Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists
at America's daily newspapers
with the communities that they serve
Newsroom diversity report for
Springfield News-Leader
Springfield, Missouri
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 15.0
2004 10.7
2003 8.8
2002 13.3
2001 4.5
2000 9.7
1999 7.4
1998 8.8
1997 7.1
1996 10.6
1995 Did not report
1994 8.2
1993 6.5
1992 8.1
1991 10.3
1990 6.5
The latest year at peak is 2005
See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.
Newsroom Diversity Index
for Springfield News-Leader
Year Non-white % of newsroom staff Non-white % of circulation area Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)
2005 15.0 5.9 254
2004 10.7 5.9 181
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 Springfield News-Leader
This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 254. 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 1 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 60,736 ranks 173 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 Springfield News-Leader
Circulation area
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 1.8 8,798
Black 1.3 6,194
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7 3,530
Native-American 0.6 3,010
Other non-white 0.1 357
Multi-racial 1.3 6,316
  Non-white 5.9 28,205
White 94.1 449,301
Total 477,506
Home county:  Greene
Race/ethnicity % of population Number of residents
Hispanic 1.8 4,434
Black 2.2 5,322
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.2 2,817
Native-American 0.6 1,513
Other non-white 0.1 272
Multi-racial 1.5 3,586
  Non-white 7.5 17,944
White 92.5 222,447
Total 240,391
The home county of this newspaper is Greene.
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
Springfield News-Leader
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
65804 / Springfield / MO / 4.3 mi. 8,555 16,518 51.8 $37,173 6.2 1.6 1.4 0.4 1.4
65807 / Springfield / MO / 3.1 mi. 7,709 20,197 38.2 $34,631 9.6 2.3 3.1 0.6 2.0
65803 / Springfield / MO / 7.9 mi. 5,386 15,197 35.4 $28,968 7.8 2.0 2.7 0.8 0.5
65802 / Springfield / MO / 2.4 mi. 4,824 15,778 30.6 $28,203 9.7 2.5 3.6 0.8 0.9
65714 / Nixa / MO / 11.3 mi. 2,754 7,926 34.7 $42,096 3.5 1.5 0.3 0.4 0.4
65810 / Springfield / MO / 6.1 mi. 2,750 5,837 47.1 $57,172 5.5 1.3 0.8 0.4 2.0
65721 / Ozark / MO / 15.6 mi. 2,204 7,072 31.2 $38,633 3.6 1.4 0.2 0.5 0.3
65809 / Springfield / MO / 6.2 mi. 2,161 3,450 62.6 $72,474 4.2 0.6 0.8 0.4 1.4
65616 / Branson / MO / 35.9 mi. 2,054 7,213 28.5 $33,558 6.6 3.6 0.4 0.8 0.6
65806 / Springfield / MO / 0 mi. 1,588 5,314 29.9 $15,484 15.4 3.4 5.3 1.3 2.3
65738 / Republic / MO / 13 mi. 1,534 4,211 36.4 $36,669 3.4 1.1 0.2 0.5 0.4
65742 / Rogersville / MO / 14 mi. 1,078 3,328 32.4 $40,713 3.3 1.1 0.2 0.6 0.3
65613 / Bolivar / MO / 28.5 mi. 870 5,448 16.0 $29,891 4.0 1.5 0.6 0.6 0.3
65706 / Marshfield / MO / 21.8 mi. 868 4,872 17.8 $35,014 3.1 1.2 0.2 0.6 0.3
65536 / Lebanon / MO / 49.8 mi. 865 10,421 8.3 $30,074 3.9 1.3 0.5 0.4 0.4
65781 / Willard / MO / 10.8 mi. 801 2,235 35.8 $37,439 2.4 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.1
65686 / Kimberling City / MO / 39.5 mi. 761 1,962 38.8 $37,320 2.5 1.0 0.1 0.2 0.2
65605 / Aurora / MO / 31.6 mi. 668 4,588 14.6 $27,377 4.3 2.0 0.1 0.6 0.2
65757 / Strafford / MO / 12.6 mi. 597 2,218 26.9 $38,713 2.8 1.2 0.2 0.5 0.1
65619 / Brookline Station / MO / 6.8 mi. 595 1,599 37.2 $44,410 3.7 0.9 0.2 0.5 0.7
65708 / Monett / MO / 41.1 mi. 529 4,301 12.3 $32,549 12.3 10.0 0.1 0.8 0.6
65712 / Mount Vernon / MO / 27.3 mi. 522 2,765 18.9 $32,886 3.6 1.3 0.4 0.7 0.3
65775 / West Plains / MO / 83.3 mi. 506 9,047 5.6 $27,321 4.2 1.3 0.4 0.8 0.5
65622 / Buffalo / MO / 25.2 mi. 454 3,092 14.7 $26,062 3.3 1.1 0.1 0.9 0.0
65653 / Forsyth / MO / 33.2 mi. 415 2,079 20.0 $30,476 2.5 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.1
65711 / Mountain Grove / MO / 53.6 mi. 411 3,844 10.7 $23,532 2.8 0.7 0.1 0.6 0.1
65625 / Cassville / MO / 45.6 mi. 357 3,004 11.9 $28,958 5.7 3.0 0.1 0.8 0.5
65648 / Fair Grove / MO / 14.5 mi. 356 1,638 21.7 $38,125 3.0 0.9 0.3 0.4 0.1
65610 / Billings / MO / 17.7 mi. 352 1,697 20.7 $35,822 2.5 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.3
65608 / Ava / MO / 38.8 mi. 333 3,656 9.1 $25,944 3.4 1.0 0.1 0.8 0.3
65604 / Ash Grove / MO / 16.9 mi. 327 1,416 23.1 $35,776 2.6 0.9 0.2 0.6 0.1
65705 / Marionville / MO / 23.7 mi. 325 1,493 21.8 $30,142 2.8 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.2
65737 / Reeds Spring / MO / 34.3 mi. 315 2,632 12.0 $29,522 3.7 1.7 0.1 0.8 0.3
65785 / Stockton / MO / 46 mi. 299 2,102 14.2 $30,850 4.1 1.1 0.2 0.4 0.7
64744 / El Dorado Springs / MO / 60.1 mi. 289 3,288 8.8 $24,963 4.0 1.1 0.4 0.8 0.4
65661 / Greenfield / MO / 33.6 mi. 256 1,133 22.6 $25,903 4.2 1.1 0.4 0.8 0.2
65020 / Camdenton / MO / 60.6 mi. 245 4,897 5.0 $31,992 3.6 1.2 0.2 0.5 0.5
65746 / Seymour / MO / 28.2 mi. 235 2,254 10.4 $27,234 4.3 1.3 0.4 0.5 0.3
65689 / Cabool / MO / 65 mi. 230 1,913 12.0 $25,588 4.1 0.8 0.2 1.1 0.6
65483 / Houston / MO / 74.4 mi. 229 1,987 11.5 $24,651 4.5 1.3 0.1 0.6 0.2
65672 / Hollister / MO / 43.8 mi. 225 2,964 7.6 $27,733 5.3 2.5 0.3 1.0 0.5
65583 / Waynesville / MO / 68.7 mi. 222 5,450 4.1 $37,684 25.5 4.2 12.3 0.9 3.9
65652 / Fordland / MO / 22.2 mi. 213 1,149 18.5 $33,333 12.5 1.2 7.8 0.6 0.6
65667 / Hartville / MO / 43.8 mi. 204 1,245 16.4 $25,262 3.9 0.9 0.9 1.1 0.0
65704 / Mansfield / MO / 38.4 mi. 192 1,450 13.2 $25,843 2.7 0.6 0.2 0.5 0.2
65753 / Sparta / MO / 20.1 mi. 191 1,512 12.6 $31,600 2.6 1.0 0.1 0.5 0.2
65725 / Pleasant Hope / MO / 18.9 mi. 190 863 22.0 $33,618 3.6 0.6 0.1 1.0 0.0
65631 / Clever / MO / 13.9 mi. 190 933 20.4 $34,097 3.4 1.7 0.2 0.4 0.2
65633 / Crane / MO / 21.1 mi. 190 1,322 14.4 $29,962 3.2 0.6 0.1 0.8 0.2
65747 / Shell Knob / MO / 43.1 mi. 177 1,688 10.5 $29,178 2.7 1.3 0.0 0.5 0.1
65793 / Willow Springs / MO / 77.2 mi. 174 2,363 7.4 $22,491 4.5 0.8 0.2 1.1 0.2
65548 / Mountain View / MO / 88.6 mi. 161 2,248 7.2 $22,965 4.9 1.2 0.0 1.3 0.3
65556 / Richland / MO / 66.1 mi. 159 2,066 7.7 $28,869 4.8 1.5 0.4 0.6 0.5
65770 / Walnut Grove / MO / 17.3 mi. 153 1,046 14.6 $34,500 1.9 0.4 0.0 0.9 0.1
65791 / Thayer / MO / 107.2 mi. 139 1,754 7.9 $21,894 4.6 1.3 0.1 1.5 0.3
65682 / Lockwood / MO / 35 mi. 136 804 16.9 $28,051 3.1 1.0 0.4 0.6 0.4
65401 / Rolla / MO / 98.2 mi. 134 10,844 1.2 $30,449 8.6 1.4 1.9 0.5 3.3
65656 / Galena / MO / 28.3 mi. 126 2,241 5.6 $31,260 3.1 0.8 0.1 0.7 0.2
65707 / Miller / MO / 30.6 mi. 122 851 14.3 $29,315 2.4 0.6 0.1 0.8 0.0
65612 / Bois D Arc / MO / 14.7 mi. 107 472 22.7 $42,276 2.9 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.1
65674 / Humansville / MO / 42.7 mi. 106 982 10.8 $24,936 2.5 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.1
65774 / Weaubleau / MO / 47.4 mi. 104 438 23.7 $21,278 3.2 0.7 0.1 0.8 0.0
65664 / Halltown / MO / 18.2 mi. 104 14 742.9 $36,875 5.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
65632 / Conway / MO / 37 mi. 103 1,055 9.8 $30,393 3.7 1.7 0.1 0.6 0.2
65655 / Gainesville / MO / 65.4 mi. 94 1,217 7.7 $28,563 3.0 1.1 0.2 0.5 0.0
65065 / Osage Beach / MO / 71.8 mi. 91 2,199 4.1 $42,369 3.4 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.6
65101 / Jefferson City / MO / 109.2 mi. 87 10,119 0.9 $40,663 20.2 1.2 16.4 0.4 0.8
65767 / Urbana / MO / 46.1 mi. 87 779 11.2 $30,551 3.2 0.7 0.1 0.7 0.1
65668 / Hermitage / MO / 47.9 mi. 84 688 12.2 $26,316 4.2 0.8 0.0 1.0 0.1
65723 / Pierce City / MO / 41.2 mi. 77 1,401 5.5 $32,125 4.7 2.3 0.1 0.9 0.1
65473 / Fort Leonard Wood / MO / 76.6 mi. 76 2,639 2.9 $33,891 40.0 11.4 21.3 1.0 2.8
65769 / Verona / MO / 34.4 mi. 68 1,077 6.3 $31,964 15.2 13.3 0.0 0.7 0.3
65717 / Norwood / MO / 49.5 mi. 66 857 7.7 $26,127 2.5 0.4 0.0 0.9 0.1
65779 / Wheatland / MO / 50.6 mi. 66 918 7.2 $24,918 2.3 0.7 0.0 0.5 0.3
65713 / Niangua / MO / 33.4 mi. 65 922 7.0 $27,175 3.8 2.1 0.1 0.5 0.1
65611 / Blue Eye / MO / 47.1 mi. 65 849 7.7 $32,478 2.7 0.6 0.0 0.6 0.2
65649 / Fair Play / MO / 34.3 mi. 65 577 11.3 $24,935 3.1 0.7 0.4 1.6 0.0
65646 / Everton / MO / 22 mi. 64 743 8.6 $33,864 2.6 0.9 0.0 0.6 0.0
64776 / Osceola / MO / 63.1 mi. 62 1,539 4.0 $25,475 3.6 1.1 0.3 1.1 0.1
65560 / Salem / MO / 103.3 mi. 62 5,402 1.1 $27,011 3.1 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.2
65542 / Licking / MO / 81.6 mi. 58 1,929 3.0 $23,730 3.6 1.2 0.0 1.1 0.2
65754 / Spokane / MO / 24.1 mi. 58 263 22.1 $37,431 2.9 1.1 0.0 0.8 0.0
65786 / Macks Creek / MO / 56.3 mi. 58 789 7.4 $29,120 3.1 1.1 0.2 0.6 0.2
65734 / Purdy / MO / 43.9 mi. 49 1,221 4.0 $28,097 12.1 10.0 0.1 0.5 0.1
65624 / Cape Fair / MO / 35.2 mi. 49 173 28.3 $27,162 4.3 0.8 0.0 2.0 0.0
72601 / Harrison / AR / 66.1 mi. 48 11,376 0.4 $30,503 3.0 1.1 0.1 0.7 0.4
65617 / Brighton / MO / 19.3 mi. 46 489 9.4 $40,170 5.5 2.6 0.3 0.8 0.2
65663 / Half Way / MO / 27.7 mi. 46 657 7.0 $31,705 2.9 0.6 0.1 0.8 0.0
65644 / Elkland / MO / 22.1 mi. 45 958 4.7 $31,060 3.6 0.9 0.3 1.2 0.1
65669 / Highlandville / MO / 18.6 mi. 42 615 6.8 $34,280 3.1 1.0 0.0 0.7 0.2
65761 / Theodosia / MO / 53.7 mi. 42 572 7.3 $24,716 2.7 0.9 0.0 0.2 0.1
65740 / Rockaway Beach / MO / 34.5 mi. 41 1,066 3.8 $24,195 4.3 1.0 0.1 0.9 0.0
65635 / Dadeville / MO / 31.2 mi. 41 225 18.2 $29,750 2.8 0.9 0.2 0.5 0.2
65739 / Ridgedale / MO / 46.2 mi. 40 451 8.9 $36,959 4.8 1.5 1.0 0.8 0.2
65710 / Morrisville / MO / 19.5 mi. 38 423 9.0 $33,750 2.4 1.2 0.0 0.6 0.1
65724 / Pittsburg / MO / 43.7 mi. 37 652 5.7 $23,875 2.3 0.7 0.0 0.5 0.2
65606 / Alton / MO / 111.9 mi. 34 1,324 2.6 $20,353 9.5 1.2 0.2 5.6 0.1
65466 / Eminence / MO / 99.9 mi. 33 716 4.6 $23,000 5.9 0.8 0.3 1.7 0.0
65732 / Preston / MO / 51.5 mi. 33 312 10.6 $29,120 2.9 1.1 0.1 0.6 0.0
65681 / Lampe / MO / 44.1 mi. 32 938 3.4 $35,288 1.1 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0
65601 / Aldrich / MO / 25.2 mi. 31 334 9.3 $30,859 3.1 0.6 0.1 0.8 0.3
64759 / Lamar / MO / 57.3 mi. 29 3,187 0.9 $30,930 3.4 1.0 0.1 0.6 0.3
65452 / Crocker / MO / 75.8 mi. 29 1,177 2.5 $31,759 4.1 0.9 0.4 1.0 0.4
65588 / Winona / MO / 114.2 mi. 29 1,000 2.9 $20,526 7.2 1.0 0.1 2.5 0.1
65650 / Flemington / MO / 39.9 mi. 29 501 5.8 $28,472 2.9 1.0 0.2 0.3 0.1
65771 / Walnut Shade / MO / 30 mi. 28 330 8.5 $31,250 3.2 0.8 0.0 0.5 0.5
65438 / Birch Tree / MO / 101.4 mi. 27 1,133 2.4 $20,060 5.5 1.3 0.1 2.0 0.1
65641 / Eagle Rock / MO / 50.8 mi. 26 611 4.3 $30,208 3.6 1.5 0.1 0.8 0.1
65662 / Grovespring / MO / 43.6 mi. 26 458 5.7 $29,076 1.5 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.0
65571 / Summersville / MO / 87.6 mi. 25 898 2.8 $20,564 3.0 0.5 0.1 0.9 0.1
72653 / Mountain Home / AR / 80.8 mi. 23 11,848 0.2 $29,674 2.9 1.0 0.1 0.5 0.4
65685 / Louisburg / MO / 37.6 mi. 22 374 5.9 $24,583 2.3 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.0
65629 / Chadwick / MO / 24.5 mi. 22 306 7.2 $28,173 2.1 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.1
65789 / Pomona / MO / 80 mi. 21 711 3.0 $26,250 4.2 1.1 0.0 1.0 0.4
65722 / Phillipsburg / MO / 38.5 mi. 19 557 3.4 $30,344 3.7 1.3 0.4 0.8 0.5
72644 / Lead Hill / AR / 57.4 mi. 16 759 2.1 $27,679 3.5 0.6 0.0 0.5 0.4
63131 / Saint Louis / MO / 183.6 mi. 16 5,974 0.3 $112,017 6.1 0.9 0.9 0.1 3.5
65626 / Caulfield / MO / 79.5 mi. 12 676 1.8 $23,125 3.5 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.1
65638 / Drury / MO / 54.9 mi. 11 187 5.9 $26,382 5.6 2.0 0.0 1.7 0.2
65733 / Protem / MO / 51.1 mi. 11 225 4.9 $25,568 3.0 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.0
65744 / Rueter / MO / 44.7 mi. 11 60 18.3 $32,778 6.9 5.6 0.0 0.7 0.0
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