Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists | ||||||||||
at America's daily newspapers | ||||||||||
with the communities that they serve | ||||||||||
Newsroom diversity report for | ||||||||||
The Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana, Merrillville | ||||||||||
Merrillville, Indiana | ||||||||||
Owner: Hollinger International (Ill.) | ||||||||||
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 | 8.5 | |||||||||
2004 | 14.1 | |||||||||
2003 | 12.7 | |||||||||
2002 | 12.7 | |||||||||
2001 | 15.4 | |||||||||
2000 | 15.4 | |||||||||
1999 | 20.5 | |||||||||
1998 | 23.0 | |||||||||
1997 | 21.2 | |||||||||
1996 | 25.4 | |||||||||
1995 | 22.1 | |||||||||
1994 | 16.7 | |||||||||
1993 | 16.4 | |||||||||
1992 | 18.2 | |||||||||
1991 | 17.7 | |||||||||
1990 | Did not report | |||||||||
The latest year at peak is | 1996 | |||||||||
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures. | ||||||||||
Newsroom Diversity Index | ||||||||||
for The Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana, Merrillville | ||||||||||
Year | Non-white % of newsroom staff | Non-white % of circulation area | Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100) | |||||||
2005 | 8.5 | 31.3 | 27 | |||||||
2004 | 14.1 | 29.1 | 48 | |||||||
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, Hollinger International (Ill.), | ||||||||||
has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 22. | ||||||||||
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures. | ||||||||||
Peer group comparison | ||||||||||
for The Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana, Merrillville | ||||||||||
This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 27. | 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 70 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 Beaumont Enterprise, Texas, with a 24 percent non-white staff in a community that is 33.5 percent non-white. Its index is 72. | ||||||||||
FYI, in circulation, this newspaper's average weekday circulation of | ||||||||||
approximately 65,621 ranks 154 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 Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana, Merrillville | ||||||||||
Circulation area | ||||||||||
Race/ethnicity | % of population | Number of residents |
|
|||||||
Hispanic | 5.9 | 27,888 | ||||||||
Black | 21.1 | 100,200 | ||||||||
Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7 | 3,439 | ||||||||
Native-American | 0.2 | 931 | ||||||||
Other non-white | 0.1 | 387 | ||||||||
Multi-racial | 1.1 | 4,952 | ||||||||
Non-white | 29.1 | 137,797 | ||||||||
White | 70.9 | 336,075 | ||||||||
Total | 473,872 | |||||||||
Home county: Lake | ||||||||||
Race/ethnicity | % of population | Number of residents |
|
|||||||
Hispanic | 12.2 | 59,128 | ||||||||
Black | 25.1 | 121,372 | ||||||||
Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8 | 3,968 | ||||||||
Native-American | 0.2 | 854 | ||||||||
Other non-white | 0.1 | 450 | ||||||||
Multi-racial | 1.1 | 5,335 | ||||||||
Non-white | 39.4 | 191,107 | ||||||||
White | 60.6 | 293,457 | ||||||||
Total | 484,564 | |||||||||
The home county of this newspaper is Lake. | ||||||||||
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 Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana, Merrillville | ||||||||||
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 |
|
46410 / Merrillville / IN / 0 mi. | 5,346 | 12,574 | 42.5 | $48,191 | 37.5 | 9.4 | 24.9 | 0.2 | 1.4 | |
46342 / New Chicago / IN / 4.6 mi. | 4,877 | 11,375 | 42.9 | $46,212 | 12.1 | 9.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | |
46368 / Portage / IN / 9.6 mi. | 4,863 | 13,645 | 35.6 | $48,021 | 12.9 | 9.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | |
46307 / Palmer / IN / 4.9 mi. | 4,793 | 17,531 | 27.3 | $59,459 | 8.9 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 | |
46385 / Valpo / IN / 10.3 mi. | 4,366 | 11,765 | 37.1 | $61,216 | 6.9 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.3 | |
46383 / Valpo / IN / 13.4 mi. | 3,865 | 13,702 | 28.2 | $50,478 | 6.6 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | |
46404 / Gary / IN / 5.8 mi. | 3,493 | 7,948 | 43.9 | $26,691 | 99.0 | 1.5 | 96.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | |
46408 / Gary / IN / 3 mi. | 2,836 | 7,350 | 38.6 | $36,543 | 64.6 | 7.4 | 55.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | |
46407 / Gary / IN / 5.6 mi. | 2,792 | 7,118 | 39.2 | $19,915 | 99.0 | 1.3 | 96.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | |
46304 / Porter / IN / 17.4 mi. | 2,665 | 8,073 | 33.0 | $54,812 | 6.2 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.9 | |
46403 / Gary / IN / 7 mi. | 2,412 | 5,948 | 40.6 | $37,800 | 82.0 | 5.3 | 74.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | |
46409 / Gary / IN / 3.4 mi. | 2,266 | 4,093 | 55.4 | $28,203 | 92.2 | 5.9 | 84.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
46406 / Gary / IN / 6.6 mi. | 1,939 | 4,320 | 44.9 | $27,574 | 73.7 | 11.8 | 60.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | |
46375 / Schererville / IN / 5.2 mi. | 1,737 | 7,215 | 24.1 | $59,975 | 11.1 | 5.7 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 2.6 | |
46402 / Gary / IN / 6.7 mi. | 1,697 | 3,361 | 50.5 | $18,759 | 96.9 | 6.7 | 88.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
46312 / East Chicago / IN / 10.5 mi. | 1,519 | 11,692 | 13.0 | $26,543 | 88.0 | 51.6 | 35.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
46405 / Lake Station / IN / 6.1 mi. | 1,510 | 4,599 | 32.8 | $37,436 | 24.5 | 21.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | |
46310 / Kersey / IN / 21.2 mi. | 1,445 | 4,307 | 33.6 | $47,116 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | |
46341 / Hebron / IN / 12.6 mi. | 1,163 | 3,446 | 33.7 | $52,047 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
46356 / North Hayden / IN / 14 mi. | 1,080 | 5,134 | 21.0 | $52,633 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
46322 / Highland / IN / 6.2 mi. | 1,064 | 9,636 | 11.0 | $51,297 | 9.8 | 6.6 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1.1 | |
46319 / New Elliott / IN / 4.1 mi. | 1,050 | 7,458 | 14.1 | $49,181 | 19.5 | 8.2 | 9.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 | |
46303 / Cook / IN / 8.9 mi. | 782 | 4,210 | 18.6 | $47,292 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
46392 / Wheatfield / IN / 61.3 mi. | 700 | 2,163 | 32.4 | $50,360 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | |
46323 / Hessville / IN / 7.5 mi. | 555 | 9,265 | 6.0 | $40,229 | 29.8 | 16.6 | 11.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | |
46320 / Hammond / IN / 10.6 mi. | 525 | 6,102 | 8.6 | $25,894 | 66.7 | 23.6 | 40.6 | 0.2 | 0.3 | |
46347 / Kouts / IN / 19.2 mi. | 519 | 1,440 | 36.0 | $53,375 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | |
46373 / Saint John / IN / 6.7 mi. | 474 | 2,782 | 17.0 | $70,250 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | |
46321 / Munster / IN / 8.1 mi. | 452 | 8,091 | 5.6 | $63,243 | 11.2 | 4.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 4.5 | |
46324 / Hammond / IN / 9.2 mi. | 416 | 9,040 | 4.6 | $37,547 | 28.3 | 17.0 | 9.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | |
46391 / Westville / IN / 22 mi. | 409 | 1,811 | 22.6 | $46,888 | 23.1 | 2.4 | 17.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | |
46311 / Dyer / IN / 7.6 mi. | 338 | 5,873 | 5.8 | $63,307 | 7.7 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.4 | |
47978 / Rensselaer / IN / 37.3 mi. | 330 | 4,025 | 8.2 | $39,007 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
46366 / North Judson / IN / 33.1 mi. | 290 | 2,257 | 12.8 | $36,446 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |
46360 / Trail Creek / IN / 27.2 mi. | 274 | 17,786 | 1.5 | $38,215 | 24.7 | 2.7 | 19.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | |
46394 / Whiting / IN / 13.7 mi. | 252 | 5,329 | 4.7 | $37,333 | 21.5 | 19.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | |
46349 / Lake Village / IN / 24.4 mi. | 232 | 1,187 | 19.5 | $41,892 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.4 | |
46534 / Toto / IN / 37.8 mi. | 182 | 4,149 | 4.4 | $36,971 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | |
46390 / Wanatah / IN / 22.6 mi. | 158 | 938 | 16.8 | $54,129 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | |
46348 / La Crosse / IN / 25.5 mi. | 97 | 431 | 22.5 | $42,083 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | |
46350 / La Porte / IN / 30.8 mi. | 86 | 16,231 | 0.5 | $44,580 | 7.4 | 4.3 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | |
46327 / Hammond / IN / 11.6 mi. | 42 | 4,396 | 1.0 | $31,155 | 43.6 | 37.4 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | |
46382 / Wellsboro / IN / 28.2 mi. | 23 | 711 | 3.2 | $41,302 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
47957 / Medaryville / IN / 34.9 mi. | 16 | 713 | 2.2 | $32,277 | 6.0 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | |
46301 / Beverly Shores / IN / 21.4 mi. | 15 | 336 | 4.5 | $60,227 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.4 | |
File | in_the_post-tribune_of_northwest_indiana__merrillville | |||||||||
Time | 5/20/05 3:13 PM | |||||||||
Page | 154 | |||||||||
Member | 113500 |