Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists
at America's daily newspapers
with the communities that they serve
Newsroom diversity report for
Lansing State Journal
Lansing, Michigan
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 16.9
2004 14.5
2003 13.4
2002 15.9
2001 16.1
2000 15.4
1999 15.9
1998 13.3
1997 15.5
1996 14.1
1995 15.9
1994 13.6
1993 11.1
1992 7.9
1991 13.1
1990 10.8
The latest year at peak is 2005
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Newsroom Diversity Index
for Lansing State Journal
Year Non-white % of newsroom staff Non-white % of circulation area Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)
2005 16.9 16.7 102
2004 14.5 16.7 87
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 Lansing State Journal
This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 102. 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 10 out of 90
newspapers reporting in the category of 50,001 to 100,000 daily sales.
FYI, in circulation, this newspaper's average weekday circulation of
approximately 70,725 ranks 143 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 Lansing State Journal
Circulation area
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 4.4 21,871
Black 7.4 36,446
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.4 11,956
Native-American 0.5 2,306
Other non-white 0.1 665
Multi-racial 1.8 9,090
  Non-white 16.7 82,334
White 83.4 412,280
Total 494,614
Home county:  Ingham
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 5.8 16,190
Black 10.6 29,712
Asian and Pacific Islander 3.7 10,314
Native-American 0.5 1,349
Other non-white 0.2 481
Multi-racial 2.4 6,589
  Non-white 23.1 64,635
White 76.9 214,685
Total 279,320
The home county of this newspaper is Ingham.
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
Lansing State 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
48917 / Lansing / MI / 4.4 mi. 6,877 13,677 50.3 $47,468 18.8 4.9 8.7 0.4 2.6
48823 / East Lansing / MI / 4.9 mi. 5,917 19,524 30.3 $33,153 19.6 3.0 6.0 0.3 8.1
48911 / Lansing / MI / 4.1 mi. 5,660 15,737 36.0 $39,491 42.4 7.8 27.3 0.5 3.2
48910 / Lansing / MI / 2.1 mi. 5,591 15,833 35.3 $35,765 26.8 7.8 13.3 0.6 1.9
48906 / Lansing / MI / 4.2 mi. 4,162 10,397 40.0 $35,988 32.2 12.7 12.5 1.0 2.9
48864 / Okemos / MI / 7.5 mi. 3,723 7,770 47.9 $66,802 16.8 2.2 4.0 0.3 8.4
48912 / Lansing / MI / 1.7 mi. 3,408 8,127 41.9 $34,588 31.2 10.7 12.8 0.8 2.8
48854 / Mason / MI / 11.4 mi. 2,754 6,285 43.8 $51,746 6.4 2.6 1.7 0.5 0.7
48837 / Grand Ledge / MI / 10.8 mi. 2,706 6,699 40.4 $57,271 4.7 2.2 0.6 0.3 0.5
48842 / Holt / MI / 6.7 mi. 2,454 7,088 34.6 $49,187 9.0 3.3 2.2 0.4 1.2
48820 / Dewitt / MI / 9.6 mi. 2,281 5,106 44.7 $65,688 5.8 2.4 0.8 0.4 0.9
48813 / Charlotte / MI / 18.3 mi. 2,278 7,545 30.2 $46,924 4.9 2.8 0.5 0.3 0.4
48840 / Haslett / MI / 9.5 mi. 2,216 5,338 41.5 $50,163 8.4 2.4 2.2 0.4 2.2
48879 / Saint Johns / MI / 18.8 mi. 1,973 6,206 31.8 $49,875 4.6 2.7 0.4 0.4 0.4
48895 / Williamston / MI / 13.7 mi. 1,746 4,136 42.2 $62,164 3.8 1.6 0.4 0.2 0.6
48827 / Eaton Rapids / MI / 16.1 mi. 1,609 5,450 29.5 $51,485 5.0 2.6 0.5 0.4 0.3
48933 / Lansing / MI / 0.3 mi. 1,597 1,511 105.7 $15,599 49.6 10.4 26.9 0.7 6.7
48915 / Lansing / MI / 1.2 mi. 1,569 4,053 38.7 $33,761 56.7 10.8 39.8 0.5 1.7
48875 / Portland / MI / 23.8 mi. 1,099 3,307 33.2 $53,464 2.9 1.2 0.3 0.4 0.2
48821 / Dimondale / MI / 7.9 mi. 961 2,163 44.4 $58,153 6.9 3.3 1.7 0.4 0.5
48848 / Laingsburg / MI / 14.4 mi. 829 2,778 29.8 $56,173 3.4 1.4 0.4 0.3 0.1
48872 / Perry / MI / 17.5 mi. 750 2,708 27.7 $51,450 2.9 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3
48824 / East Lansing / MI / 3.5 mi. 597 37 1613.5 $0 20.0 2.2 9.7 0.3 6.3
48808 / Bath / MI / 8.4 mi. 500 1,491 33.5 $57,917 5.0 2.3 0.4 0.5 0.3
48835 / Fowler / MI / 22.4 mi. 472 1,149 41.1 $53,051 1.3 0.9 0.0 0.1 0.1
48836 / Fowlerville / MI / 24.5 mi. 429 4,029 10.6 $55,200 3.9 1.1 0.2 1.0 0.4
49251 / Leslie / MI / 19.8 mi. 419 2,204 19.0 $50,030 4.9 2.6 0.3 0.3 0.4
48876 / Potterville / MI / 10.7 mi. 381 1,274 29.9 $48,971 6.7 4.6 0.6 0.3 0.4
48822 / Eagle / MI / 13 mi. 354 905 39.1 $63,750 3.4 2.3 0.2 0.3 0.2
48867 / Owosso / MI / 26.6 mi. 325 11,018 2.9 $37,859 4.2 2.3 0.2 0.4 0.4
48892 / Webberville / MI / 19.7 mi. 321 1,566 20.5 $49,435 4.0 1.2 0.4 0.6 0.4
48846 / Ionia / MI / 32.3 mi. 272 5,572 4.9 $41,071 20.6 4.1 13.4 0.6 0.5
48843 / Howell / MI / 34.6 mi. 255 15,605 1.6 $64,265 3.7 1.4 0.2 0.4 0.6
48866 / Ovid / MI / 20.3 mi. 252 1,667 15.1 $43,242 4.1 2.7 0.1 0.3 0.2
48819 / Dansville / MI / 18.4 mi. 251 831 30.2 $53,750 3.4 1.5 0.3 0.3 0.3
48873 / Pewamo / MI / 23 mi. 225 627 35.9 $46,176 2.2 1.1 0.0 0.3 0.1
48801 / Alma / MI / 45.6 mi. 217 4,597 4.7 $35,875 8.2 5.7 0.4 0.4 0.7
48894 / Westphalia / MI / 18.7 mi. 208 262 79.4 $50,781 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0
49096 / Vermontville / MI / 24.3 mi. 203 1,172 17.3 $47,473 3.6 1.1 0.4 0.2 0.4
48831 / Elsie / MI / 27 mi. 201 1,337 15.0 $39,905 3.0 1.9 0.1 0.3 0.1
48890 / Sunfield / MI / 21.6 mi. 180 754 23.9 $46,164 3.5 2.0 0.3 0.2 0.3
48847 / Ithaca / MI / 37.3 mi. 175 2,412 7.3 $38,525 5.6 4.0 0.2 0.5 0.3
48849 / Lake Odessa / MI / 30 mi. 158 2,244 7.0 $42,228 5.9 3.9 0.1 0.3 0.4
49285 / Stockbridge / MI / 25 mi. 158 1,785 8.9 $50,685 3.9 1.6 0.4 0.5 0.3
48861 / Mulliken / MI / 18.6 mi. 155 586 26.5 $52,232 4.1 2.0 0.4 0.6 0.1
48858 / Mount Pleasant / MI / 62.6 mi. 153 15,269 1.0 $31,279 11.7 2.4 2.6 3.1 1.9
49076 / Olivet / MI / 26.4 mi. 150 1,426 10.5 $43,404 8.2 1.8 3.9 0.8 0.7
48811 / Carson City / MI / 34.9 mi. 146 1,250 11.7 $35,754 24.0 3.8 17.1 0.7 0.3
49073 / Nashville / MI / 30.8 mi. 141 1,915 7.4 $39,082 2.6 0.6 0.2 0.4 0.4
48838 / Greenville / MI / 47.8 mi. 134 6,394 2.1 $37,883 4.7 2.6 0.4 0.5 0.3
48871 / Perrinton / MI / 30.2 mi. 125 691 18.1 $46,250 3.7 2.1 0.1 0.5 0.0
48857 / Morrice / MI / 21.5 mi. 113 811 13.9 $49,081 3.9 1.7 0.3 0.6 0.2
48806 / Ashley / MI / 31.5 mi. 94 652 14.4 $37,557 2.2 1.2 0.3 0.2 0.1
48851 / Lyons / MI / 25.8 mi. 93 839 11.1 $46,399 4.0 2.0 0.1 0.4 0.1
49264 / Onondaga / MI / 19.7 mi. 91 636 14.3 $45,875 4.4 2.5 0.3 0.1 0.1
48856 / Middleton / MI / 33.6 mi. 81 343 23.6 $37,563 5.7 2.0 0.1 0.2 0.1
48818 / Crystal / MI / 41.5 mi. 78 1,050 7.4 $33,397 3.3 1.1 0.5 0.3 0.2
48116 / Brighton / MI / 41.8 mi. 69 9,382 0.7 $69,968 3.8 1.4 0.3 0.4 0.9
49058 / Hastings / MI / 38.4 mi. 50 6,752 0.7 $44,440 3.5 1.6 0.2 0.4 0.2
48853 / Maple Rapids / MI / 27.2 mi. 44 171 25.7 $31,818 1.3 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0
48845 / Hubbardston / MI / 29.9 mi. 41 338 12.1 $36,917 3.3 1.1 0.0 1.1 0.5
49284 / Springport / MI / 24.8 mi. 40 1,121 3.6 $40,694 3.4 1.2 0.4 0.6 0.1
48860 / Muir / MI / 28.6 mi. 38 510 7.5 $34,000 3.9 1.6 0.0 0.5 0.1
48807 / Bannister / MI / 30.3 mi. 29 356 8.1 $35,441 2.3 1.9 0.1 0.1 0.0
48897 / Woodland / MI / 29.5 mi. 28 541 5.2 $43,558 4.2 2.4 0.1 0.3 0.3
48880 / Saint Louis / MI / 50.9 mi. 27 2,542 1.1 $35,176 24.0 5.2 15.5 0.9 0.4
49021 / Bellevue / MI / 31.9 mi. 24 2,252 1.1 $44,408 3.4 1.7 0.4 0.4 0.3
48137 / Gregory / MI / 30.7 mi. 22 1,606 1.4 $58,429 6.1 3.3 0.8 0.4 0.3
File mi_lansing_state_journal
Time 5/20/05 3:28 PM
Page 143
Member 122000