Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists
at America's daily newspapers
with the communities that they serve
Newsroom diversity report for
The News-Star, Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
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	15.9
2004	10.0
2003	14.6
2002	20.5
2001	11.8
2000	18.9
1999	21.6
1998	18.6
1997	20.5
1996	16.7
1995	Did not report
1994	15.2
1993	Did not report
1992	16.3
1991	19.1
1990	Did not report
The latest year at peak is	1999
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Newsroom Diversity Index
for The News-Star, Monroe
Year	Non-white % of newsroom staff	Non-white % of circulation area	Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)
2005	15.9	39.2	41
2004	10.0	39.2	26
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 News-Star, Monroe
This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 41.				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 78 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 35,253 ranks 288 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 News-Star, Monroe
	Circulation area
Race/ethnicity	% of population	Number of residents
Hispanic	1.2	3,916
Black	36.7	118,484
Asian and Pacific Islander	0.6	1,789
Native-American	0.2	648
Other non-white	0.0	135
Multi-racial	0.5	1,738
Non-white	39.2	126,710
White	60.8	196,589
Total		323,299
	Home county:  Ouachita
Race/ethnicity	% of population	Number of residents
Hispanic	1.2	1,747
Black	33.5	49,270
Asian and Pacific Islander	0.7	964
Native-American	0.2	319
Other non-white	0.0	59
Multi-racial	0.6	878
Non-white	36.2	53,237
White	63.9	94,013
Total		147,250
The home county of this newspaper is Ouachita.
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 News-Star, Monroe
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
71291 / West Monroe / LA / 5.7 mi.	6,199	12,327	50.3	$39,250	10.6	1.2	8.1	0.2	0.4
71201 / Monroe / LA / 0 mi.	5,753	9,724	59.2	$35,344	33.0	1.2	29.6	0.1	1.3
71203 / Monroe / LA / 6.9 mi.	4,796	12,517	38.3	$33,035	38.0	1.2	34.8	0.2	1.2
71202 / Monroe / LA / 9.8 mi.	2,924	9,609	30.4	$21,266	85.2	0.8	83.5	0.2	0.2
71292 / West Monroe / LA / 11.8 mi.	2,458	7,481	32.9	$30,900	13.0	1.6	10.2	0.4	0.3
71220 / Bastrop / LA / 26 mi.	1,544	9,695	15.9	$25,980	43.4	0.6	42.0	0.1	0.2
71270 / Ruston / LA / 33.7 mi.	1,507	10,799	14.0	$25,564	44.3	1.2	40.3	0.2	1.7
71295 / Winnsboro / LA / 35.7 mi.	1,054	5,249	20.1	$22,496	35.2	0.6	33.6	0.3	0.2
71241 / Farmerville / LA / 16.1 mi.	948	3,627	26.1	$30,082	31.6	1.6	29.0	0.1	0.4
71269 / Rayville / LA / 18.7 mi.	892	4,360	20.5	$23,298	39.7	1.0	38.0	0.1	0.1
71232 / Delhi / LA / 34.1 mi.	550	2,597	21.2	$22,971	45.3	1.3	43.2	0.1	0.3
71225 / Calhoun / LA / 14.2 mi.	496	1,913	25.9	$37,240	9.3	1.1	6.8	0.5	0.2
71263 / Oak Grove / LA / 45.7 mi.	454	3,247	14.0	$25,460	14.7	1.5	12.4	0.3	0.1
71418 / Columbia / LA / 26.1 mi.	450	2,625	17.1	$26,637	19.9	1.6	17.3	0.3	0.1
71282 / Tallulah / LA / 51.1 mi.	427	3,940	10.8	$20,216	68.2	2.2	65.3	0.1	0.2
71280 / Sterlington / LA / 6 mi.	396	959	41.3	$34,500	22.2	2.2	18.8	0.2	0.2
71234 / Downsville / LA / 17.5 mi.	380	1,540	24.7	$32,557	6.4	0.8	4.9	0.2	0.1
71260 / Marion / LA / 27 mi.	336	1,270	26.5	$26,250	31.7	2.1	28.4	0.1	0.4
71254 / Lake Providence / LA / 55.1 mi.	327	2,544	12.9	$19,334	74.4	1.1	72.5	0.1	0.4
71247 / Hodge / LA / 39.6 mi.	300	423	70.9	$20,238	34.6	0.1	33.7	0.0	0.3
71251 / Jonesboro / LA / 37.8 mi.	280	3,259	8.6	$28,049	34.8	0.4	33.4	0.3	0.3
71435 / Grayson / LA / 37 mi.	224	1,149	19.5	$31,610	7.9	0.8	6.0	0.4	0.2
71222 / Bernice / LA / 36.2 mi.	215	1,459	14.7	$26,100	41.0	4.7	35.6	0.1	0.3
71366 / Saint Joseph / LA / 58.5 mi.	195	884	22.1	$22,019	53.4	0.5	51.9	0.1	0.2
71227 / Choudrant / LA / 23.2 mi.	189	1,199	15.8	$35,302	14.4	1.2	12.7	0.1	0.1
71226 / Chatham / LA / 26.9 mi.	186	668	27.8	$24,250	39.1	1.3	37.3	0.1	0.1
71336 / Gilbert / LA / 47.1 mi.	167	689	24.2	$27,589	21.5	1.2	19.3	0.3	0.0
71259 / Mangham / LA / 22.7 mi.	164	638	25.7	$24,712	26.0	1.2	24.6	0.0	0.1
71235 / Dubach / LA / 36.4 mi.	155	1,614	9.6	$33,682	18.2	1.0	16.4	0.2	0.1
71245 / Grambling / LA / 36.2 mi.	149	1,133	13.2	$20,261	98.6	1.2	96.2	0.1	0.1
71357 / Newellton / LA / 56 mi.	143	891	16.0	$21,384	55.7	2.2	53.0	0.0	0.1
71368 / Sicily Island / LA / 52.4 mi.	109	576	18.9	$16,164	47.4	2.4	44.5	0.3	0.0
71219 / Baskin / LA / 28.6 mi.	108	386	28.0	$26,776	12.3	0.7	10.6	0.1	0.2
71378 / Wisner / LA / 44.7 mi.	104	1,035	10.0	$20,276	39.0	1.3	36.9	0.1	0.0
71465 / Olla / LA / 47 mi.	93	1,183	7.9	$30,259	5.3	1.0	3.4	0.4	0.2
71334 / Ferriday / LA / 67.6 mi.	90	3,464	2.6	$19,000	57.5	2.1	54.2	0.2	0.3
71275 / Simsboro / LA / 41.3 mi.	72	868	8.3	$31,987	38.6	1.4	36.4	0.3	0.0
71238 / Eros / LA / 19.5 mi.	67	891	7.5	$34,063	8.5	0.9	6.4	0.0	0.3
71261 / Mer Rouge / LA / 28.6 mi.	67	641	10.5	$19,963	47.0	0.8	45.4	0.1	0.1
71268 / Quitman / LA / 38.4 mi.	67	1,202	5.6	$37,614	20.9	0.7	19.5	0.4	0.2
71237 / Epps / LA / 35.2 mi.	65	481	13.5	$24,423	48.8	1.1	47.0	0.1	0.1
71277 / Spearsville / LA / 37 mi.	62	760	8.2	$27,159	40.9	2.2	38.2	0.2	0.1
71373 / Vidalia / LA / 74.9 mi.	47	2,708	1.7	$26,843	25.7	0.9	23.9	0.2	0.3
71266 / Pioneer / LA / 37.9 mi.	42	721	5.8	$23,333	22.5	1.1	20.4	0.2	0.4
71415 / Clarks / LA / 35 mi.	41	256	16.0	$19,861	50.7	2.3	46.2	1.2	0.1
71253 / Kilbourne / LA / 56.1 mi.	40	81	49.4	$23,333	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0
71229 / Collinston / LA / 15.9 mi.	38	490	7.8	$27,560	48.3	2.1	45.8	0.1	0.0
71264 / Oak Ridge / LA / 20.9 mi.	38	433	8.8	$20,368	37.8	0.4	36.8	0.1	0.2
71326 / Clayton / LA / 60.7 mi.	38	436	8.7	$15,972	33.1	0.3	32.5	0.2	0.0
71218 / Archibald / LA / 22.9 mi.	37	43	86.0	$21,786	6.5	0.9	4.6	0.0	0.9
71340 / Harrisonburg / LA / 52 mi.	31	354	8.8	$28,333	34.3	0.5	32.6	0.1	0.9
71375 / Waterproof / LA / 64.7 mi.	20	578	3.5	$13,922	69.2	0.6	67.6	0.0	0.0
71480 / Urania / LA / 47.1 mi.	17	304	5.6	$23,523	31.0	1.3	28.1	0.3	0.0
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