The Akron Beacon Journal... 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 Akron Beacon Journal

Akron, Ohio

Owner: Knight Ridder (Calif.)

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

20.8

2004

19.8

2003

17.7

2002

16.7

2001

12.5

2000

16.5

1999

20.1

1998

21.1

1997

21.6

1996

19.9

1995

19.3

1994

18.9

1993

17.4

1992

14.4

1991

14.4

1990

15.0

The latest year at peak is

1997

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

Newsroom Diversity Index

for The Akron Beacon Journal

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

20.8

11.8

177

2004

19.8

11.7

169

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, Knight Ridder (Calif.),

has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 76.

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

Peer group comparison

for The Akron Beacon Journal

This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 177.

This paper

Peer group

Compare that with 64, which is the median Diversity Index for all newspapers

reporting in this circulation category of 100,001 to 250,000 daily sales.

In that group, this newspaper's Diversity Index ranks 1 out of 58

newspapers reporting in the category of 100,001 to 250,000 daily sales.

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

approximately 135,002 ranks 83 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 Akron Beacon Journal

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

0.8

7,635

Black

8.4

76,333

Asian and Pacific Islander

1.1

10,263

Native-American

0.2

1,614

Other non-white

0.1

894

Multi-racial

1.1

10,295

Non-white

11.7

107,034

White

88.3

805,122

Total

912,156

Home county: Summit

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

0.9

4,781

Black

13.1

71,218

Asian and Pacific Islander

1.4

7,694

Native-American

0.2

997

Other non-white

0.1

610

Multi-racial

1.3

6,979

Non-white

17.0

92,279

White

83.0

450,620

Total

542,899

The home county of this newspaper is Summit.

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 Akron Beacon 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

44203 / Norton / OH / 7.2 mi.

8,576

16,806

51.0

$36,851

6.3

0.6

3.9

0.2

0.3

44312 / Ellet / OH / 5.8 mi.

7,351

13,217

55.6

$37,758

3.4

0.6

1.2

0.2

0.6

44313 / Fairlawn / OH / 4.7 mi.

6,468

11,655

55.5

$47,686

19.9

1.1

15.5

0.2

1.7

44224 / Stow / OH / 6.2 mi.

6,407

13,971

45.9

$57,107

5.7

0.9

1.7

0.1

2.0

44221 / Cuyahoga Falls / OH / 3.5 mi.

5,801

13,641

42.5

$40,404

4.2

0.7

1.3

0.3

1.1

44319 / Akron / OH / 7.2 mi.

4,869

9,130

53.3

$46,475

2.6

0.5

0.7

0.2

0.5

44281 / Wadsworth / OH / 11.5 mi.

4,563

10,021

45.5

$52,954

2.4

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.6

44333 / Montrose / OH / 6.3 mi.

4,350

7,256

60.0

$75,721

8.0

1.0

3.4

0.1

2.6

44310 / North Hill / OH / 0.9 mi.

4,261

10,109

42.2

$30,817

27.9

1.2

22.8

0.3

1.2

44223 / Cuyahoga Falls / OH / 3.2 mi.

4,027

7,555

53.3

$50,348

4.0

0.4

2.1

0.1

0.6

44306 / South Arlington / OH / 3.5 mi.

3,974

10,006

39.7

$26,114

42.3

1.4

35.9

0.3

1.8

44301 / Firestone Park / OH / 3.6 mi.

3,889

6,972

55.8

$34,286

23.0

1.0

18.2

0.2

1.7

44314 / Kenmore / OH / 4.1 mi.

3,753

8,404

44.7

$32,273

8.6

0.8

5.1

0.3

0.6

44278 / Tallmadge / OH / 4.1 mi.

3,691

6,624

55.7

$48,215

5.4

0.6

2.5

0.1

1.1

44305 / East Akron / OH / 2.8 mi.

3,679

9,858

37.3

$35,432

19.2

1.0

15.4

0.3

0.5

44240 / Kent / OH / 9.8 mi.

3,650

14,725

24.8

$34,224

10.9

0.9

6.0

0.1

1.9

44685 / Uniontown / OH / 10.7 mi.

3,529

8,682

40.6

$59,693

2.9

0.6

0.7

0.1

0.8

44320 / Maple Valley / OH / 3 mi.

3,136

9,234

34.0

$31,336

77.8

0.7

74.3

0.2

0.5

44236 / Hudson / OH / 10.2 mi.

2,485

8,011

31.0

$97,002

6.3

0.8

2.0

0.1

2.7

44720 / North Canton / OH / 14.6 mi.

2,449

15,224

16.1

$50,316

4.1

0.9

1.1

0.1

1.1

44256 / Medina / OH / 16.9 mi.

2,121

18,685

11.4

$57,711

4.5

0.9

1.6

0.2

0.7

44691 / Wooster / OH / 28.6 mi.

2,060

16,470

12.5

$41,311

5.5

0.8

2.4

0.2

1.1

44321 / Copley / OH / 6.6 mi.

2,047

4,017

51.0

$59,707

14.1

1.2

7.9

0.1

3.8

44266 / Ravenna / OH / 14.2 mi.

2,039

13,163

15.5

$41,583

5.7

0.7

3.2

0.2

44260 / Suffield / OH / 9 mi.

1,838

5,266

34.9

$51,210

1.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.2

44308 / Akron / OH / 1.1 mi.

1,829

598

305.9

$8,676

42.8

1.4

36.6

1.0

0.7

44303 / Akron / OH / 1 mi.

1,551

3,769

41.2

$39,044

20.4

1.3

15.6

0.2

1.8

44646 / Massillon / OH / 18.9 mi.

1,454

17,923

8.1

$41,532

10.4

0.9

7.4

0.2

0.5

44216 / Clinton / OH / 10.8 mi.

1,448

3,299

43.9

$54,195

2.6

0.5

0.1

0.8

44307 / West Akron / OH / 2.4 mi.

1,280

3,968

32.3

$18,697

87.2

1.0

83.1

0.2

0.6

44230 / Doylestown / OH / 12.1 mi.

1,277

3,045

41.9

$49,570

1.8

0.4

0.5

0.1

0.2

44614 / Lawrence / OH / 13.9 mi.

1,219

4,130

29.5

$51,766

2.6

0.6

0.2

0.3

44632 / Hartville / OH / 12.9 mi.

1,132

3,339

33.9

$51,215

2.5

1.0

0.5

0.2

0.4

44286 / West Richfield / OH / 10.5 mi.

1,074

1,844

58.2

$70,924

2.3

0.3

0.6

0.2

0.6

44304 / Akron / OH / 1 mi.

1,045

2,415

43.3

$15,404

42.3

2.3

30.1

0.2

6.6

44708 / Hills and Dales / OH / 18.9 mi.

1,020

11,247

9.1

$39,379

7.0

1.1

3.4

0.2

0.8

44718 / Jackson Belden / OH / 16.3 mi.

1,014

5,096

19.9

$56,677

6.1

1.1

1.9

0.1

2.2

44601 / Mount Union / OH / 21.9 mi.

1,012

14,056

7.2

$34,051

11.1

0.9

7.8

0.1

0.6

44270 / Rittman / OH / 15.5 mi.

1,008

3,221

31.3

$37,141

2.2

0.7

0.1

0.2

0.4

44262 / Munroe Falls / OH / 4.7 mi.

982

2,034

48.3

$60,887

3.6

0.7

0.8

0.0

1.5

44241 / Streetsboro / OH / 12.7 mi.

951

5,207

18.3

$48,620

5.0

0.7

1.8

0.1

1.3

44311 / Akron / OH / 2.4 mi.

862

3,465

24.9

$19,576

48.2

2.0

37.3

0.3

5.1

44067 / Sagamore Hills / OH / 14.2 mi.

812

7,176

11.3

$58,109

5.4

0.8

2.5

0.1

1.2

44667 / Riceland / OH / 21 mi.

595

5,026

11.8

$37,597

7.3

1.1

4.0

0.1

0.9

44302 / Akron / OH / 1.2 mi.

585

2,880

20.3

$26,152

47.8

2.0

41.6

0.3

1.2

44273 / Seville / OH / 18.5 mi.

536

2,508

21.4

$53,405

1.6

0.6

0.3

0.1

0.2

44087 / Twinsburg / OH / 14.9 mi.

500

7,067

7.1

$60,152

18.7

1.1

13.6

0.1

2.8

44201 / Atwater / OH / 16.1 mi.

474

2,453

19.3

$47,665

2.1

0.7

0.4

0.3

0.1

44618 / West Lebanon / OH / 22.2 mi.

410

2,163

19.0

$45,814

2.3

0.7

0.3

0.2

0.6

44721 / North Canton / OH / 16.5 mi.

407

4,425

9.2

$53,922

5.5

1.0

2.7

0.2

0.5

44255 / Shalersville / OH / 18.2 mi.

375

3,088

12.1

$47,512

2.3

0.6

0.2

0.1

44272 / Rootstown / OH / 14.5 mi.

373

1,462

25.5

$48,373

2.3

0.6

0.3

0.2

0.4

44056 / Northfield / OH / 14.3 mi.

368

3,278

11.2

$69,401

9.2

0.8

5.7

0.2

1.8

44264 / Peninsula / OH / 8.8 mi.

359

965

37.2

$53,281

4.5

0.8

1.0

0.3

0.8

44254 / Lodi / OH / 24.6 mi.

327

2,006

16.3

$38,972

2.0

0.6

0.1

0.3

0.2

44714 / Canton / OH / 18.8 mi.

313

3,923

8.0

$36,454

21.2

1.0

17.5

0.2

0.3

44647 / Massillon / OH / 19.5 mi.

291

6,940

4.2

$36,768

3.7

0.8

1.5

0.2

44481 / Warren / OH / 32.8 mi.

286

4,565

6.3

$43,676

6.6

0.5

5.0

0.1

0.2

44641 / Louisville / OH / 20.4 mi.

281

7,229

3.9

$45,641

2.8

0.6

1.2

0.1

0.2

44662 / Navarre / OH / 24.4 mi.

279

3,620

7.7

$37,271

2.0

0.6

0.1

0.2

44212 / Brunswick / OH / 18 mi.

257

13,679

1.9

$56,945

3.8

1.4

0.7

0.1

0.9

44709 / North Canton / OH / 17.7 mi.

256

8,087

3.2

$38,955

8.8

1.0

5.4

0.2

0.7

44250 / Lakemore / OH / 6.2 mi.

242

389

62.2

$32,237

3.2

0.4

0.7

0.1

44702 / Canton / OH / 20.5 mi.

228

552

41.3

$9,455

34.7

1.8

27.9

1.1

0.4

44677 / Smithville / OH / 22.2 mi.

213

970

22.0

$41,622

1.6

0.3

0.2

0.6

44645 / Marshallville / OH / 16.1 mi.

207

889

23.3

$49,087

1.7

0.6

0.1

0.4

0.2

44217 / Creston / OH / 21 mi.

201

1,470

13.7

$41,788

1.7

0.4

0.3

0.1

44202 / Reminderville / OH / 16.1 mi.

191

6,370

3.0

$67,842

4.8

0.6

2.2

0.1

1.1

44705 / Canton / OH / 19.8 mi.

184

7,852

2.3

$30,237

30.3

1.0

25.0

0.8

0.4

44707 / Waco / OH / 21.7 mi.

182

4,166

4.4

$22,654

36.9

0.9

32.1

0.8

0.2

44663 / New Philadelphia / OH / 39.5 mi.

166

10,658

1.6

$34,474

3.2

1.1

0.7

0.2

0.4

44231 / Nelson / OH / 24.7 mi.

162

3,077

5.3

$45,739

1.9

0.5

0.4

0.2

0.1

44615 / Scroggsfield / OH / 40.6 mi.

154

4,291

3.6

$35,854

1.7

0.5

0.3

0.2

0.1

44233 / Hinckley / OH / 14 mi.

149

2,341

6.4

$70,548

2.4

0.7

0.1

0.0

0.8

44654 / Millersburg / OH / 39.7 mi.

148

5,271

2.8

$37,201

1.8

0.8

0.4

0.0

0.1

44706 / Richville / OH / 21.7 mi.

141

7,387

1.9

$34,976

8.4

0.9

5.3

0.3

0.2

44710 / Reedurban / OH / 20.2 mi.

141

4,240

3.3

$30,297

8.4

0.8

5.6

0.2

44141 / Cleveland / OH / 15 mi.

125

5,144

2.4

$76,037

6.1

1.0

1.9

0.0

2.6

44411 / Yale / OH / 23.5 mi.

106

972

10.9

$46,920

2.1

0.6

0.5

0.1

0.0

44676 / Shreve / OH / 36.2 mi.

1,718

5.8

$42,690

1.6

0.5

0.2

0.1

0.2

44805 / Widowville / OH / 42 mi.

12,323

0.8

$37,850

3.4

0.8

0.9

0.1

0.8

44412 / Diamond / OH / 23 mi.

950

10.0

$50,045

2.6

0.6

1.2

0.3

0.0

44114 / Cleveland / OH / 27.6 mi.

2,040

4.6

$16,952

67.5

7.0

35.4

0.1

22.5

44512 / Youngstown / OH / 41.5 mi.

15,446

0.6

$41,494

7.3

1.9

3.6

0.1

0.9

44483 / Warren / OH / 35.4 mi.

11,916

0.8

$33,930

13.5

1.0

10.5

0.2

0.3

44657 / Pekin / OH / 29.5 mi.

3,944

2.3

$36,660

1.6

0.5

0.1

0.2

43812 / Coshocton / OH / 56.1 mi.

8,257

1.1

$32,997

3.9

0.6

1.7

0.1

0.5

44288 / Windham / OH / 24 mi.

1,546

5.2

$37,074

5.8

0.4

3.5

0.2

0.1

44633 / Holmesville / OH / 36.5 mi.

670

11.6

$37,593

2.1

1.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

44276 / Sterling / OH / 18.6 mi.

646

11.8

$51,215

1.7

1.1

0.1

0.0

0.2

44113 / Cleveland / OH / 26.4 mi.

7,316

1.0

$23,020

52.1

20.9

27.8

0.6

0.8

44606 / Apple Creek / OH / 27.1 mi.

2,086

3.5

$40,625

2.5

1.0

0.4

0.1

0.4

44515 / Youngstown / OH / 37.1 mi.

12,029

0.6

$38,337

8.8

1.8

5.1

0.1

0.7

44666 / North Lawrence / OH / 17.8 mi.

984

6.7

$48,214

2.1

0.9

0.3

0.1

44680 / Strasburg / OH / 32 mi.

1,458

4.2

$37,560

2.0

1.2

0.1

0.3

44610 / Berlin / OH / 37.8 mi.

69.0

$37,292

1.1

0.0

44215 / Medina / OH / 19 mi.

759

7.8

$40,313

2.0

0.6

0.2

0.3

44683 / Uhrichsville / OH / 46.1 mi.

3,445

1.7

$29,383

2.6

0.5

0.8

0.2

0.1

44135 / Riveredge / OH / 25.8 mi.

11,838

0.5

$37,597

26.0

5.7

15.9

0.3

2.2

44251 / Westfield Center / OH / 21 mi.

129

43.4

$73,750

0.8

0.5

0.0

44703 / Canton / OH / 19.9 mi.

4,403

1.3

$28,377

23.7

2.2

16.0

0.3

0.2

44730 / Osnaburg / OH / 23.4 mi.

2,450

2.3

$40,283

7.0

0.7

4.5

0.4

0.2

44505 / Youngstown / OH / 43.9 mi.

8,121

0.7

$26,588

60.1

3.9

52.7

0.3

0.7

44146 / Walton Hills / OH / 18.7 mi.

14,095

0.4

$38,518

43.1

1.3

38.6

0.2

1.3

44136 / Strongsville / OH / 19.9 mi.

16,209

0.3

$68,660

6.7

1.3

1.2

0.0

3.2

44446 / Niles / OH / 37.6 mi.

9,751

0.5

$35,259

4.4

0.9

2.1

0.2

0.3

44704 / McKinley / OH / 20.8 mi.

1,894

2.7

$22,697

68.6

1.5

61.7

0.5

0.2

44287 / West Salem / OH / 29.5 mi.

2,507

2.0

$44,039

2.3

0.7

0.3

0.1

0.3

44484 / Warren / OH / 37.5 mi.

9,617

0.5

$43,817

14.1

1.0

10.4

0.1

1.4

43215 / Columbus / OH / 103.2 mi.

5,799

0.8

$23,562

31.2

2.8

23.4

0.3

2.5

43725 / Claysville / OH / 69.2 mi.

8,598

0.6

$29,301

5.9

0.8

2.5

0.4

0.5

44275 / Spencer / OH / 28.5 mi.

1,007

4.7

$46,138

1.8

0.8

0.3

0.2

44659 / Mount Eaton / OH / 27.6 mi.

140.0

$44,063

3.1

0.0

1.5

0.0

44880 / Sullivan / OH / 34.3 mi.

754

5.6

$43,929

2.9

0.8

1.6

0.2

0.0

43832 / Wolf / OH / 53.1 mi.

3,045

1.3

$32,437

3.3

0.4

1.5

0.3

0.1

44235 / Homerville / OH / 29.7 mi.

523

7.3

$47,760

3.0

0.9

1.2

0.4

0.0

44681 / Sugarcreek / OH / 38.9 mi.

2,254

1.7

$37,500

0.9

0.4

0.1

0.0

0.2

44131 / Valley View / OH / 19.7 mi.

8,019

0.4

$54,818

3.3

0.8

0.3

0.0

1.7

44425 / Hubbard / OH / 45.5 mi.

6,369

0.5

$36,563

4.3

0.7

2.3

0.1

0.5

44115 / Cleveland / OH / 26.8 mi.

3,085

1.1

$7,236

88.9

1.3

83.7

0.2

2.4

44514 / Youngstown / OH / 44.1 mi.

8,784

0.4

$44,845

2.6

1.3

0.5

0.1

0.5

44612 / Bolivar / OH / 29.6 mi.

1,910

1.6

$46,296

2.0

0.5

0.2

0.3

44906 / Mansfield / OH / 55.6 mi.

7,514

0.4

$35,009

9.7

1.2

5.7

0.2

1.2

44118 / University Heights / OH / 26 mi.

17,725

0.2

$51,437

42.3

1.6

36.5

0.1

1.9

44122 / Woodmere / OH / 23.9 mi.

14,541

0.2

$60,281

35.9

0.9

30.6

0.1

2.8

44130 / Parma Heights / OH / 22.4 mi.

23,347

0.1

$42,674

6.7

1.5

1.7

0.1

2.2

44214 / Burbank / OH / 25.4 mi.

711

3.9

$49,848

1.8

0.9

0.1

0.2

44234 / Hiram / OH / 22.2 mi.

1,273

2.1

$51,290

4.1

0.7

1.7

0.1

0.4

44129 / Parma / OH / 21.8 mi.

12,249

0.2

$41,943

5.0

1.8

0.9

0.1

1.2

44690 / Winesburg / OH / 32.4 mi.

83.9

$29,063

1.5

0.0

44627 / Fredericksburg / OH / 31.2 mi.

1,297

1.9

$37,583

1.2

0.6

0.1

0.0

44675 / Sherrodsville / OH / 39.7 mi.

751

3.3

$32,443

1.2

0.1

0.3

44440 / Mineral Ridge / OH / 36.1 mi.

1,590

1.5

$46,994

4.1

1.4

2.0

0.0

44637 / Stillwell / OH / 44.9 mi.

984

2.4

$36,211

1.5

0.7

0.0

0.2

0.0

44107 / Lakewood / OH / 28.2 mi.

26,738

0.1

$40,537

8.3

2.2

1.9

0.2

1.4

44473 / Vienna / OH / 42.4 mi.

1,702

1.4

$45,556

2.0

0.7

0.1

File

oh_the_akron_beacon_journal

Time

5/17/05 5:53 PM

Page

Member

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