Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists
at America's daily newspapers
with the communities that they serve
Newsroom diversity report for
The Indianapolis Star
Indianapolis, Indiana
Owner: Gannett Co. (Va.)
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 14.4
2004 9.7
2003 12.4
2002 10.7
2001 10.1
2000 8.5
1999 7.6
1998 11.1
1997 9.1
1996 8.6
1995 9.4
1994 7.8
1993 5.9
1992 6.6
1991 5.4
1990 5.2
The latest year at peak is 2005
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Newsroom Diversity Index
for The Indianapolis Star
Year Non-white % of newsroom staff Non-white % of circulation area Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)
2005 14.4 20.0 72
2004 9.7 20.0 49
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, Gannett Co. (Va.),
has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 89.
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Peer group comparison
for The Indianapolis Star
This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 72. This paper
Peer group
Compare that with 70, which is the median Diversity Index for all newspapers
reporting in this circulation category of 250,001 to 500,000 daily sales.
In that group, this newspaper's Diversity Index ranks 12 out of 24
newspapers reporting in the category of 250,001 to 500,000 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 The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon, with a 18.8 percent non-white staff in a community that is 18.2 percent non-white. Its index is 103.
FYI, in circulation, this newspaper's average weekday circulation of
approximately 252,021 ranks 36 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 The Indianapolis Star
Circulation area
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 2.8 41,021
Black 14.4 212,451
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.3 19,517
Native-American 0.2 2,940
Other non-white 0.1 2,035
Multi-racial 1.1 16,094
  Non-white 20.0 294,058
White 80.0 1,178,608
Total 1,472,666
Home county:  Marion
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 3.9 33,290
Black 24.0 206,716
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.5 12,506
Native-American 0.2 1,824
Other non-white 0.2 1,676
Multi-racial 1.4 11,902
  Non-white 31.1 267,914
White 68.9 592,540
Total 860,454
The home county of this newspaper is Marion.
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
The Indianapolis Star
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
46227 / Indianapolis / IN / 6.8 mi. 8,307 22,507 36.9 $37,406 8.1 3.3 2.5 0.2 1.1
46220 / Indianapolis / IN / 7.1 mi. 7,221 16,612 43.5 $54,655 13.9 2.1 9.1 0.1 1.3
46219 / Indianapolis / IN / 6 mi. 7,061 15,917 44.4 $38,048 16.1 2.4 11.3 0.3 0.7
46038 / Fishers / IN / 15.5 mi. 6,815 14,768 46.1 $75,982 8.6 1.9 2.8 0.1 2.9
46032 / Carmel / IN / 13.8 mi. 6,688 12,638 52.9 $77,730 8.0 1.5 1.6 0.1 3.8
46033 / Carmel / IN / 14.3 mi. 5,992 9,524 62.9 $100,270 8.3 2.0 1.3 0.1 4.0
46060 / Noblesville / IN / 22.3 mi. 5,870 15,463 38.0 $61,096 4.0 1.3 1.0 0.2 0.8
46226 / Indianapolis / IN / 7.2 mi. 5,564 17,879 31.1 $37,909 58.6 3.8 51.5 0.3 1.1
46260 / Indianapolis / IN / 8.8 mi. 4,978 13,433 37.1 $47,295 38.0 6.8 27.3 0.1 1.9
46224 / Indianapolis / IN / 5.6 mi. 4,752 15,460 30.7 $35,536 36.3 8.8 22.7 0.2 2.5
46203 / Indianapolis / IN / 4.2 mi. 4,517 15,576 29.0 $31,265 17.4 5.4 9.8 0.3 0.4
46241 / Indianapolis / IN / 6.5 mi. 4,490 11,645 38.6 $36,028 8.9 2.8 4.0 0.3 0.6
46142 / Greenwood / IN / 10.7 mi. 4,459 11,665 38.2 $57,351 4.4 2.0 0.3 0.2 1.3
46256 / Indianapolis / IN / 12 mi. 4,450 9,732 45.7 $62,065 16.7 2.8 9.1 0.2 2.8
46237 / Indianapolis / IN / 8.1 mi. 4,398 11,325 38.8 $54,171 5.6 2.1 0.9 0.2 1.7
46143 / Greenwood / IN / 13.4 mi. 4,325 12,326 35.1 $54,738 3.5 1.1 0.3 0.1 1.2
46204 / Indianapolis / IN / 0 mi. 4,325 1,807 239.3 $21,359 55.3 2.1 50.1 0.4 1.3
46112 / Brownsburg / IN / 13.6 mi. 4,207 9,091 46.3 $59,079 3.0 0.9 0.2 0.2 0.8
46217 / Indianapolis / IN / 7.1 mi. 4,143 7,299 56.8 $59,782 3.7 1.3 0.4 0.2 1.1
46140 / Greenfield / IN / 20.9 mi. 4,098 12,496 32.8 $52,748 2.4 1.1 0.1 0.2 0.4
46240 / Indianapolis / IN / 9.5 mi. 4,029 9,076 44.4 $47,430 9.7 2.7 3.7 0.1 1.9
46236 / Indianapolis / IN / 13.2 mi. 3,955 9,252 42.7 $70,795 14.6 2.1 8.9 0.1 2.1
46254 / Indianapolis / IN / 7.7 mi. 3,882 15,300 25.4 $43,756 53.1 7.7 38.7 0.2 3.9
46201 / Indianapolis / IN / 2.5 mi. 3,691 15,094 24.5 $27,723 30.8 9.3 18.7 0.5 0.3
46268 / Indianapolis / IN / 9.7 mi. 3,667 10,351 35.4 $44,342 37.1 4.0 27.6 0.2 3.4
46168 / Plainfield / IN / 13.7 mi. 3,630 8,137 44.6 $49,325 7.1 1.3 3.7 0.3 0.8
46222 / Indianapolis / IN / 3.4 mi. 3,576 13,827 25.9 $31,429 49.4 7.4 38.2 0.3 1.6
46202 / Indianapolis / IN / 0.9 mi. 3,540 7,706 45.9 $23,029 56.2 2.6 49.2 0.2 2.6
46221 / Indianapolis / IN / 7.2 mi. 3,524 8,924 39.5 $40,788 7.4 3.9 1.8 0.2 0.4
46123 / Avon / IN / 13.4 mi. 3,518 7,192 48.9 $62,650 4.0 1.4 0.4 0.2 1.1
46208 / Indianapolis / IN / 3.6 mi. 3,469 10,568 32.8 $28,443 71.0 1.0 67.9 0.2 0.6
46214 / Indianapolis / IN / 7.2 mi. 3,469 10,434 33.2 $44,201 19.9 2.7 12.9 0.2 2.3
46250 / Indianapolis / IN / 10.3 mi. 3,385 8,408 40.3 $50,315 14.9 3.4 7.5 0.2 2.5
46218 / Indianapolis / IN / 4 mi. 3,322 13,349 24.9 $26,554 77.1 2.1 73.4 0.1 0.2
46229 / Indianapolis / IN / 9.5 mi. 3,320 9,125 36.4 $44,923 26.4 2.8 19.7 0.2 1.8
46077 / Zionsville / IN / 15.9 mi. 3,318 5,502 60.3 $73,586 3.6 1.0 0.9 0.2 1.0
46239 / Indianapolis / IN / 8.9 mi. 2,790 5,057 55.2 $59,857 7.2 0.9 4.1 0.2 1.1
46158 / Mooresville / IN / 17.6 mi. 2,773 8,683 31.9 $50,114 2.1 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.3
46234 / Indianapolis / IN / 9.7 mi. 2,770 7,044 39.3 $52,793 8.1 1.9 3.4 0.2 1.4
46205 / Indianapolis / IN / 4.1 mi. 2,512 12,124 20.7 $31,932 74.3 1.5 70.3 0.2 0.4
46131 / Franklin / IN / 20.2 mi. 2,443 9,509 25.7 $49,806 4.3 1.3 1.6 0.2 0.4
46228 / Indianapolis / IN / 5.8 mi. 2,337 5,923 39.5 $55,011 50.4 1.7 44.4 0.2 2.0
46151 / Martinsville / IN / 26.7 mi. 2,325 12,001 19.4 $45,841 1.8 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.3
46107 / Beech Grove / IN / 5.1 mi. 2,236 5,166 43.3 $42,758 4.3 1.6 0.8 0.2 0.8
46176 / Shelbyville / IN / 27.5 mi. 1,972 10,546 18.7 $40,695 4.3 1.4 1.2 0.2 0.9
46074 / Westfield / IN / 19.2 mi. 1,922 3,774 50.9 $55,357 6.4 2.2 0.9 0.2 2.1
46052 / Lebanon / IN / 25 mi. 1,727 8,225 21.0 $42,420 2.9 1.4 0.3 0.3 0.3
46122 / Danville / IN / 21.9 mi. 1,676 4,432 37.8 $54,103 2.2 0.9 0.3 0.2 0.3
46163 / New Palestine / IN / 13.7 mi. 1,622 3,319 48.9 $69,120 1.5 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.4
46225 / Indianapolis / IN / 2 mi. 1,620 3,109 52.1 $26,605 17.6 7.0 8.3 0.4 0.2
46278 / Indianapolis / IN / 11.1 mi. 1,514 2,496 60.7 $78,316 22.1 2.2 14.0 0.1 4.2
46235 / Indianapolis / IN / 10.4 mi. 1,502 9,092 16.5 $33,066 62.4 4.4 54.7 0.2 1.0
46259 / Indianapolis / IN / 11.5 mi. 1,344 2,212 60.8 $70,886 2.3 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.6
46184 / Whiteland / IN / 15.5 mi. 1,141 3,281 34.8 $54,201 1.9 1.1 0.0 0.2 0.3
46280 / Indianapolis / IN / 11.5 mi. 1,064 2,497 42.6 $61,308 6.9 2.0 1.1 0.1 2.3
46113 / Camby / IN / 12.5 mi. 900 2,374 37.9 $52,352 3.4 1.2 0.8 0.3 0.3
46231 / Indianapolis / IN / 9.5 mi. 865 1,972 43.9 $53,174 7.0 1.1 2.9 0.3 1.9
46040 / Fortville / IN / 20.6 mi. 823 2,511 32.8 $43,778 10.2 1.7 7.2 0.3 0.3
46034 / Cicero / IN / 25.6 mi. 773 2,366 32.7 $56,667 2.5 1.1 0.3 0.3 0.3
46055 / Mc Cordsville / IN / 16.4 mi. 738 1,193 61.9 $70,089 3.6 0.8 1.4 0.1 0.5
46069 / Sheridan / IN / 25.4 mi. 711 2,385 29.8 $50,354 2.2 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.2
46167 / Pittsboro / IN / 18.3 mi. 704 1,663 42.3 $58,577 2.1 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.2
46118 / Clayton / IN / 20.1 mi. 522 1,694 30.8 $48,934 1.9 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.2
46126 / Fairland / IN / 18.3 mi. 470 1,717 27.4 $50,660 1.8 0.8 0.0 0.3 0.1
46106 / Bargersville / IN / 19.4 mi. 395 1,487 26.6 $56,841 1.5 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.3
46121 / Coatesville / IN / 25.7 mi. 384 1,617 23.7 $47,197 1.8 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.1
46030 / Arcadia / IN / 28.2 mi. 354 1,166 30.4 $53,611 2.7 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2
46216 / Indianapolis / IN / 9.9 mi. 315 127 248.0 $60,227 30.3 0.8 24.9 0.8 2.7
46160 / Morgantown / IN / 30.8 mi. 297 2,229 13.3 $39,088 1.7 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.1
46164 / Nineveh / IN / 27.3 mi. 288 1,623 17.7 $46,810 2.0 1.0 0.2 0.1 0.2
46149 / Lizton / IN / 21.7 mi. 259 663 39.1 $47,250 2.0 0.9 0.1 0.0 0.3
46157 / Monrovia / IN / 23.7 mi. 259 930 27.8 $57,500 1.7 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.2
46181 / Trafalgar / IN / 27.7 mi. 257 1,458 17.6 $53,275 1.7 0.7 0.2 0.2 0.2
46124 / Edinburgh / IN / 29.9 mi. 230 2,825 8.1 $37,750 5.5 1.5 3.3 0.2 0.1
46161 / Morristown / IN / 26.2 mi. 213 944 22.6 $48,341 1.7 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.2
46130 / Fountaintown / IN / 21 mi. 207 788 26.3 $63,500 2.3 1.7 0.1 0.0 0.1
46147 / Jamestown / IN / 28.5 mi. 173 1,122 15.4 $47,736 1.4 0.9 0.1 0.1 0.0
46075 / Whitestown / IN / 18.8 mi. 162 658 24.6 $47,143 2.2 0.6 0.6 0.2 0.3
46071 / Thorntown / IN / 33.6 mi. 140 1,261 11.1 $45,048 2.0 1.2 0.1 0.2 0.1
46165 / North Salem / IN / 26.5 mi. 137 595 23.0 $51,319 1.4 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.4
46031 / Atlanta / IN / 30.8 mi. 128 819 15.6 $51,000 2.5 0.9 0.2 0.3 0.3
46182 / Waldron / IN / 32.8 mi. 110 713 15.4 $41,524 1.6 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.0
46180 / Stilesville / IN / 26.3 mi. 103 371 27.8 $47,763 1.5 0.5 0.1 0.4 0.0
46290 / Indianapolis / IN / 11.3 mi. 91 86 105.8 $158,375 9.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 7.9
46186 / Wilkinson / IN / 29.4 mi. 89 621 14.3 $59,356 1.4 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.1
46117 / Charlottesville / IN / 29.2 mi. 82 233 35.2 $57,583 2.3 1.4 0.2 0.6 0.0
46166 / Paragon / IN / 34.4 mi. 55 764 7.2 $42,125 1.5 0.6 0.0 0.2 0.1
46111 / Brooklyn / IN / 19.7 mi. 45 65 69.2 $41,111 1.1 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
46110 / Boggstown / IN / 19.1 mi. 39 182 21.4 $44,861 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.0
46103 / Amo / IN / 24.9 mi. 37 63 58.7 $41,750 0.6 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0
47234 / Flat Rock / IN / 36.1 mi. 36 542 6.6 $41,230 1.0 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1
46162 / Needham / IN / 21.4 mi. 33 158 20.9 $55,278 2.4 2.2 0.0 0.2 0.0
46125 / Eminence / IN / 31 mi. 26 23 113.0 $30,313 3.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
46102 / Advance / IN / 29.2 mi. 15 14 107.1 $35,625 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
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