ethnicity | % of population | Number of residents |
|
|||||||
Hispanic | 4.5 | 8,372 | ||||||||
Black | 43.3 | 80,720 | ||||||||
Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.6 | 3,038 | ||||||||
Native-American | 0.3 | 618 | ||||||||
Other non-white | 0.2 | 297 | ||||||||
Multi-racial | 1.4 | 2,578 | ||||||||
Non-white | 51.3 | 95,623 | ||||||||
White | 48.7 | 90,668 | ||||||||
Total | 186,291 | |||||||||
The home county of this newspaper is Muscogee. | ||||||||||
About this report | ||||||||||
This third annual report for the Knight Foundation adds context to an annual survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. ASNE has set a goal that | ||||||||||
every newspaper, to help it know its community and gather the news, should employ at least one non-white journalist, and that newspapers should strive to | ||||||||||
employ non-whites in proportion to their share of the community. ASNE's report, at www.asne.org, shows each newspaper's non-white employment, but does | ||||||||||
not disclose how closely that employment mirrors the newspaper's circulation area. | ||||||||||
That gap is filled by the report you are reading now. This report was not done by ASNE, but was done for the Knight Foundation by Bill Dedman and | ||||||||||
Stephen K. Doig. It shows how close each newspaper is to ASNE's goal, by comparing the newsroom staffing with the circulation area population. | ||||||||||
The full report is at www.powerreporting.com/knight. | ||||||||||
Notes and definitions | ||||||||||
1. The Newsroom Diversity Index is the non-white percentage of the newsroom staff divided by the non-white percentage of the circulation area's residents. Parity = 100. | ||||||||||
2. Source for staffing: Survey by American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 2005. Newspapers report non-white staff as of the end of the previous year. | ||||||||||
3. Following ASNE's definition, newsroom staff includes only supervisors, reporters, editors, copy/layout editors and photographers. | ||||||||||
4. Also following ASNE's definition, "whites," "blacks," etc., exclude Hispanics, who are counted in a separate category. | ||||||||||
5. Source for boundaries of this newspaper's circulation area: ZIP Code circulation data, Audit Bureau of Circulations, latest available. | ||||||||||
6. A paper may define its circulation area differently for marketing efforts, or news coverage, or to set advertising rates. | ||||||||||
7. If ZIP Codes or counties are used, this report applies a threshold: 10 percent household penetration is required to include an area in the circulation area. | ||||||||||
8. Source for the demographics of residents of that circulation area: US Census 2000. | ||||||||||
9. Source for total circulation: Editor & Publisher magazine, Monday-Friday average at year-end 2004. | ||||||||||
10. Staff of non-English publications, such as the Miami Herald's El Nuevo Herald, are excluded from the ASNE staffing survey for the first time this year. | ||||||||||
Demographics of ZIP Codes | ||||||||||
where sales were reported by | ||||||||||
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | ||||||||||
Note that some ZIP Codes listed here may not have been included in determining the newspaper's circulation area. In calculating the Diversity Index, a | ||||||||||
ZIP Code was included only if the household penetration was at least 10 percent. Any lower-penetration ZIP Codes are also listed here for your information. | ||||||||||
Also, if the newspaper reported more than 300 ZIP Codes, only the top 300 in weekday sales are listed here. | ||||||||||
ZIP / City / State / Approx. distance in miles from the newspaper's home office | Weekday sales | Households | Penetration % (daily sales per 100 households) | Median household income | Non-white % of population |
Hispanic % of population |
Black % of population |
Native % of population |
Asian % of population |
|
31907 / Columbus / GA / 4 mi. | 8,536 | 20,427 | 41.8 | $38,693 | 63.6 | 3.8 | 56.2 | 0.3 | 1.5 | |
31904 / Columbus / GA / 1.3 mi. | 5,765 | 12,076 | 47.7 | $33,746 | 26.4 | 3.1 | 20.2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | |
31909 / Columbus / GA / 3.6 mi. | 5,422 | 10,812 | 50.1 | $48,979 | 19.7 | 3.5 | 11.6 | 0.4 | 2.8 | |
31906 / Columbus / GA / 2.3 mi. | 4,128 | 10,372 | 39.8 | $28,865 | 70.0 | 2.5 | 65.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 | |
36867 / Phenix City / AL / 3 mi. | 2,780 | 8,054 | 34.5 | $30,363 | 30.7 | 1.7 | 27.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | |
31901 / Columbus / GA / 1.8 mi. | 2,433 | 3,523 | 69.1 | $17,817 | 59.1 | 2.2 | 55.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | |
31903 / Columbus / GA / 5.1 mi. | 2,372 | 8,559 | 27.7 | $21,892 | 80.9 | 7.5 | 70.0 | 0.2 | 1.6 | |
36869 / Phenix City / AL / 4.6 mi. | 1,703 | 7,147 | 23.8 | $26,886 | 54.4 | 1.2 | 51.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | |
31905 / Fort Benning / GA / 9.1 mi. | 1,542 | 3,905 | 39.5 | $32,862 | 46.9 | 13.8 | 26.9 | 0.8 | 2.3 | |
36870 / Phenix City / AL / 3 mi. | 1,135 | 4,043 | 28.1 | $41,172 | 15.1 | 2.4 | 10.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | |
36877 / Smiths Station / AL / 7.3 mi. | 936 | 4,052 | 23.1 | $42,905 | 18.2 | 1.6 | 14.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | |
31820 / Midland / GA / 8.1 mi. | 903 | 1,752 | 51.5 | $78,435 | 19.6 | 2.3 | 13.1 | 0.3 | 3.2 | |
31804 / Cataula / GA / 9.8 mi. | 862 | 1,601 | 53.8 | $55,588 | 15.3 | 0.8 | 13.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | |
36874 / Salem / AL / 13.5 mi. | 715 | 2,335 | 30.6 | $41,062 | 26.6 | 0.7 | 24.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | |
36027 / Eufaula / AL / 40.7 mi. | 653 | 6,849 | 9.5 | $27,283 | 43.5 | 1.3 | 40.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | |
36856 / Fort Mitchell / AL / 10.5 mi. | 511 | 518 | 98.6 | $36,810 | 45.4 | 5.5 | 35.8 | 0.5 | 1.3 | |
30240 / Lagrange / GA / 34.4 mi. | 505 | 9,708 | 5.2 | $40,454 | 28.0 | 1.9 | 24.4 | 0.1 | 0.8 | |
31822 / Pine Mountain / GA / 25.9 mi. | 478 | 1,823 | 26.2 | $39,183 | 31.8 | 1.1 | 29.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
31808 / Fortson / GA / 6.2 mi. | 460 | 1,734 | 26.5 | $65,000 | 8.8 | 1.1 | 5.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | |
31816 / Manchester / GA / 29.9 mi. | 454 | 2,327 | 19.5 | $28,418 | 39.4 | 0.8 | 37.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | |
31811 / Hamilton / GA / 14.5 mi. | 420 | 1,455 | 28.9 | $40,121 | 27.3 | 0.8 | 24.7 | 0.3 | 0.6 | |
36854 / Valley / AL / 23 mi. | 417 | 5,761 | 7.2 | $32,653 | 23.3 | 0.8 | 21.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | |
31803 / Tazewell / GA / 27.8 mi. | 357 | 1,780 | 20.1 | $26,046 | 57.8 | 7.8 | 48.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
31829 / Upatoi / GA / 13.5 mi. | 319 | 286 | 111.5 | $60,670 | 15.9 | 1.0 | 12.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 | |
36830 / Auburn / AL / 28 mi. | 315 | 12,181 | 2.6 | $27,167 | 22.2 | 1.8 | 15.7 | 0.2 | 3.4 | |
31807 / Ellerslie / GA / 13.1 mi. | 293 | 559 | 52.4 | $48,563 | 14.0 | 2.3 | 9.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 | |
31831 / Waverly Hall / GA / 17.7 mi. | 281 | 951 | 29.5 | $40,667 | 29.7 | 1.0 | 27.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | |
36801 / Opelika / AL / 23.9 mi. | 280 | 8,159 | 3.4 | $32,175 | 45.3 | 1.2 | 42.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | |
31825 / Richland / GA / 31.3 mi. | 258 | 889 | 29.0 | $25,568 | 58.0 | 2.3 | 54.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | |
36863 / Lanett / AL / 27.7 mi. | 230 | 5,463 | 4.2 | $30,046 | 41.7 | 0.8 | 40.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | |
36875 / Seale / AL / 10.8 mi. | 228 | 1,900 | 12.0 | $30,103 | 34.4 | 1.6 | 30.9 | 0.2 | 0.4 | |
31805 / Cusseta / GA / 17.2 mi. | 206 | 1,119 | 18.4 | $30,806 | 38.4 | 1.7 | 33.8 | 0.5 | 1.1 | |
31815 / Lumpkin / GA / 30.4 mi. | 205 | 919 | 22.3 | $22,583 | 65.8 | 0.9 | 64.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |
31827 / Talbotton / GA / 29.5 mi. | 201 | 881 | 22.8 | $26,500 | 75.7 | 1.4 | 72.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | |
31830 / Warm Springs / GA / 29.4 mi. | 197 | 886 | 22.2 | $36,163 | 30.5 | 0.7 | 27.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | |
36804 / Opelika / AL / 24.1 mi. | 183 | 5,606 | 3.3 | $37,867 | 28.7 | 0.7 | 25.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 | |
31812 / Junction City / GA / 28.9 mi. | 160 | 223 | 71.7 | $23,125 | 58.2 | 3.0 | 53.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | |
31006 / Butler / GA / 40 mi. | 153 | 1,770 | 8.6 | $24,498 | 49.5 | 2.5 | 46.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
31833 / West Point / GA / 26.7 mi. | 136 | 2,586 | 5.3 | $32,553 | 44.2 | 0.7 | 42.5 | 0.1 | 0.5 | |
31709 / Americus / GA / 49.3 mi. | 133 | 9,794 | 1.4 | $30,459 | 54.5 | 2.5 | 50.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 | |
31801 / Juniper / GA / 15.9 mi. | 129 | 932 | 13.8 | $36,214 | 23.4 | 1.2 | 20.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | |
31754 / Georgetown / GA / 41.4 mi. | 114 | 1,061 | 10.7 | $26,919 | 46.8 | 0.5 | 45.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |
31836 / Woodland / GA / 28.8 mi. | 109 | 452 | 24.1 | $20,688 | 56.1 | 1.6 | 53.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | |
36860 / Hurtsboro / AL / 29.5 mi. | 108 | 860 | 12.6 | $18,153 | 84.0 | 0.4 | 82.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
31740 / Cuthbert / GA / 48 mi. | 95 | 2,158 | 4.4 | $20,806 | 61.2 | 1.5 | 58.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | |
36862 / Lafayette / AL / 35.7 mi. | 65 | 2,631 | 2.5 | $26,927 | 59.4 | 0.8 | 58.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
31751 / Fort Gaines / GA / 57.7 mi. | 54 | 1,000 | 5.4 | $19,688 | 65.0 | 1.2 | 62.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | |
31824 / Preston / GA / 35.7 mi. | 50 | 645 | 7.8 | $28,542 | 54.7 | 3.2 | 50.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | |
36016 / Clayton / AL / 47.3 mi. | 41 | 1,508 | 2.7 | $22,056 | 58.9 | 1.4 | 56.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | |
36871 / Pittsview / AL / 24.3 mi. | 26 | 625 | 4.2 | $28,194 | 55.6 | 2.6 | 51.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 | |
File | ga_columbus_ledger-enquirer | |||||||||
Time | 5/19/05 4:29 PM | |||||||||
Page | 233 | |||||||||
Member | 109150 |