The Providence 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 Providence Journal

Providence, Rhode Island

Owner: Belo (Texas)

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

Did not report

2004

Did not report

2003

Did not report

2002

Did not report

2001

5.4

2000

2.7

1999

6.7

1998

4.5

1997

9.4

1996

Did not report

1995

Did not report

1994

Did not report

1993

Did not report

1992

Did not report

1991

Did not report

1990

3.5

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 Providence Journal

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

N/A

17.3

N/A

2004

N/A

17.3

N/A

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, Belo (Texas),

has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 40.

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

Peer group comparison

for The Providence Journal

This paper

Peer group

The median Diversity Index is 64 for all newspapers

reporting in this circulation category of 100,001 to 250,000 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 Detroit News, Michigan, with a 26.2 percent non-white staff in a community that is 21.6 percent non-white. Its index is 121.

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

approximately 168,021 ranks 65 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 Providence Journal

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

8.2

91,164

Black

3.8

42,107

Asian and Pacific Islander

2.2

24,125

Native-American

0.4

4,257

Other non-white

0.8

8,533

Multi-racial

1.9

21,343

Non-white

17.3

191,529

White

82.7

916,573

Total

1,108,102

Home county: Providence

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

13.4

83,232

Black

5.8

36,078

Asian and Pacific Islander

2.9

18,022

Native-American

0.4

2,377

Other non-white

1.3

7,790

Multi-racial

2.5

15,481

Non-white

26.2

162,980

White

73.8

458,622

Total

621,602

The home county of this newspaper is Providence.

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 Providence 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

02920 / Cranston / RI / 4.9 mi.

7,853

14,563

53.9

$39,485

14.2

5.4

4.2

0.3

3.2

02886 / Warwick / RI / 8.1 mi.

7,230

13,048

55.4

$44,012

5.7

1.5

1.0

0.2

2.0

02915 / Riverside / RI / 4.2 mi.

6,141

7,646

80.3

$40,832

8.6

1.4

3.1

0.2

1.3

02919 / Johnston / RI / 4.5 mi.

5,628

11,207

50.2

$43,553

4.5

1.9

0.6

0.1

1.1

02904 / Providence / RI / 2.5 mi.

5,284

13,371

39.5

$33,926

21.3

8.5

7.0

0.3

2.2

02816 / Coventry / RI / 12.3 mi.

4,786

11,826

40.5

$51,581

3.2

1.2

0.4

0.1

0.6

02864 / Valley Falls / RI / 8 mi.

4,766

12,198

39.1

$54,656

4.5

2.1

0.5

0.1

0.9

02910 / Providence / RI / 3.5 mi.

4,542

8,657

52.5

$41,873

12.6

3.8

2.4

0.3

4.3

02893 / West Warwick / RI / 9.9 mi.

4,522

12,498

36.2

$39,505

7.7

3.1

1.0

0.3

1.4

02889 / Warwick / RI / 7.6 mi.

4,517

11,470

39.4

$47,381

6.1

1.6

1.3

0.3

1.2

02852 / Wickford / RI / 15.7 mi.

4,347

9,164

47.4

$57,182

5.5

1.9

1.0

0.5

0.9

02888 / Warwick / RI / 5 mi.

4,313

8,586

50.2

$46,278

5.7

1.9

1.1

0.2

1.2

02818 / Warwick / RI / 12.7 mi.

4,188

7,373

56.8

$62,616

4.7

1.0

0.6

0.1

2.1

02903 / Providence / RI / 0.3 mi.

4,041

4,299

94.0

$14,095

39.5

15.2

11.6

0.6

7.2

02906 / Providence / RI / 1 mi.

3,969

11,988

33.1

$43,457

24.7

5.0

7.4

0.4

6.8

02865 / Lincoln / RI / 5.6 mi.

3,905

6,865

56.9

$52,455

5.3

1.5

0.6

0.1

1.9

02908 / Providence / RI / 1.4 mi.

3,871

13,161

29.4

$30,306

43.7

23.7

10.7

0.6

4.4

02860 / Pawtucket / RI / 3.1 mi.

3,498

19,023

18.4

$28,104

41.6

18.5

9.4

0.3

1.0

02879 / Wakefield / RI / 26.7 mi.

3,435

7,419

46.3

$54,410

7.1

1.0

1.1

1.7

02806 / Barrington / RI / 7 mi.

3,382

6,011

56.3

$74,591

4.3

1.1

0.7

0.1

1.8

02861 / Pawtucket / RI / 4.4 mi.

3,223

11,046

29.2

$39,048

12.1

5.8

1.9

0.1

0.7

02914 / East Providence / RI / 2.1 mi.

3,087

9,362

33.0

$33,683

21.5

2.5

7.1

0.7

1.3

02809 / Bristol / RI / 11.2 mi.

3,080

8,314

37.0

$43,689

3.7

1.3

0.6

0.1

0.7

02895 / Woonsocket / RI / 12.3 mi.

2,646

17,750

14.9

$30,819

20.2

9.3

3.9

0.2

4.0

02917 / Smithfield / RI / 7.6 mi.

2,639

4,413

59.8

$55,463

4.1

1.1

0.1

1.1

02911 / Providence / RI / 3.3 mi.

2,633

6,119

43.0

$39,392

8.2

3.5

1.6

0.2

1.4

02905 / Providence / RI / 2.3 mi.

2,589

8,729

29.7

$32,323

53.0

26.5

16.5

1.0

3.2

02882 / Saunderstown / RI / 25.6 mi.

2,536

6,228

40.7

$47,805

5.2

1.3

0.7

0.9

0.8

02771 / Seekonk / MA / 4.3 mi.

2,345

4,843

48.4

$56,364

3.9

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.9

02909 / Providence / RI / 1.9 mi.

2,216

14,546

15.2

$22,452

64.7

44.3

9.4

0.9

6.5

02840 / Newport / RI / 23 mi.

2,128

11,588

18.4

$40,788

18.3

5.5

7.1

0.8

1.4

02921 / Cranston / RI / 6.1 mi.

2,014

3,633

55.4

$70,714

4.2

1.2

0.5

0.1

1.9

02871 / Portsmouth / RI / 17.5 mi.

1,939

6,758

28.7

$58,835

5.1

1.5

1.1

0.1

1.4

02828 / Smithfield / RI / 7.6 mi.

1,815

2,788

65.1

$55,820

1.9

0.5

0.2

0.0

0.6

02857 / Scituate / RI / 10.7 mi.

1,729

3,126

55.3

$59,778

2.0

0.7

0.3

0.1

0.4

02891 / Westerly / RI / 35.6 mi.

1,703

8,847

19.2

$44,824

5.7

1.1

0.7

0.5

2.1

02885 / Warren / RI / 9.7 mi.

1,701

4,708

36.1

$41,285

3.8

0.9

0.8

0.2

0.5

02916 / Rumford / RI / 2.6 mi.

1,666

3,517

47.4

$46,936

7.9

1.3

3.0

0.3

0.7

02777 / Swansea / MA / 10.2 mi.

1,483

5,920

25.1

$52,573

2.6

0.6

0.4

0.1

0.4

02878 / Tiverton / RI / 17.9 mi.

1,439

6,077

23.7

$49,977

2.4

0.7

0.4

0.1

0.4

02896 / North Smithfield / RI / 11.2 mi.

1,426

3,869

36.9

$57,615

2.1

0.5

0.4

0.2

0.5

02907 / Providence / RI / 1.8 mi.

1,423

8,564

16.6

$23,225

86.4

51.3

20.2

1.3

9.2

02842 / Middletown / RI / 20.9 mi.

1,391

6,971

20.0

$50,921

12.5

2.9

4.6

0.3

2.3

02703 / South Attleboro / MA / 8.1 mi.

1,387

16,019

8.7

$50,807

10.9

4.3

1.6

0.2

3.3

02726 / Somerset / MA / 13.5 mi.

1,206

6,035

20.0

$51,843

2.1

0.5

0.1

0.5

02874 / Saunderstown / RI / 20.3 mi.

1,144

1,693

67.6

$71,528

3.5

0.6

0.4

1.2

02720 / Fall River / MA / 14.9 mi.

1,134

13,149

8.6

$35,749

8.7

2.6

2.4

0.2

1.7

02817 / West Greenwich / RI / 16.5 mi.

1,009

1,750

57.7

$65,900

2.7

0.7

0.1

0.2

0.6

02813 / Charlestown / RI / 29 mi.

995

3,178

31.3

$51,491

4.3

1.1

0.4

1.2

0.6

02769 / Rehoboth / MA / 7.7 mi.

991

3,501

28.3

$65,280

2.7

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.5

02814 / Glocester / RI / 13.7 mi.

987

2,740

36.0

$56,577

2.2

0.7

0.3

0.1

0.3

02835 / Jamestown / RI / 18.8 mi.

902

2,359

38.2

$63,073

3.1

0.9

0.8

0.2

0.4

02830 / Harrisville / RI / 15.1 mi.

841

2,578

32.6

$54,117

1.6

0.4

0.1

0.2

02825 / Foster / RI / 15.4 mi.

762

1,828

41.7

$61,429

3.0

0.7

0.2

0.8

02822 / Exeter / RI / 18.3 mi.

723

1,955

37.0

$64,298

4.6

1.3

0.6

0.8

02863 / Central Falls / RI / 4.2 mi.

698

6,702

10.4

$22,663

60.0

47.8

4.3

0.3

0.6

02859 / Pascoag / RI / 17.2 mi.

649

2,406

27.0

$50,462

2.4

1.2

0.3

02892 / West Kingston / RI / 22.7 mi.

624

1,598

39.0

$65,156

4.5

0.7

0.4

1.4

0.6

02831 / Hope / RI / 9.4 mi.

544

1,127

48.3

$61,418

2.6

0.9

0.3

0.0

0.5

02760 / North Attleboro / MA / 10.5 mi.

521

9,618

5.4

$59,196

4.9

1.4

0.9

0.1

1.7

02721 / Fall River / MA / 15.3 mi.

517

11,023

4.7

$26,049

11.8

4.2

2.4

0.2

2.1

02881 / Wakefield / RI / 22.7 mi.

447

1,129

39.6

$60,469

17.4

4.1

2.8

1.1

7.5

02837 / Little Compton / RI / 23.4 mi.

440

1,475

29.8

$55,368

2.0

0.9

0.1

0.2

0.3

02832 / Richmond / RI / 25.2 mi.

416

1,770

23.5

$50,805

3.5

1.2

0.5

0.7

0.2

02898 / Wyoming / RI / 23.4 mi.

348

570

61.1

$57,083

3.1

1.0

0.4

0.9

0.1

02790 / Westport / MA / 21.1 mi.

341

5,535

6.2

$55,565

2.5

0.7

0.2

0.1

0.5

02838 / Manville / RI / 9.7 mi.

312

1,378

22.6

$37,192

7.2

2.5

1.8

0.1

1.1

02724 / Fall River / MA / 14.4 mi.

304

7,667

4.0

$25,508

9.7

3.2

1.8

0.1

1.3

02723 / Fall River / MA / 16 mi.

231

6,733

3.4

$25,178

13.1

3.6

2.4

0.2

4.2

02827 / Greene / RI / 17.5 mi.

228

769

29.6

$62,870

2.3

0.6

0.4

0.0

0.2

02804 / Hopkinton / RI / 31.1 mi.

184

1,017

18.1

$54,352

4.9

1.2

0.8

1.1

0.8

02725 / Somerset / MA / 13 mi.

174

942

18.5

$50,000

2.8

0.7

0.3

0.2

0.9

02780 / Taunton / MA / 15.6 mi.

138

19,805

0.7

$41,753

10.8

4.3

2.6

0.1

0.6

01504 / Millerville / MA / 14.1 mi.

131

3,235

4.0

$55,163

3.4

1.0

0.3

0.2

0.8

02839 / Mapleville / RI / 13.2 mi.

127

422

30.1

$57,794

1.9

0.8

0.2

0.0

0.1

02764 / North Dighton / MA / 12.8 mi.

121

1,426

8.5

$57,571

3.1

1.0

0.7

0.2

0.4

02812 / Richmond / RI / 25.2 mi.

113

426

26.5

$66,932

3.4

2.0

0.2

0.6

02019 / Bellingham / MA / 15.9 mi.

111

5,557

2.0

$64,496

3.9

1.2

0.9

0.1

0.9

02894 / Wood River Junction / RI / 28.4 mi.

103

205

50.2

$48,438

6.4

1.6

0.3

1.2

1.6

02747 / North Dartmouth / MA / 23.5 mi.

6,012

1.6

$52,363

13.0

1.9

1.1

0.2

1.4

06340 / Poquonock Bridge / CT / 43.1 mi.

12,203

0.8

$41,666

21.4

5.9

7.8

0.8

3.7

02763 / North Attleboro / MA / 10.6 mi.

774

10.2

$65,278

3.7

0.9

0.2

0.0

2.2

02740 / New Bedford / MA / 25.8 mi.

17,780

0.4

$27,293

31.4

10.5

5.4

0.6

0.8

02715 / Dighton / MA / 13.3 mi.

775

9.8

$60,405

2.9

1.1

0.2

0.5

02808 / Westerly / RI / 31.7 mi.

816

9.2

$45,400

4.6

1.4

0.6

1.0

0.4

01569 / Uxbridge / MA / 19.4 mi.

3,959

1.4

$62,231

2.7

1.0

0.1

0.7

02048 / Mansfield / MA / 15.7 mi.

7,941

0.7

$66,925

6.8

1.4

2.2

0.2

1.9

02807 / New Shoreham / RI / 42.4 mi.

472

11.9

$44,779

3.1

1.2

0.6

0.0

0.8

02762 / Plainville / MA / 12.7 mi.

3,009

1.8

$57,155

3.9

1.0

0.7

0.0

1.6

02745 / New Bedford / MA / 24.3 mi.

9,716

0.5

$37,796

10.7

4.7

1.5

0.2

0.7

06360 / Poquetanuck / CT / 36.5 mi.

15,751

0.3

$41,557

18.0

5.5

5.9

1.2

2.0

06379 / Pawcatuck / CT / 36 mi.

3,641

1.3

$45,548

5.9

1.3

0.8

0.5

1.5

02858 / Oakland / RI / 14.4 mi.

247

17.0

$60,278

2.2

1.8

0.0

0.3

06260 / Sawyer District / CT / 24.1 mi.

3,659

1.1

$42,912

5.8

1.9

1.2

0.8

0.4

02748 / South Dartmouth / MA / 26.5 mi.

4,568

0.8

$48,738

4.6

0.8

0.6

0.1

0.8

02766 / Norton / MA / 14.4 mi.

5,872

0.6

$64,818

8.4

1.1

0.1

1.0

06359 / North Stonington / CT / 32.2 mi.

1,830

2.0

$57,887

6.8

1.5

0.6

2.0

1.1

02702 / Freetown / MA / 16.9 mi.

1,403

2.5

$68,505

3.4

0.6

0.5

0.2

0.7

06239 / South Killingly / CT / 22.3 mi.

5,027

0.7

$39,894

7.7

2.7

1.4

0.4

1.5

02719 / Fairhaven / MA / 27.9 mi.

6,622

0.5

$41,696

4.2

0.8

0.6

0.2

0.5

02815 / Scituate / RI / 11.9 mi.

44.1

$56,579

6.2

0.6

2.2

1.1

1.7

06355 / Mystic / CT / 40.6 mi.

4,938

0.6

$65,645

7.1

1.6

1.3

0.5

2.1

02767 / Raynham / MA / 18.8 mi.

4,046

0.7

$61,503

3.9

0.8

1.0

0.1

0.7

02038 / Franklin / MA / 17.3 mi.

10,152

0.3

$71,174

4.7

1.1

1.0

0.1

1.7

02833 / Hopkinton / RI / 28.8 mi.

247

10.5

$57,014

3.6

1.4

0.1

0.4

0.1

02875 / Shannock / RI / 26.2 mi.

117

20.5

$60,962

7.2

1.3

0.3

1.0

02093 / Wrentham / MA / 15.4 mi.

3,402

0.6

$78,043

2.9

0.8

0.6

0.1

0.8

06320 / New London / CT / 45.5 mi.

10,181

0.2

$33,809

43.9

19.7

17.1

0.8

2.2

06351 / Voluntown / CT / 30.7 mi.

4,427

0.5

$49,224

6.2

1.7

1.2

0.8

0.9

06382 / Uncasville / CT / 41.2 mi.

4,078

0.5

$51,642

20.3

7.0

6.9

1.7

2.2

06241 / Killingly Center / CT / 21.7 mi.

2,493

0.8

$39,475

6.6

1.4

1.0

0.6

1.3

06374 / Plainfield / CT / 26.3 mi.

3,154

0.5

$44,022

5.7

2.5

1.0

0.5

0.6

02540 / Falmouth / MA / 41.5 mi.

4,252

0.4

$46,708

5.6

1.0

1.3

0.2

1.4

06384 / Voluntown / CT / 27.9 mi.

1,542

1.0

$55,519

4.9

1.3

0.9

1.1

0.3

02739 / Mattapoisett / MA / 31 mi.

2,532

0.6

$58,466

4.0

0.6

0.1

0.7

06354 / Moosup / CT / 23.3 mi.

2,068

0.7

$43,528

5.3

2.8

0.5

0.7

06385 / Waterford / CT / 47.1 mi.

6,401

0.2

$55,984

8.7

2.4

2.0

0.4

2.6

02035 / Foxborough / MA / 17.3 mi.

6,141

0.2

$64,323

3.6

1.1

0.7

0.1

1.2

06234 / Brooklyn / CT / 26.3 mi.

1,701

0.6

$59,306

8.9

2.9

4.1

0.6

0.4

06378 / Stonington / CT / 39.2 mi.

2,356

0.4

$59,167

3.5

1.3

0.4

0.1

0.8

01529 / Millville / MA / 15.3 mi.

923

0.9

$57,000

2.8

0.6

0.8

0.0

0.2

02649 / South Mashpee / MA / 46.7 mi.

5,258

0.2

$50,879

10.6

1.6

2.8

0.6

01516 / East Douglas / MA / 22.5 mi.

2,488

0.3

$60,369

3.1

1.0

0.4

0.1

0.7

02738 / Marion / MA / 32.3 mi.

1,996

0.4

$61,250

8.2

0.6

1.6

0.1

0.4

02779 / Berkley / MA / 15.8 mi.

1,840

0.4

$66,295

4.0

1.0

0.5

0.1

0.4

02717 / East Freetown / MA / 21.5 mi.

1,532

0.3

$61,481

5.2

0.9

0.2

0.6

File

ri_the_providence_journal

Time

5/13/05 5:18 PM

Page

Member

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