The Fayetteville Observer... 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 Fayetteville Observer

Fayetteville, North Carolina

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

9.5

2004

12.9

2003

15.9

2002

14.4

2001

12.5

2000

12.1

1999

11.3

1998

12.2

1997

9.1

1996

6.9

1995

6.4

1994

6.2

1993

9.7

1992

Did not report

1991

4.6

1990

6.1

The latest year at peak is

2003

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

Newsroom Diversity Index

for The Fayetteville Observer

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

9.5

48.1

2004

12.9

48.1

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.)

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

Peer group comparison

for The Fayetteville Observer

This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 20.

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 80 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 66,245 ranks 152 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 Fayetteville Observer

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

5.9

36,112

Black

31.2

189,766

Asian and Pacific Islander

1.3

7,958

Native-American

7.7

46,903

Other non-white

0.2

1,119

Multi-racial

1.7

10,371

Non-white

48.1

292,229

White

51.9

315,514

Total

607,743

Home county: Cumberland

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

6.9

20,919

Black

34.4

104,068

Asian and Pacific Islander

2.1

6,391

Native-American

1.4

4,371

Other non-white

0.2

735

Multi-racial

2.4

7,175

Non-white

47.4

143,659

White

52.6

159,304

Total

302,963

The home county of this newspaper is Cumberland.

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 Fayetteville Observer

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

28301 / Fayetteville / NC / 8.5 mi.

6,777

13,338

50.8

$27,371

61.9

2.2

55.8

2.0

0.6

28303 / Fayetteville / NC / 9.3 mi.

6,193

12,969

47.8

$39,150

51.0

7.0

36.6

0.8

3.5

28306 / Fayetteville / NC / 0 mi.

5,788

11,249

51.5

$36,411

35.3

4.5

24.2

3.1

1.2

28304 / Fayetteville / NC / 5.8 mi.

5,436

13,504

40.3

$40,546

43.9

6.9

30.5

1.2

2.3

28314 / Fayetteville / NC / 7.8 mi.

4,618

17,237

26.8

$41,775

58.3

8.9

42.1

0.7

3.4

28311 / Fayetteville / NC / 13.1 mi.

4,547

12,460

36.5

$41,128

48.6

5.9

37.8

0.7

1.9

28348 / Hope Mills / NC / 4.3 mi.

3,165

9,103

34.8

$41,341

33.1

5.4

21.5

3.0

1.0

28358 / Lumberton / NC / 25.1 mi.

2,257

13,601

16.6

$29,275

51.6

3.8

28.8

17.3

0.6

28376 / Raeford / NC / 19.1 mi.

2,198

8,661

25.4

$33,801

56.0

7.7

40.7

4.7

1.1

28352 / Laurinburg / NC / 34 mi.

1,681

9,400

17.9

$31,293

49.5

1.2

38.6

7.8

0.7

28390 / Spring Lake / NC / 17.4 mi.

1,644

7,682

21.4

$28,616

52.9

9.4

36.1

1.3

2.7

28305 / Fayetteville / NC / 4.8 mi.

1,517

2,926

51.8

$35,255

29.7

2.9

23.8

0.8

0.6

28374 / Pinehurst / NC / 34.7 mi.

1,328

5,220

25.4

$57,821

7.6

1.0

5.4

0.3

0.6

28328 / Clinton / NC / 34.1 mi.

1,270

9,413

13.5

$31,017

47.5

10.2

33.5

2.8

0.4

28307 / Fort Bragg / NC / 12.6 mi.

1,199

4,817

24.9

$30,343

45.4

15.0

23.5

0.9

2.6

27330 / Sanford / NC / 38.3 mi.

968

20,425

4.7

$39,847

33.7

10.9

20.6

0.4

0.8

28315 / Aberdeen / NC / 34.2 mi.

847

3,835

22.1

$33,461

34.3

4.0

25.4

3.0

0.8

28384 / Saint Pauls / NC / 13.5 mi.

808

3,707

21.8

$24,979

53.1

10.2

29.4

12.1

0.4

28377 / Red Springs / NC / 18.6 mi.

731

3,975

18.4

$26,606

79.9

9.3

32.4

36.6

0.3

28327 / Carthage / NC / 38.7 mi.

729

5,150

14.2

$39,152

16.3

2.7

12.0

0.7

0.3

28337 / Elizabethtown / NC / 31.8 mi.

728

3,636

20.0

$27,308

49.0

3.8

44.1

0.4

0.2

28391 / Stedman / NC / 13 mi.

718

1,691

42.5

$42,755

17.8

2.2

12.1

1.8

0.5

28387 / Southern Pines / NC / 29.9 mi.

696

5,727

12.2

$41,250

27.5

2.1

23.6

0.4

0.7

28334 / Dunn / NC / 28.7 mi.

692

9,125

7.6

$31,647

30.3

4.3

23.4

1.3

0.4

28372 / Pembroke / NC / 25.1 mi.

648

4,151

15.6

$28,515

91.4

1.7

4.7

83.2

0.3

28320 / Bladenboro / NC / 30.3 mi.

525

3,719

14.1

$26,738

23.5

1.5

20.6

0.7

0.1

28364 / Maxton / NC / 29.2 mi.

505

4,689

10.8

$25,550

89.0

1.1

24.6

61.5

0.3

28318 / Autryville / NC / 19.4 mi.

503

1,575

31.9

$34,651

15.5

5.6

7.4

1.4

0.3

28340 / Fairmont / NC / 38.1 mi.

502

4,044

12.4

$26,015

70.3

1.9

39.0

28.2

0.1

28371 / Parkton / NC / 7 mi.

434

1,714

25.3

$38,994

37.1

4.0

25.2

5.4

0.5

28382 / Roseboro / NC / 23.3 mi.

431

2,324

18.5

$31,044

35.9

3.5

30.5

0.9

0.4

27546 / Lillington / NC / 23.8 mi.

415

5,128

8.1

$36,290

33.4

4.7

26.5

0.6

0.5

28326 / Cameron / NC / 30.2 mi.

410

3,683

11.1

$36,631

27.9

4.4

20.2

0.8

0.7

28395 / Wade / NC / 15.1 mi.

372

861

43.2

$30,911

25.4

1.9

19.9

1.7

0.6

28394 / Vass / NC / 24.6 mi.

360

1,725

20.9

$37,825

20.6

4.0

13.3

1.2

0.4

28356 / Linden / NC / 18.2 mi.

323

1,475

21.9

$38,773

28.8

2.2

24.3

0.9

0.4

28472 / Whiteville / NC / 49.1 mi.

315

7,360

4.3

$27,105

36.2

1.8

32.3

1.0

0.4

28360 / Lumberton / NC / 25.8 mi.

302

4,373

6.9

$29,727

79.2

7.4

10.5

59.5

0.2

27376 / West End / NC / 39.7 mi.

270

3,134

8.6

$44,206

20.0

1.4

16.6

0.6

0.3

28396 / Wagram / NC / 29.2 mi.

233

984

23.7

$38,945

59.8

1.1

44.7

12.7

0.2

28383 / Rowland / NC / 34.7 mi.

228

2,680

8.5

$28,430

87.1

1.2

29.5

55.1

0.1

28357 / Lumber Bridge / NC / 10.8 mi.

218

991

22.0

$35,151

54.1

3.6

35.1

13.3

0.4

28433 / Clarkton / NC / 37.4 mi.

214

1,890

11.3

$21,343

57.6

3.4

50.3

2.9

0.1

28386 / Shannon / NC / 15.2 mi.

196

1,736

11.3

$28,378

85.9

16.9

14.8

52.3

0.2

28339 / Erwin / NC / 28 mi.

182

2,679

6.8

$31,765

31.1

3.7

25.5

0.7

0.2

28351 / Laurel Hill / NC / 36.9 mi.

174

1,916

9.1

$27,885

38.1

1.2

25.4

9.8

0.1

28344 / Godwin / NC / 20.4 mi.

172

1,022

16.8

$31,613

41.4

15.6

22.4

2.4

0.5

28379 / Rockingham / NC / 50.7 mi.

171

10,309

1.7

$28,603

32.0

2.4

26.3

1.3

0.9

28385 / Salemburg / NC / 26.1 mi.

166

1,596

10.4

$38,355

33.8

8.0

23.7

1.3

0.1

28431 / Chadbourn / NC / 46.2 mi.

131

2,925

4.5

$24,332

36.6

1.3

33.2

1.3

0.3

28373 / Pinebluff / NC / 33.4 mi.

120

421

28.5

$37,303

21.3

2.7

16.5

0.8

0.4

27281 / Jackson Springs / NC / 44.2 mi.

104

931

11.2

$37,318

45.7

16.1

28.7

0.2

0.3

28399 / White Oak / NC / 17.4 mi.

766

12.8

$30,107

46.7

10.0

35.0

0.9

0.1

28323 / Bunnlevel / NC / 22.3 mi.

817

11.1

$34,375

48.0

2.2

42.8

1.6

0.2

28441 / Garland / NC / 34.8 mi.

1,290

7.1

$30,852

47.7

10.8

35.6

0.6

0.1

28332 / Dublin / NC / 25 mi.

231

32.0

$29,545

16.6

3.7

11.6

0.7

0.0

27505 / Broadway / NC / 30 mi.

1,711

4.3

$37,532

23.4

7.6

14.3

0.5

0.2

28369 / Orrum / NC / 38.9 mi.

1,061

6.1

$32,610

39.4

2.8

26.0

9.3

0.1

28366 / Newton Grove / NC / 33.5 mi.

1,730

3.5

$35,558

39.3

16.6

21.7

0.2

0.1

28345 / Hamlet / NC / 43.2 mi.

4,820

1.2

$29,531

41.1

1.3

35.6

2.7

0.3

28392 / Tar Heel / NC / 17.1 mi.

704

7.8

$36,250

55.9

2.5

51.7

1.2

0.2

27325 / Robbins / NC / 49.8 mi.

2,573

2.1

$32,139

27.9

18.2

9.0

0.3

0.1

28444 / Harrells / NC / 42.7 mi.

811

6.2

$26,615

58.1

7.3

49.6

0.7

0.1

28343 / Gibson / NC / 40.6 mi.

639

6.7

$28,352

47.7

0.5

36.6

9.3

0.2

28342 / Falcon / NC / 20.6 mi.

45.1

$31,125

16.0

3.4

9.8

0.6

0.0

27521 / Coats / NC / 33.1 mi.

2,178

1.8

$31,517

21.8

10.1

10.4

0.2

0.4

28350 / Lakeview / NC / 28.5 mi.

143

25.9

$31,250

16.9

4.1

11.4

0.3

0.0

28362 / Marietta / NC / 44.1 mi.

114.8

$36,250

67.5

0.0

67.5

0.0

27506 / Buies Creek / NC / 32 mi.

485

6.0

$17,500

17.6

2.2

11.3

0.4

2.7

29547 / Hamer / SC / 42.8 mi.

844

2.7

$30,417

57.9

3.0

49.1

4.3

0.2

File

nc_the_fayetteville_observer

Time

5/20/05 3:16 PM

Page

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Member

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