Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists
at America's daily newspapers
with the communities that they serve
Newsroom diversity report for
The Topeka Capital-Journal
Topeka, Kansas
Owner: Morris Communications (Ga.)
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 Did not report
2004 1.9
2003 7.1
2002 5.8
2001 1.8
2000 2.9
1999 3.8
1998 6.0
1997 7.3
1996 5.0
1995 Did not report
1994 3.4
1993 3.0
1992 6.0
1991 2.9
1990 2.9
The latest year at peak is 1997
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Newsroom Diversity Index
for The Topeka Capital-Journal
Year Non-white % of newsroom staff Non-white % of circulation area Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)
2005 N/A 13.7 N/A
2004 1.9 13.4 14
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, Morris Communications (Ga.),
has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 21.
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Peer group comparison
for The Topeka Capital-Journal
This paper
Peer group
The median Diversity Index is 50 for all newspapers
reporting in this circulation 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 Lincoln Journal Star, Nebraska, with a 9.9 percent non-white staff in a community that is 8.3 percent non-white. Its index is 119.
FYI, in circulation, this newspaper's average weekday circulation of
approximately 50,754 ranks 202 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 Topeka Capital-Journal
Circulation area
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 4.7 14,522
Black 5.1 15,859
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7 2,295
Native-American 1.3 3,993
Other non-white 0.1 234
Multi-racial 1.6 4,808
  Non-white 13.4 41,711
White 86.6 269,459
Total 311,170
Home county:  Shawnee
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 7.3 12,330
Black 8.8 14,917
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0 1,628
Native-American 1.0 1,750
Other non-white 0.1 175
Multi-racial 2.0 3,319
  Non-white 20.1 34,119
White 79.9 135,752
Total 169,871
The home county of this newspaper is Shawnee.
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 Topeka Capital-Journal
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
66614 / Topeka / KS / 6.3 mi. 6,621 12,893 51.4 $48,016 13.8 4.1 5.3 0.6 2.1
66604 / Topeka / KS / 4.2 mi. 5,086 10,375 49.0 $37,057 19.6 5.8 9.9 0.9 0.9
66605 / Topeka / KS / 1.8 mi. 3,547 7,250 48.9 $38,151 34.3 9.9 19.3 1.4 0.6
66611 / Topeka / KS / 3.1 mi. 2,269 4,701 48.3 $40,983 17.2 4.5 8.1 0.8 1.4
66606 / Topeka / KS / 3.8 mi. 2,259 5,587 40.4 $34,454 15.8 5.5 6.7 0.8 0.8
66618 / Topeka / KS / 7.4 mi. 1,936 2,716 71.3 $60,354 7.0 2.9 1.9 0.6 0.4
66617 / Topeka / KS / 5.8 mi. 1,850 3,002 61.6 $59,769 5.5 2.8 0.6 0.7 0.3
66610 / Topeka / KS / 8.6 mi. 1,624 2,374 68.4 $73,848 9.0 2.6 2.9 0.5 1.9
66502 / Manhattan / KS / 48.8 mi. 1,277 15,916 8.0 $27,874 14.6 3.7 4.7 0.4 3.6
66609 / Topeka / KS / 3.3 mi. 1,222 2,934 41.6 $39,413 19.0 6.9 8.6 0.7 1.1
66608 / Topeka / KS / 2.6 mi. 1,201 2,418 49.7 $28,459 13.6 5.0 3.4 2.1 0.4
66607 / Topeka / KS / 0 mi. 1,052 3,346 31.4 $25,282 57.7 25.4 27.3 1.9 0.2
66616 / Topeka / KS / 1.5 mi. 1,007 2,578 39.1 $32,767 30.1 24.8 1.5 1.7 0.2
66436 / Holton / KS / 27.8 mi. 945 2,201 42.9 $38,247 6.4 1.5 0.7 2.2 0.2
66542 / Tecumseh / KS / 4.8 mi. 804 1,043 77.1 $59,211 6.9 3.3 1.5 0.8 0.2
66612 / Topeka / KS / 1.7 mi. 706 1,582 44.6 $16,114 46.3 11.6 27.0 2.6 1.3
66409 / Berryton / KS / 8 mi. 624 1,006 62.0 $62,188 4.8 2.1 1.3 0.4 0.3
66801 / Emporia / KS / 48.9 mi. 594 11,586 5.1 $32,079 26.2 19.5 2.5 0.4 2.3
66615 / Topeka / KS / 10.5 mi. 527 573 92.0 $53,162 16.1 3.5 9.7 0.8 0.3
66523 / Osage City / KS / 28 mi. 509 1,609 31.6 $35,636 4.7 2.1 0.3 0.8 0.3
66539 / Silver Lake / KS / 12.8 mi. 499 941 53.0 $53,542 4.3 1.8 0.3 0.8 0.3
66402 / Auburn / KS / 12.6 mi. 494 930 53.1 $48,611 5.5 2.8 0.3 0.6 0.4
66547 / Wamego / KS / 35.4 mi. 491 2,424 20.3 $45,192 4.4 1.9 0.7 0.4 0.2
66512 / Meriden / KS / 10.2 mi. 486 1,139 42.7 $47,925 3.4 1.2 0.3 0.7 0.1
66603 / Topeka / KS / 1.9 mi. 426 909 46.9 $15,723 41.6 14.7 17.7 4.4 0.4
66534 / Sabetha / KS / 56 mi. 424 1,298 32.7 $38,799 2.4 0.7 0.8 0.2 0.2
66538 / Seneca / KS / 55 mi. 423 1,346 31.4 $32,625 1.3 0.5 0.3 0.0 0.1
66509 / Mayetta / KS / 19.6 mi. 406 787 51.6 $44,803 26.4 1.4 0.5 21.8 0.1
66508 / Marysville / KS / 71.9 mi. 377 1,930 19.5 $33,750 2.0 0.6 0.1 0.4 0.4
66441 / Junction City / KS / 59.7 mi. 355 8,725 4.1 $31,169 40.0 7.7 23.0 0.7 3.9
66619 / Topeka / KS / 6.7 mi. 351 1,046 33.6 $39,167 18.5 5.6 7.8 1.5 0.7
66414 / Carbondale / KS / 14.5 mi. 338 1,169 28.9 $37,287 4.3 2.4 0.4 0.4 0.2
66536 / Saint Marys / KS / 23.3 mi. 337 986 34.2 $40,234 7.6 4.5 0.8 0.9 0.5
66503 / Manhattan / KS / 51 mi. 317 4,190 7.6 $55,164 11.4 2.4 3.3 0.6 3.6
66070 / Ozawkie / KS / 14.4 mi. 302 826 36.6 $51,343 4.3 1.1 0.6 1.1 0.1
66533 / Rossville / KS / 17.5 mi. 294 598 49.2 $43,646 4.4 1.5 0.0 1.1 0.4
66413 / Burlingame / KS / 20.6 mi. 290 765 37.9 $34,375 2.4 0.7 0.2 0.4 0.1
66524 / Overbrook / KS / 17.7 mi. 289 892 32.4 $46,149 2.4 1.0 0.1 0.7 0.0
66434 / Willis / KS / 52.8 mi. 276 2,146 12.9 $34,003 9.8 2.4 2.1 3.2 0.1
66088 / Valley Falls / KS / 21.6 mi. 275 962 28.6 $39,258 2.9 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.2
66846 / Dunlap / KS / 49 mi. 264 1,671 15.8 $31,942 3.6 2.2 0.3 0.3 0.3
66401 / Alma / KS / 30.5 mi. 258 686 37.6 $42,625 3.8 2.4 0.4 0.2 0.0
66451 / Lyndon / KS / 27.7 mi. 246 673 36.6 $40,972 2.0 1.0 0.0 0.3 0.2
66440 / Hoyt / KS / 13.7 mi. 245 674 36.4 $47,434 5.6 1.8 0.0 2.7 0.2
67432 / Oakhill / KS / 77 mi. 245 2,626 9.3 $35,156 2.6 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.2
66839 / New Strawn / KS / 54.7 mi. 232 1,606 14.4 $40,914 4.7 1.8 0.2 0.7 0.6
66537 / Scranton / KS / 17.5 mi. 221 516 42.8 $39,839 4.6 1.3 0.4 0.7 0.4
66546 / Wakarusa / KS / 10 mi. 218 356 61.2 $62,700 4.5 1.7 0.9 0.6 0.6
66507 / Maple Hill / KS / 19.4 mi. 217 387 56.1 $47,368 4.0 1.6 0.9 0.4 0.2
66521 / Wheaton / KS / 39.2 mi. 204 638 32.0 $31,170 3.8 1.8 0.3 0.3 0.3
66403 / Axtell / KS / 61.6 mi. 185 293 63.1 $32,031 2.2 0.9 0.0 0.4 0.1
66066 / Oskaloosa / KS / 20 mi. 184 966 19.0 $41,250 4.1 2.1 0.3 0.7 0.1
66427 / Lillis / KS / 57.6 mi. 179 588 30.4 $30,464 1.7 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.1
66067 / Ottawa / KS / 33.6 mi. 170 6,000 2.8 $37,388 8.2 3.5 1.8 0.9 0.4
66073 / Perry / KS / 12.9 mi. 168 873 19.2 $44,602 6.1 1.4 0.3 1.0 0.3
66439 / Horton / KS / 40.5 mi. 166 1,107 15.0 $25,688 22.1 2.6 0.7 16.7 0.5
66044 / Lawrence / KS / 20.2 mi. 158 11,531 1.4 $25,489 18.1 3.9 5.4 2.1 3.9
66968 / Washington / KS / 86.2 mi. 158 764 20.7 $30,945 1.6 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.0
66032 / Garnett / KS / 52.9 mi. 146 2,052 7.1 $34,050 3.4 1.2 0.3 0.7 0.4
66422 / Emmett / KS / 26.8 mi. 128 215 59.5 $39,844 5.7 2.2 0.0 2.3 0.2
66423 / Eskridge / KS / 26 mi. 127 372 34.1 $39,853 2.7 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.3
66049 / Lwrnce / KS / 18.9 mi. 119 8,195 1.5 $50,936 13.5 2.8 4.2 1.2 2.9
66050 / Lecompton / KS / 12.2 mi. 119 563 21.1 $45,982 7.1 1.5 1.2 2.0 0.8
66415 / Centralia / KS / 50.3 mi. 111 346 32.1 $25,132 3.5 1.9 0.1 0.6 0.3
67410 / Manchester / KS / 79.4 mi. 111 4,111 2.7 $37,103 5.0 2.3 0.6 0.4 0.3
66429 / Grantville / KS / 6.8 mi. 109 234 46.6 $50,385 4.0 2.1 0.0 0.7 0.2
66411 / Blue Rapids / KS / 65.3 mi. 108 560 19.3 $31,983 2.4 0.8 0.4 0.1 0.1
66549 / Westmoreland / KS / 44.8 mi. 103 558 18.5 $32,381 2.9 1.6 0.0 0.1 0.1
66002 / Atchison / KS / 42.4 mi. 100 4,966 2.0 $33,183 11.4 2.3 6.5 0.4 0.5
66431 / Harveyville / KS / 22.6 mi. 97 278 34.9 $40,000 3.1 1.1 0.3 0.8 0.4
66535 / Saint George / KS / 41.5 mi. 97 903 10.7 $35,530 5.7 1.7 0.9 0.7 0.5
66543 / Vassar / KS / 25.4 mi. 94 315 29.8 $50,799 2.2 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.5
66510 / Melvern / KS / 34.4 mi. 92 327 28.1 $39,875 2.6 1.3 0.0 0.6 0.0
66060 / Nortonville / KS / 29 mi. 90 408 22.1 $40,560 2.7 1.2 0.4 0.5 0.0
66047 / Lwrnce / KS / 19.2 mi. 88 6,137 1.4 $47,925 12.7 2.6 3.3 1.6 3.3
67401 / Salina / KS / 99.7 mi. 87 19,881 0.4 $37,008 13.7 6.4 3.3 0.5 1.8
66871 / Waverly / KS / 42.1 mi. 84 535 15.7 $35,978 2.8 0.9 0.4 0.8 0.1
66945 / Hanover / KS / 82.7 mi. 84 449 18.7 $34,044 1.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.0
66953 / Linn / KS / 82.6 mi. 84 276 30.4 $28,929 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
66097 / Winchester / KS / 25.1 mi. 81 408 19.9 $41,927 3.5 1.3 0.3 1.3 0.1
66548 / Waterville / KS / 69.2 mi. 81 401 20.2 $32,333 2.3 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.2
66856 / Lebo / KS / 43.3 mi. 80 637 12.6 $39,524 3.1 2.2 0.0 0.3 0.2
66550 / Wetmore / KS / 40.8 mi. 75 223 33.6 $42,083 1.2 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.2
66526 / Paxico / KS / 26.2 mi. 74 258 28.7 $42,321 3.7 1.5 0.3 0.6 0.1
66046 / Lawrence / KS / 20.4 mi. 73 7,912 0.9 $35,994 22.1 4.2 5.3 5.7 4.0
67449 / Herington / KS / 69.6 mi. 70 1,417 4.9 $31,367 6.4 3.7 0.9 0.3 0.5
66552 / Whiting / KS / 36.8 mi. 68 161 42.2 $26,635 4.2 0.3 1.6 1.8 0.0
66857 / Le Roy / KS / 61.7 mi. 68 390 17.4 $32,596 2.4 0.6 0.0 0.1 0.0
66852 / Gridley / KS / 62 mi. 64 300 21.3 $32,232 2.7 0.9 0.5 0.4 0.1
66408 / Bern / KS / 61 mi. 62 194 32.0 $39,667 1.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
66416 / Circleville / KS / 31.9 mi. 61 172 35.5 $34,342 4.9 1.2 0.0 2.3 0.0
66901 / Rice / KS / 106 mi. 57 2,814 2.0 $32,356 2.2 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.3
66404 / Baileyville / KS / 58.3 mi. 56 206 27.2 $35,250 1.3 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.0
66406 / Beattie / KS / 65.5 mi. 56 212 26.4 $29,688 3.2 2.7 0.0 0.0 0.2
66865 / Olpe / KS / 59.5 mi. 55 390 14.1 $40,563 2.9 1.3 0.2 0.6 0.3
66006 / Baldwin City / KS / 28.6 mi. 53 2,070 2.6 $51,800 5.2 1.4 0.6 0.6 0.5
66093 / Westphalia / KS / 57.9 mi. 53 249 21.3 $35,052 2.0 0.5 0.0 0.3 0.0
66834 / Alta Vista / KS / 43.7 mi. 51 360 14.2 $35,000 4.2 3.1 0.0 0.8 0.0
66531 / Riley / KS / 60.7 mi. 50 469 10.7 $37,000 5.4 1.8 1.0 1.8 0.2
66872 / White City / KS / 56.8 mi. 50 427 11.7 $36,208 3.6 1.8 0.4 0.0 0.1
66023 / Effingham / KS / 30.3 mi. 49 483 10.1 $40,040 2.3 0.4 0.2 0.7 0.2
66425 / Fairview / KS / 52.2 mi. 49 220 22.3 $34,597 2.7 0.6 1.7 0.0 0.0
66544 / Vliets / KS / 52.6 mi. 49 153 32.0 $32,083 2.8 2.2 0.6 0.0 0.0
66943 / Greenleaf / KS / 79.9 mi. 49 255 19.2 $26,250 1.5 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0
66076 / Pomona / KS / 29.5 mi. 47 793 5.9 $35,313 4.7 1.9 0.1 1.2 0.1
66407 / Belvue / KS / 29.6 mi. 46 181 25.4 $37,375 1.2 0.2 0.0 0.4 0.0
66432 / Havensville / KS / 38.7 mi. 46 178 25.8 $41,875 2.5 0.9 0.2 0.2 0.0
66528 / Quenemo / KS / 30.1 mi. 46 339 13.6 $33,500 5.8 1.0 0.1 1.9 0.9
66417 / Corning / KS / 44.7 mi. 43 136 31.6 $31,667 3.6 0.3 1.3 0.8 0.5
66869 / Strong City / KS / 61.2 mi. 43 349 12.3 $35,250 2.4 1.3 0.6 0.0 0.0
66058 / Muscotah / KS / 36.8 mi. 41 156 26.3 $33,250 4.4 0.5 0.3 2.8 0.0
67431 / Chapman / KS / 69.1 mi. 40 880 4.5 $42,286 5.7 2.3 0.3 0.6 0.4
66418 / Delia / KS / 22.1 mi. 36 185 19.5 $37,344 14.9 2.5 0.0 10.0 0.0
66419 / Denison / KS / 27.6 mi. 36 162 22.2 $30,982 5.3 1.1 0.9 1.8 0.0
66540 / Soldier / KS / 39.8 mi. 36 214 16.8 $37,125 12.6 2.3 0.8 7.8 0.3
66527 / Powhattan / KS / 18 mi. 34 144 23.6 $31,000 47.5 8.3 0.0 37.6 0.0
66849 / Dwight / KS / 48.1 mi. 34 263 12.9 $31,667 4.4 2.6 0.2 0.3 0.3
66054 / McLouth / KS / 24 mi. 33 1,039 3.2 $47,436 5.0 1.3 1.2 1.1 0.3
66933 / Barnes / KS / 72.5 mi. 33 159 20.8 $26,944 2.5 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.6
66095 / Williamsburg / KS / 37.1 mi. 32 335 9.6 $30,417 2.6 0.9 0.0 0.7 0.0
66935 / Belleville / KS / 111 mi. 32 1,273 2.5 $30,221 2.5 1.1 0.5 0.1 0.3
66937 / Clifton / KS / 88.3 mi. 32 397 8.1 $25,476 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0
67487 / Wakefield / KS / 69.6 mi. 31 496 6.3 $35,000 4.0 1.3 0.6 0.7 0.1
66428 / Goff / KS / 42.4 mi. 27 184 14.7 $35,658 5.0 1.4 1.4 1.2 0.2
66424 / Everest / KS / 44.7 mi. 26 251 10.4 $35,667 6.1 1.6 1.3 2.4 0.0
66501 / McFarland / KS / 29.6 mi. 25 107 23.4 $32,917 3.6 2.2 0.4 0.0 0.0
66860 / Madison / KS / 63.4 mi. 23 589 3.9 $31,836 4.1 1.9 0.1 0.6 0.1
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