Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists
at America's daily newspapers
with the communities that they serve
Newsroom diversity report for
MetroWest Daily News, Framingham
Framingham, Massachusetts
Owner: Herald Media (Mass.)
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 7.4
2004 6.2
2003 4.3
2002 5.8
2001 1.3
2000 Did not report
1999 Did not report
1998 Did not report
1997 Did not report
1996 Did not report
1995 Did not report
1994 2.3
1993 Did not report
1992 Did not report
1991 Did not report
1990 Did not report
The latest year at peak is 2005
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Newsroom Diversity Index
for MetroWest Daily News, Framingham
Year Non-white % of newsroom staff Non-white % of circulation area Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)
2005 7.4 12.0 62
2004 6.2 8.0 78
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, Herald Media (Mass.),
has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 84.
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Peer group comparison
for MetroWest Daily News, Framingham
This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 62. 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 33 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 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 50,608 ranks 203 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 MetroWest Daily News, Framingham
Circulation area
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 2.3 8,638
Black 1.3 4,819
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.8 10,200
Native-American 0.1 349
Other non-white 0.4 1,327
Multi-racial 1.2 4,271
  Non-white 8.0 29,604
White 92.0 341,415
Total 371,019
Home county:  Middlesex
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 4.6 66,707
Black 3.2 46,598
Asian and Pacific Islander 6.3 91,757
Native-American 0.1 1,692
Other non-white 0.5 6,821
Multi-racial 1.9 27,050
  Non-white 16.4 240,625
White 83.6 1,224,771
Total 1,465,396
The home county of this newspaper is Middlesex.
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
MetroWest Daily News, Framingham
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
01701 / Saxonville / MA / 0 mi. 4,657 12,182 38.2 $70,613 13.0 2.8 2.5 0.1 5.6
01757 / Milford / MA / 11.5 mi. 4,569 10,490 43.6 $50,840 9.5 4.4 1.3 0.1 1.8
01702 / Framingham / MA / 2.8 mi. 3,207 14,058 22.8 $42,614 35.1 17.8 6.2 0.2 5.0
01752 / Marlborough / MA / 5.9 mi. 2,972 14,501 20.5 $56,879 15.1 6.1 2.0 0.1 3.8
01760 / South Natick / MA / 4.1 mi. 2,769 12,953 21.4 $69,832 9.1 2.0 1.6 0.1 3.8
02453 / Waltham / MA / 10 mi. 2,322 11,523 20.2 $50,189 25.0 12.3 4.5 0.1 6.5
02062 / Norwood / MA / 13.8 mi. 2,052 11,623 17.7 $58,421 10.4 1.7 2.3 0.1 5.1
01721 / Ashland / MA / 4.1 mi. 1,888 5,720 33.0 $68,392 9.9 2.9 1.7 0.1 2.5
02038 / Franklin / MA / 14.3 mi. 1,797 10,152 17.7 $71,174 4.7 1.1 1.0 0.1 1.7
02451 / Waltham / MA / 9.9 mi. 1,725 7,276 23.7 $57,186 20.7 5.5 4.3 0.1 9.2
01746 / Holliston / MA / 7.5 mi. 1,623 4,795 33.8 $78,092 4.3 1.4 0.9 0.1 1.2
02026 / Dedham / MA / 13.5 mi. 1,460 8,666 16.8 $61,631 6.8 2.4 1.4 0.1 1.9
01749 / Hudson / MA / 7.8 mi. 1,371 6,990 19.6 $58,549 7.7 3.1 0.8 0.1 1.4
01748 / Hopkinton / MA / 7.8 mi. 1,288 4,444 29.0 $89,281 4.7 1.3 0.6 0.1 1.7
02019 / Bellingham / MA / 16 mi. 1,235 5,557 22.2 $64,496 3.9 1.2 0.9 0.1 0.9
02452 / Waltham / MA / 11.5 mi. 1,134 4,408 25.7 $61,096 15.0 3.7 3.3 0.1 6.5
02053 / Medway / MA / 11 mi. 965 4,182 23.1 $75,135 3.2 0.8 0.6 0.1 1.0
01772 / Southborough / MA / 5 mi. 872 2,779 31.4 $105,160 6.6 1.4 0.5 0.1 3.7
01747 / Spindleville / MA / 13 mi. 810 2,170 37.3 $60,651 2.9 1.1 0.6 0.0 0.7
01756 / Mendon / MA / 15 mi. 724 1,815 39.9 $71,164 2.7 1.0 0.4 0.0 0.6
02081 / Walpole / MA / 13.8 mi. 627 6,370 9.8 $72,861 6.1 2.2 1.9 0.1 1.2
02090 / Westwood / MA / 12.5 mi. 612 5,110 12.0 $87,638 4.6 0.9 0.5 0.0 2.5
01568 / West Upton / MA / 12.2 mi. 460 2,040 22.5 $78,410 2.9 0.7 0.5 0.1 1.0
01569 / Uxbridge / MA / 18 mi. 450 3,959 11.4 $62,231 2.7 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.7
02054 / Millis / MA / 10.1 mi. 402 3,004 13.4 $62,806 3.9 0.9 0.7 0.1 1.1
01778 / Wayland / MA / 4 mi. 385 4,664 8.3 $101,585 8.5 1.1 0.7 0.1 5.3
01776 / Sudbury / MA / 4.4 mi. 361 5,505 6.6 $118,579 6.7 1.2 0.8 0.0 3.7
01532 / Northborough / MA / 10.3 mi. 340 4,904 6.9 $79,781 7.9 1.3 0.6 0.1 5.1
01581 / Westborough / MA / 9.4 mi. 290 6,536 4.4 $73,418 14.2 3.3 1.4 0.1 8.1
01754 / Maynard / MA / 7.7 mi. 224 4,292 5.2 $60,812 6.7 2.8 1.0 0.2 1.6
02472 / Watertown / MA / 12.6 mi. 208 14,629 1.4 $59,764 10.3 2.7 1.7 0.1 3.9
02465 / West Newton / MA / 10.1 mi. 203 4,207 4.8 $82,301 12.0 2.8 1.6 0.0 6.4
01504 / Millerville / MA / 19.1 mi. 202 3,235 6.2 $55,163 3.4 1.0 0.3 0.2 0.8
01775 / Stow / MA / 8.2 mi. 152 2,082 7.3 $96,290 5.3 1.4 0.4 0.1 2.0
02052 / Medfield / MA / 10.6 mi. 142 4,002 3.5 $97,748 3.9 0.9 0.5 0.0 1.8
02459 / Newton Center / MA / 11.4 mi. 137 6,126 2.2 $99,076 13.7 2.4 2.2 0.0 7.5
02481 / Wellesley Hills / MA / 8 mi. 132 4,755 2.8 $123,622 8.0 1.8 1.1 0.0 4.0
01770 / Sherborn / MA / 5.9 mi. 102 1,423 7.2 $121,693 4.4 1.1 0.4 0.0 2.4
02458 / Riverside / MA / 11.9 mi. 102 5,029 2.0 $73,065 13.0 2.6 1.4 0.1 7.4
02460 / Newtonville / MA / 11 mi. 87 3,777 2.3 $83,081 11.8 2.0 1.6 0.0 6.9
01720 / West Acton / MA / 10.6 mi. 70 7,293 1.0 $91,492 12.7 1.8 0.7 0.1 8.6
01588 / Whitinsville / MA / 16.9 mi. 68 3,214 2.1 $47,448 5.3 2.0 0.8 0.2 0.4
01742 / West Concord / MA / 9.6 mi. 65 5,976 1.1 $95,997 9.2 2.8 2.2 0.1 2.9
02493 / Weston / MA / 7 mi. 46 3,718 1.2 $153,918 11.4 1.9 1.2 0.1 6.9
02021 / Canton / MA / 17.2 mi. 45 7,950 0.6 $69,260 8.5 1.4 2.8 0.1 3.1
02466 / Newton / MA / 9 mi. 45 2,724 1.7 $78,786 14.6 2.9 2.3 0.1 8.1
01545 / Shrewsbury / MA / 14 mi. 32 12,376 0.3 $64,175 11.9 1.6 1.4 0.1 7.6
01503 / Berlin / MA / 10.3 mi. 24 872 2.8 $65,667 2.7 0.5 0.2 0.1 1.0
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