The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson... Racial diversity of its news staff and community

Comparing the racial diversity of the journalists

at America's daily newspapers

with the communities that they serve

Newsroom diversity report for

The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson

Jackson, Mississippi

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

31.1

2004

26.7

2003

29.2

2002

30.6

2001

27.7

2000

27.3

1999

28.0

1998

26.1

1997

19.3

1996

19.5

1995

21.6

1994

17.2

1993

15.7

1992

17.4

1991

11.5

1990

13.0

The latest year at peak is

2005

See the notes and definitions section below for the sources of these figures.

Newsroom Diversity Index

for The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

31.1

48.5

2004

26.7

48.5

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 Clarion-Ledger, Jackson

This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 64.

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 32 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 The Times, Shreveport, Louisiana, with a 31.1 percent non-white staff in a community that is 41.3 percent non-white. Its index is 75.

FYI, in circulation, this newspaper's average weekday circulation of

approximately 94,938 ranks 110 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 Clarion-Ledger, Jackson

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

1.3

10,726

Black

45.7

375,787

Asian and Pacific Islander

0.7

5,460

Native-American

0.2

1,930

Other non-white

0.0

339

Multi-racial

0.5

4,187

Non-white

48.5

398,429

White

51.5

423,627

Total

822,056

Home county: Hinds

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

0.8

1,978

Black

60.9

152,652

Asian and Pacific Islander

0.6

1,516

Native-American

0.1

280

Other non-white

0.1

153

Multi-racial

0.6

1,417

Non-white

63.0

157,996

White

37.0

92,804

Total

250,800

The home county of this newspaper is Hinds.

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 Clarion-Ledger, Jackson

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

39211 / Jackson / MS / 6.6 mi.

5,908

10,592

55.8

$56,621

19.9

1.0

16.7

0.1

1.5

39110 / Madison / MS / 15 mi.

5,561

8,170

68.1

$73,938

11.5

0.7

9.0

0.1

1.4

39056 / Clinton / MS / 11.5 mi.

4,264

8,980

47.5

$47,874

26.4

0.9

23.4

0.1

1.4

39042 / Brandon / MS / 12.6 mi.

4,234

9,995

42.4

$47,853

23.5

1.2

21.3

0.2

0.4

39047 / Brandon / MS / 11.6 mi.

4,158

9,370

44.4

$61,140

12.5

1.0

9.8

0.2

1.0

39157 / Ridgeland / MS / 9.6 mi.

3,725

9,347

39.9

$42,886

25.7

1.5

20.4

0.2

2.9

39212 / Jackson / MS / 7 mi.

3,366

14,050

24.0

$40,705

49.6

0.8

47.5

0.1

0.5

39206 / Jackson / MS / 5.7 mi.

3,297

10,566

31.2

$33,335

85.2

0.7

83.0

0.1

0.7

39208 / Pearl / MS / 5.2 mi.

3,230

11,659

27.7

$37,751

22.4

1.9

18.8

0.2

0.9

39213 / Jackson / MS / 8.9 mi.

2,609

9,558

27.3

$22,470

97.4

0.5

96.3

0.1

0.2

39209 / Jackson / MS / 13.2 mi.

2,573

11,539

22.3

$25,362

90.1

0.9

88.4

0.1

39204 / Jackson / MS / 3.1 mi.

1,975

7,420

26.6

$23,339

75.4

0.7

73.1

0.2

0.6

39073 / Florence / MS / 11.5 mi.

1,787

6,349

28.1

$40,821

17.5

0.9

15.7

0.1

39046 / Canton / MS / 26.6 mi.

1,691

7,320

23.1

$29,599

76.1

1.0

74.4

0.1

0.2

39202 / Jackson / MS / 1.8 mi.

1,666

3,981

41.8

$24,935

54.1

0.9

51.4

0.2

0.7

39759 / Starkville / MS / 110.5 mi.

1,585

14,630

10.8

$25,183

42.0

1.1

37.1

0.2

2.8

39216 / Jackson / MS / 3.3 mi.

1,478

1,603

92.2

$28,608

39.2

0.5

35.2

0.1

2.7

39180 / Vicksburg / MS / 39.6 mi.

1,290

12,679

10.2

$36,801

43.7

1.2

41.0

0.2

0.7

39401 / Hattiesburg / MS / 92.5 mi.

1,290

15,432

8.4

$22,831

52.4

1.3

49.3

0.2

0.7

39154 / Raymond / MS / 16 mi.

1,116

3,044

36.7

$45,203

31.1

0.6

29.7

0.1

0.3

39051 / Carthage / MS / 52.1 mi.

1,083

5,586

19.4

$27,689

42.6

2.6

34.4

4.9

0.2

39194 / Yazoo City / MS / 43.8 mi.

1,081

6,666

16.2

$22,647

62.7

5.6

55.9

0.2

0.5

39170 / Terry / MS / 15.1 mi.

1,060

2,637

40.2

$46,367

33.5

0.4

32.4

0.2

0.1

39601 / Brookhaven / MS / 51.2 mi.

1,042

8,665

12.0

$26,794

35.4

0.7

33.8

0.1

0.3

39218 / Richland / MS / 4.1 mi.

1,020

2,367

43.1

$37,477

11.4

0.8

8.2

0.1

1.5

39090 / Kosciusko / MS / 63.5 mi.

1,002

5,233

19.1

$23,858

42.4

1.4

39.9

0.2

0.3

39201 / Jackson / MS / 0 mi.

975

197

494.9

$12,750

80.9

1.3

77.9

0.6

0.2

39339 / Louisville / MS / 89.9 mi.

918

6,168

14.9

$28,658

48.4

1.3

45.9

0.8

0.1

39701 / Columbus / MS / 124.3 mi.

911

6,872

13.3

$23,978

66.1

1.0

64.0

0.1

0.3

39083 / Hazlehurst / MS / 36.8 mi.

843

3,670

23.0

$25,744

65.1

1.5

62.5

0.0

0.3

39648 / McComb / MS / 78.2 mi.

843

8,317

10.1

$23,766

53.4

0.8

51.6

0.1

0.4

38930 / Greenwood / MS / 88.6 mi.

836

10,322

8.1

$21,879

64.7

0.9

62.4

0.1

0.9

38732 / Cleveland / MS / 107.6 mi.

771

6,700

11.5

$27,856

53.9

1.2

51.5

0.1

0.8

38655 / Oxford / MS / 149.1 mi.

769

12,091

6.4

$27,826

28.8

1.2

25.0

0.1

1.6

39440 / Laurel / MS / 75.4 mi.

757

8,193

9.2

$25,827

54.0

3.9

49.0

0.1

0.6

39350 / Philadelphia / MS / 69.7 mi.

714

8,339

8.6

$28,411

41.0

1.1

21.8

17.0

0.3

39203 / Jackson / MS / 1.7 mi.

699

2,773

25.2

$15,630

97.7

1.4

95.5

0.2

0.1

39074 / Forest / MS / 43.2 mi.

681

5,748

11.8

$25,754

52.8

5.6

46.0

0.4

0.3

39111 / Magee / MS / 39.7 mi.

661

3,868

17.1

$26,968

29.8

1.9

27.6

0.1

38901 / Grenada / MS / 107.3 mi.

637

7,592

8.4

$27,469

43.7

0.7

41.9

0.1

0.4

39120 / Natchez / MS / 84.8 mi.

617

13,798

4.5

$25,176

55.1

0.8

53.3

0.1

0.3

39059 / Crystal Springs / MS / 26.1 mi.

595

4,450

13.4

$26,651

51.3

0.9

49.9

0.1

38701 / Greenville / MS / 83.1 mi.

512

10,800

4.7

$26,546

63.6

0.8

61.5

0.1

0.8

39145 / Pelahatchie / MS / 23.4 mi.

488

1,948

25.1

$34,915

21.1

1.9

18.3

0.2

39305 / Meridian / MS / 92.5 mi.

483

7,644

6.3

$43,563

20.0

1.3

17.4

0.1

0.7

39117 / Morton / MS / 38.6 mi.

460

3,658

12.6

$30,594

29.3

6.9

21.6

0.1

39114 / Mendenhall / MS / 32.2 mi.

437

3,565

12.3

$29,176

40.9

0.7

39.4

0.1

39429 / Columbia / MS / 76.1 mi.

425

6,316

6.7

$24,779

37.2

0.6

35.4

0.3

38801 / Tupelo / MS / 157.5 mi.

392

10,799

3.6

$38,274

34.3

1.2

31.3

0.2

0.8

38614 / Clarksdale / MS / 133 mi.

388

8,065

4.8

$23,050

69.0

0.8

66.9

0.1

0.6

39071 / Flora / MS / 20.1 mi.

385

1,553

24.8

$41,010

48.9

0.4

47.7

0.2

38967 / Winona / MS / 87.3 mi.

365

3,046

12.0

$25,724

47.2

0.8

45.6

0.1

0.4

39301 / Meridian / MS / 93.9 mi.

359

11,294

3.2

$24,390

49.6

0.9

47.5

0.2

0.4

39041 / Bolton / MS / 19.1 mi.

351

1,146

30.6

$30,000

75.9

0.5

74.8

0.2

0.0

39038 / Belzoni / MS / 65.9 mi.

345

1,964

17.6

$20,319

71.8

1.4

69.6

0.0

0.3

39095 / Lexington / MS / 58.7 mi.

345

2,811

12.3

$16,250

79.2

1.2

77.2

0.1

0.3

39345 / Newton / MS / 57.4 mi.

340

2,534

13.4

$26,778

54.3

0.7

52.8

0.1

0.4

38751 / Indianola / MS / 87.4 mi.

336

4,416

7.6

$26,970

72.1

1.0

70.3

0.0

0.4

38703 / Greenville / MS / 90.4 mi.

333

6,197

5.4

$26,277

71.7

0.7

69.9

0.0

0.5

39474 / Prentiss / MS / 51.2 mi.

327

2,545

12.8

$21,126

63.4

0.8

61.9

0.0

0.1

39773 / West Point / MS / 126 mi.

325

6,543

5.0

$27,983

56.7

0.8

55.3

0.0

0.2

38606 / Batesville / MS / 143.1 mi.

309

5,545

5.6

$29,424

40.9

1.2

39.0

0.2

39645 / Liberty / MS / 86.9 mi.

307

2,065

14.9

$23,808

42.7

0.8

41.1

0.2

0.1

39422 / Bay Springs / MS / 62.4 mi.

291

2,184

13.3

$24,944

47.5

0.7

46.1

0.1

0.0

39428 / Collins / MS / 57 mi.

270

3,487

7.7

$26,169

44.4

1.1

42.6

0.1

0.2

39140 / Newhebron / MS / 40 mi.

264

901

29.3

$25,771

43.8

0.5

42.8

0.1

0.0

39150 / Port Gibson / MS / 56.3 mi.

261

2,316

11.3

$23,576

80.7

0.9

79.2

0.1

0.2

39175 / Utica / MS / 27.4 mi.

260

1,601

16.2

$32,278

64.3

1.4

62.2

0.0

0.1

39119 / Mount Olive / MS / 49.3 mi.

257

2,071

12.4

$26,515

46.6

0.5

45.2

0.0

0.2

39367 / Waynesboro / MS / 96.3 mi.

257

5,981

4.3

$26,192

40.2

0.7

39.1

0.1

0.2

38753 / Inverness / MS / 76.9 mi.

251

631

39.8

$32,218

59.5

1.5

57.3

0.0

0.6

39654 / Monticello / MS / 56.5 mi.

251

2,167

11.6

$31,456

36.0

0.9

34.2

0.1

0.4

39744 / Eupora / MS / 102.8 mi.

251

2,596

9.7

$26,949

25.9

2.1

23.2

0.1

39307 / Meridian / MS / 79.4 mi.

246

6,736

3.7

$24,556

52.6

1.1

50.3

0.2

0.5

39437 / Ellisville / MS / 75.5 mi.

243

4,223

5.8

$31,113

18.2

1.0

16.4

0.2

39044 / Braxton / MS / 23.6 mi.

236

1,331

17.7

$34,286

31.5

1.3

29.0

0.3

0.2

39653 / Meadville / MS / 72.2 mi.

236

1,212

19.5

$26,521

26.5

0.5

25.1

0.2

0.1

39465 / Petal / MS / 88.1 mi.

234

6,274

3.7

$35,770

10.3

1.2

8.3

0.2

39159 / Rolling Fork / MS / 52.2 mi.

230

1,201

19.2

$23,066

64.8

1.0

63.0

0.0

0.2

38618 / Coldwater / MS / 166.6 mi.

224

3,922

5.7

$34,150

36.7

1.0

34.9

0.2

0.0

39365 / Union / MS / 70.6 mi.

222

3,074

7.2

$27,727

18.0

0.9

15.9

0.6

0.1

39667 / Tylertown / MS / 79 mi.

210

4,466

4.7

$22,730

47.5

1.3

45.0

0.2

0.3

39116 / Mize / MS / 47.2 mi.

209

924

22.6

$29,242

10.3

0.8

9.0

0.1

0.2

39735 / Ackerman / MS / 93.5 mi.

200

2,122

9.4

$26,948

29.4

0.9

27.7

0.2

38737 / Drew / MS / 111.5 mi.

197

1,209

16.3

$20,729

66.9

1.3

65.0

0.0

0.2

39191 / Wesson / MS / 43.6 mi.

194

2,534

7.7

$29,389

26.6

0.9

25.0

0.2

0.1

38921 / Charleston / MS / 114.6 mi.

186

1,917

9.7

$22,308

62.9

1.1

61.2

0.0

0.3

39355 / Quitman / MS / 92.9 mi.

179

2,915

6.1

$31,415

29.9

0.9

28.5

0.1

39455 / Lumberton / MS / 94.5 mi.

177

2,705

6.5

$24,974

21.6

1.1

19.6

0.3

0.2

39063 / Durant / MS / 60 mi.

170

1,454

11.7

$21,418

70.0

0.7

68.2

0.1

0.2

39079 / Goodman / MS / 48.4 mi.

163

536

30.4

$19,728

69.2

0.6

67.9

0.1

0.0

38756 / Leland / MS / 89.2 mi.

161

2,629

6.1

$26,574

59.8

1.1

57.8

0.1

39341 / Macon / MS / 106.4 mi.

161

2,880

5.6

$22,912

70.3

1.1

68.4

0.2

0.1

39563 / Moss Point / MS / 162 mi.

161

5,734

2.8

$32,072

72.1

1.0

70.1

0.1

0.3

39039 / Benton / MS / 36.6 mi.

157

765

20.5

$27,266

43.3

1.1

41.7

0.1

39168 / Taylorsville / MS / 55.7 mi.

156

2,284

6.8

$28,458

47.8

0.6

46.7

0.1

0.0

38821 / Amory / MS / 154 mi.

142

5,070

2.8

$31,653

19.2

0.6

17.9

0.1

0.2

38916 / Calhoun City / MS / 115.7 mi.

131

2,114

6.2

$24,817

34.7

0.7

33.3

0.1

39571 / Pass Christian / MS / 136 mi.

127

6,419

2.0

$38,645

20.6

1.5

15.6

0.5

2.0

39327 / Decatur / MS / 63 mi.

119

1,426

8.3

$29,784

27.1

0.8

25.4

0.3

0.1

39466 / Picayune / MS / 121.3 mi.

117

9,245

1.3

$28,186

19.9

1.4

16.6

0.4

39066 / Edwards / MS / 24.5 mi.

110

1,596

6.9

$30,406

75.4

1.1

74.0

0.0

0.1

39747 / Kilmichael / MS / 83.8 mi.

109

935

11.7

$21,763

47.1

1.1

45.4

0.1

39501 / Gulfport / MS / 146.1 mi.

103

9,549

1.1

$25,305

59.2

2.3

54.2

0.4

1.0

38965 / Water Valley / MS / 131.9 mi.

3,467

2.8

$29,494

31.8

0.9

30.0

0.2

39443 / Laurel / MS / 73.3 mi.

7,837

1.2

$30,716

15.5

1.0

13.8

0.1

39730 / Aberdeen / MS / 139.5 mi.

4,810

1.9

$28,263

49.3

0.6

48.1

0.1

0.3

39532 / Biloxi / MS / 144.1 mi.

12,254

0.7

$41,411

15.6

2.2

7.2

0.4

4.3

38646 / Marks / MS / 138.1 mi.

1,352

6.7

$22,298

66.6

0.4

65.3

0.1

0.3

38834 / Corinth / MS / 202.9 mi.

11,186

0.8

$28,491

15.0

1.3

12.7

0.1

0.3

38917 / Carrollton / MS / 86.6 mi.

1,296

6.5

$31,148

27.2

0.5

26.2

0.1

0.2

39470 / Poplarville / MS / 103.7 mi.

4,076

2.0

$31,331

14.5

1.1

11.7

0.5

0.4

38652 / New Albany / MS / 167.3 mi.

6,060

1.3

$32,361

23.8

2.2

20.8

0.1

0.2

38754 / Isola / MS / 69.9 mi.

908

8.8

$18,696

76.1

1.9

73.6

0.2

38941 / Itta Bena / MS / 78 mi.

1,564

5.1

$19,450

88.4

3.9

84.0

0.0

0.3

39439 / Heidelberg / MS / 74.2 mi.

1,703

4.6

$24,578

64.4

0.6

60.6

2.8

0.0

38851 / Houston / MS / 133.5 mi.

3,466

2.1

$25,376

36.9

3.6

32.4

0.3

38863 / Pontotoc / MS / 148.3 mi.

6,810

1.0

$30,941

15.6

1.9

12.8

0.3

0.1

38748 / Hollandale / MS / 71.3 mi.

1,752

4.0

$21,842

66.2

1.0

64.5

0.0

0.1

39531 / Biloxi / MS / 148.8 mi.

8,275

0.8

$34,863

29.9

4.3

19.2

0.5

3.2

39577 / Wiggins / MS / 116.6 mi.

3,812

1.7

$28,145

23.9

1.1

22.1

0.1

38922 / Coffeeville / MS / 118.7 mi.

1,433

4.0

$24,828

43.3

0.8

42.1

0.1

0.0

39635 / Fernwood / MS / 78.2 mi.

87.7

$20,000

11.3

0.0

6.0

4.0

0.0

39772 / Weir / MS / 85 mi.

923

5.7

$27,083

49.2

0.7

47.6

0.6

0.0

39094 / Lena / MS / 43.4 mi.

1,295

4.0

$25,320

46.5

0.9

45.1

0.1

0.0

39750 / Maben / MS / 106.5 mi.

957

5.4

$28,964

27.8

0.4

26.6

0.2

0.1

39328 / De Kalb / MS / 87.6 mi.

1,778

2.1

$22,899

62.1

0.5

60.6

0.1

38730 / Boyle / MS / 100.2 mi.

532

6.8

$37,353

27.3

0.8

25.4

0.0

0.8

39069 / Fayette / MS / 63.5 mi.

2,132

1.7

$17,856

92.0

0.5

90.9

0.1

0.2

39108 / Mc Cool / MS / 78.3 mi.

827

3.9

$25,900

37.5

1.0

35.2

0.2

0.7

38738 / Parchman / MS / 113.8 mi.

124

24.2

$30,521

75.7

0.5

74.3

0.2

0.5

39153 / Raleigh / MS / 42.2 mi.

1,331

2.2

$28,068

23.9

0.6

23.1

0.1

0.0

38961 / Tillatoba / MS / 118.7 mi.

508

5.1

$23,787

29.9

0.9

28.7

0.2

0.0

39115 / Midnight / MS / 57.2 mi.

49.1

$39,286

64.4

0.0

64.4

0.0

39192 / West / MS / 67.3 mi.

804

3.1

$26,295

51.7

1.4

49.3

0.3

0.1

39641 / Jayess / MS / 60.8 mi.

1,557

1.6

$22,444

23.0

0.8

21.5

0.1

0.2

39752 / Mathiston / MS / 105.8 mi.

682

3.4

$27,833

9.2

0.9

7.5

0.0

0.7

39166 / Silver City / MS / 51.7 mi.

289

7.3

$25,000

81.2

1.0

80.0

0.0

39661 / Roxie / MS / 76.2 mi.

1,116

1.2

$22,368

56.1

0.5

54.9

0.2

0.1

39668 / Union Church / MS / 55.1 mi.

282

1.1

$28,681

58.9

0.1

57.9

0.1

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Time

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