Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists
at America's daily newspapers
with the communities that they serve
Newsroom diversity report for
Belleville News-Democrat
Belleville, Illinois
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
2005 12.5
2004 14.3
2003 14.0
2002 11.8
2001 8.0
2000 10.2
1999 Did not report
1998 Did not report
1997 5.9
1996 6.3
1995 Did not report
1994 Did not report
1993 Did not report
1992 Did not report
1991 4.0
1990 Did not report
The latest year at peak is 2004
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Newsroom Diversity Index
for Belleville News-Democrat
Year Non-white % of newsroom staff Non-white % of circulation area Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)
2005 12.5 22.3 56
2004 14.3 20.6 69
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 Belleville News-Democrat
This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 56. This paper
Peer group
Compare that with 50, which is the median Diversity Index for all newspapers
reporting in this circulation category of 50,001 to 100,000 daily sales.
In that group, this newspaper's Diversity Index ranks 39 out of 90
newspapers reporting in the category of 50,001 to 100,000 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 Florida Today, Melbourne, Florida, with a 19.1 percent non-white staff in a community that is 16.3 percent non-white. Its index is 117.
FYI, in circulation, this newspaper's average weekday circulation of
approximately 53,694 ranks 189 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 Belleville News-Democrat
Circulation area
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 2.0 8,810
Black 16.6 73,002
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7 3,126
Native-American 0.2 1,018
Other non-white 0.1 368
Multi-racial 1.0 4,204
  Non-white 20.6 90,528
White 79.4 349,232
Total 439,760
Home county:  St. Clair
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 2.2 5,604
Black 28.6 73,282
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9 2,362
Native-American 0.2 577
Other non-white 0.1 265
Multi-racial 1.1 2,841
  Non-white 33.2 84,931
White 66.8 171,151
Total 256,082
The home county of this newspaper is St. Clair.
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
Belleville News-Democrat
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
62226 / Swansea / IL / 4.9 mi. 4,802 11,360 42.3 $39,493 18.5 1.6 14.4 0.2 1.2
62221 / Swansea / IL / 4.2 mi. 3,754 8,925 42.1 $45,230 23.7 2.4 17.6 0.2 1.8
62220 / Swansea / IL / 2.9 mi. 3,747 7,834 47.8 $37,395 15.2 1.7 11.0 0.2 0.8
62269 / Shiloh / IL / 8.6 mi. 3,614 9,924 36.4 $55,339 17.5 2.3 10.9 0.2 2.4
62223 / Swansea / IL / 5.9 mi. 3,558 7,162 49.7 $47,606 15.6 1.1 12.8 0.3 0.5
62234 / State Park Place / IL / 14.1 mi. 3,312 13,165 25.2 $43,865 8.9 2.5 4.8 0.3 0.5
62208 / Fairview Heights / IL / 8.5 mi. 2,727 5,939 45.9 $47,222 22.4 2.0 17.0 0.2 1.8
62040 / Pontoon Beach / IL / 17.6 mi. 2,080 18,435 11.3 $37,096 7.1 2.4 2.6 0.4 0.5
62206 / East Saint Louis / IL / 10.9 mi. 1,540 6,299 24.4 $29,899 45.1 2.1 40.9 0.3 0.4
62258 / Mascoutah / IL / 11 mi. 1,150 2,756 41.7 $46,765 7.5 1.7 3.2 0.3 0.8
62298 / Waterloo / IL / 12 mi. 1,110 5,149 21.6 $51,431 1.6 0.7 0.0 0.2 0.3
62260 / Millstadt / IL / 5.6 mi. 1,079 2,287 47.2 $54,273 2.3 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.2
62205 / Washingtn Park / IL / 12 mi. 1,046 3,807 27.5 $26,092 98.9 0.7 97.6 0.1 0.0
62249 / Highland / IL / 23.4 mi. 1,031 5,130 20.1 $49,624 2.0 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.4
62243 / Freeburg / IL / 4.7 mi. 1,022 1,952 52.4 $53,173 2.6 1.5 0.2 0.2 0.3
62294 / Troy / IL / 16.4 mi. 994 4,438 22.4 $58,876 4.8 1.4 1.2 0.2 0.7
62201 / Sauget / IL / 14.2 mi. 991 3,122 31.7 $12,822 85.6 16.7 68.0 0.2 0.1
62204 / Washington Park / IL / 12.2 mi. 891 3,432 26.0 $18,000 96.7 1.6 94.3 0.2 0.1
62232 / Hollywood Height / IL / 10.9 mi. 888 2,758 32.2 $36,406 11.1 3.3 5.8 0.3 0.7
62203 / East Saint Louis / IL / 9.7 mi. 882 3,269 27.0 $29,872 94.9 1.1 92.9 0.2 0.1
62025 / Holiday Shores / IL / 22 mi. 802 10,629 7.5 $51,657 11.2 0.9 7.5 0.2 1.3
62236 / Columbia / IL / 11.5 mi. 788 4,013 19.6 $62,056 1.9 0.9 0.1 0.1 0.3
62207 / East Saint Louis / IL / 10.7 mi. 759 3,534 21.5 $19,776 98.2 0.5 96.7 0.1 0.1
62278 / Ruma / IL / 16.8 mi. 758 2,567 29.5 $45,955 1.5 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.3
62254 / Lebanon / IL / 12.2 mi. 648 1,892 34.2 $42,257 17.3 1.4 13.4 0.3 0.6
62285 / Smithton / IL / 5.1 mi. 637 1,088 58.5 $54,688 2.4 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.5
62264 / New Athens / IL / 10.7 mi. 575 1,226 46.9 $41,974 2.3 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.4
62265 / New Baden / IL / 16.1 mi. 555 1,519 36.5 $49,643 4.6 1.4 1.5 0.1 0.7
62293 / Trenton / IL / 17.6 mi. 545 1,727 31.6 $52,052 2.3 1.1 0.2 0.1 0.6
62230 / Trenton / IL / 24.7 mi. 509 2,082 24.4 $48,279 2.0 1.2 0.1 0.0 0.3
62062 / Maryville / IL / 16.5 mi. 469 1,657 28.3 $55,440 7.0 1.9 3.4 0.1 0.5
62034 / Glen Carbon / IL / 18.9 mi. 449 4,595 9.8 $57,053 10.9 1.5 6.2 0.2 2.0
62239 / Dupo / IL / 11.5 mi. 409 1,887 21.7 $41,853 3.1 0.7 1.0 0.3 0.3
62257 / Marrisa / IL / 17.9 mi. 388 1,512 25.7 $36,838 1.7 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.2
62231 / Shattuc / IL / 32 mi. 383 2,683 14.3 $42,273 4.4 0.8 2.6 0.1 0.3
62060 / Newport / IL / 16.4 mi. 305 2,403 12.7 $23,900 57.0 1.8 53.7 0.3 0.2
62281 / Saint Jacob / IL / 18 mi. 299 632 47.3 $52,262 2.8 1.5 0.3 0.3 0.1
62286 / Sparta / IL / 26.2 mi. 288 2,538 11.3 $34,279 15.3 1.2 12.0 0.3 0.4
62263 / Todds Mill / IL / 31.2 mi. 264 2,128 12.4 $43,000 1.9 0.9 0.2 0.1 0.3
63102 / Saint Louis / MO / 14.8 mi. 242 654 37.0 $37,991 43.0 1.1 37.5 0.8 2.3
62271 / Okawville / IL / 22 mi. 238 822 29.0 $36,906 1.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.1
62225 / Scott AFB / IL / 8 mi. 220 1,442 15.3 $43,538 26.8 5.7 15.3 0.4 2.5
62216 / Trenton / IL / 21 mi. 206 377 54.6 $45,234 1.7 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.2
62215 / Damiansville / IL / 19.5 mi. 184 404 45.5 $48,500 10.0 8.1 0.3 0.5 0.4
62245 / Germantown / IL / 21 mi. 161 867 18.6 $51,833 1.6 1.1 0.1 0.0 0.1
62275 / Pocahontas / IL / 31 mi. 153 1,386 11.0 $38,819 2.7 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3
62246 / Woburn / IL / 39.6 mi. 140 3,158 4.4 $40,346 14.4 2.0 11.1 0.5 0.4
62255 / Lenzburg / IL / 15 mi. 131 411 31.9 $36,912 2.3 0.9 0.9 0.1 0.1
62240 / East Carondelet / IL / 12.6 mi. 127 712 17.8 $44,777 3.0 0.6 1.0 0.6 0.1
62090 / Venice / IL / 16 mi. 118 574 20.6 $17,368 91.9 0.7 90.6 0.1 0.0
62001 / Kaufman / IL / 29 mi. 114 573 19.9 $46,833 1.6 0.8 0.0 0.1 0.0
62295 / Valmeyer / IL / 21.7 mi. 108 330 32.7 $50,568 2.0 0.7 0.1 0.4 0.4
62002 / Alton / IL / 29.5 mi. 105 14,093 0.7 $34,253 25.5 1.4 22.0 0.2 0.4
62214 / Venedy / IL / 20.3 mi. 104 480 21.7 $41,319 1.7 0.8 0.0 0.3 0.0
62061 / Marine / IL / 34.6 mi. 99 559 17.7 $40,647 1.9 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.1
62277 / Prairie du Roche / IL / 25.5 mi. 97 572 17.0 $42,266 1.9 0.7 0.0 0.5 0.1
62218 / Santa Fe / IL / 25.6 mi. 87 480 18.1 $55,185 1.6 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.2
62217 / Baldwin / IL / 19.6 mi. 81 354 22.9 $32,788 59.1 7.0 51.8 0.1 0.2
62233 / Chester / IL / 36.7 mi. 77 2,564 3.0 $40,703 4.7 0.6 2.9 0.1 0.3
62237 / Winkle / IL / 28.9 mi. 72 1,263 5.7 $32,932 2.8 0.4 1.0 0.0 0.3
62219 / Beckemeyer / IL / 29 mi. 61 365 16.7 $36,579 3.0 1.5 0.0 0.3 0.8
62046 / Hamel / IL / 27.9 mi. 49 158 31.0 $43,750 2.3 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0
62059 / Stites / IL / 15.2 mi. 46 264 17.4 $15,326 100.0 0.5 98.8 0.2 0.0
62242 / Evansville / IL / 24.4 mi. 46 561 8.2 $33,950 1.8 0.6 0.8 0.0 0.2
62289 / Summerfield / IL / 14.3 mi. 44 105 41.9 $42,500 4.2 1.6 0.6 1.3 0.3
62292 / Tilden / IL / 22.4 mi. 44 248 17.7 $35,885 2.8 1.9 0.0 0.2 0.0
62801 / Wamac / IL / 43.2 mi. 41 9,118 0.4 $33,967 14.5 1.6 10.8 0.2 0.6
62024 / Rosewood / IL / 25.2 mi. 39 5,206 0.7 $38,292 2.9 0.9 0.6 0.2 0.3
62095 / Wood River / IL / 26 mi. 34 4,422 0.8 $33,286 3.3 1.3 0.7 0.2 0.4
62244 / Fults / IL / 22.6 mi. 34 410 8.3 $49,201 1.4 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.4
62273 / Pierron / IL / 29 mi. 32 20 160.0 $29,375 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
62266 / New Memphis / IL / 15.3 mi. 25 43 58.1 $54,167 7.3 1.8 0.0 2.8 0.0
62268 / Oakdale / IL / 23.8 mi. 25 291 8.6 $42,212 1.9 0.8 0.0 0.3 0.0
62010 / Fort Russell / IL / 28.6 mi. 23 4,165 0.6 $45,173 2.8 1.0 0.7 0.2 0.4
62250 / Hoffman / IL / 36.6 mi. 16 183 8.7 $42,019 2.2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.4
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