The Grand Rapids Press... 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 Grand Rapids Press

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Owner: Advance (Newhouse) (N.Y.)

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

11.3

2004

11.5

2003

11.9

2002

9.4

2001

15.7

2000

15.5

1999

13.1

1998

16.9

1997

13.3

1996

17.6

1995

15.7

1994

14.7

1993

11.5

1992

12.7

1991

9.9

1990

Did not report

The latest year at peak is

1996

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

Newsroom Diversity Index

for The Grand Rapids Press

Year

Non-white % of newsroom staff

Non-white % of circulation area

Newsroom Diversity Index (parity=100)

2005

11.3

15.7

2004

11.5

15.7

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, Advance (Newhouse) (N.Y.),

has a companywide, circulation-weighted Diversity Index of 63.

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

Peer group comparison

for The Grand Rapids Press

This newspaper's Newsroom Diversity Index is 72.

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 22 out of 58

newspapers reporting in the 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 138,126 ranks 80 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 Grand Rapids Press

Circulation area

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

6.4

63,189

Black

5.8

56,747

Asian and Pacific Islander

1.7

16,351

Native-American

0.4

4,210

Other non-white

0.1

988

Multi-racial

1.4

13,307

Non-white

15.7

154,792

White

84.3

832,618

Total

987,410

Home county: Kent

Race/ethnicity

% of population

Number of residents

Hispanic

7.0

40,183

Black

8.7

49,994

Asian and Pacific Islander

1.9

10,791

Native-American

0.4

2,528

Other non-white

0.1

702

Multi-racial

1.6

8,975

Non-white

19.7

113,173

White

80.3

461,162

Total

574,335

The home county of this newspaper is Kent.

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 Grand Rapids Press

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

49509 / Grand Rapids / MI / 5.6 mi.

8,161

22,566

36.2

$42,138

23.5

13.5

5.0

0.5

2.6

49546 / Grand Rapids / MI / 6.1 mi.

6,772

11,880

57.0

$59,945

11.8

1.8

4.6

0.1

3.5

49504 / Grand Rapids / MI / 2.9 mi.

6,645

15,426

43.1

$38,835

20.0

13.1

2.8

1.1

1.0

49508 / Grand Rapids / MI / 7 mi.

6,615

15,347

43.1

$47,495

25.3

4.8

12.8

0.3

5.1

49505 / Grand Rapids / MI / 4.5 mi.

6,165

12,784

48.2

$40,710

17.8

4.0

9.8

0.6

1.5

49506 / Grand Rapids / MI / 2.6 mi.

5,852

12,249

47.8

$52,248

26.7

3.6

20.2

0.2

1.1

49503 / Grand Rapids / MI / 0 mi.

5,290

13,859

38.2

$30,176

42.0

15.3

21.6

0.8

1.3

49525 / Grand Rapids / MI / 3.8 mi.

5,168

9,809

52.7

$50,316

6.5

1.9

2.0

0.3

1.3

49544 / Grand Rapids / MI / 6.2 mi.

5,110

11,006

46.4

$47,615

6.3

2.6

1.3

0.4

0.9

49418 / Grandville / MI / 8.7 mi.

5,054

9,064

55.8

$51,433

6.8

2.9

1.4

0.3

1.4

49428 / Jenison / MI / 9.6 mi.

4,996

8,382

59.6

$57,008

4.1

1.8

0.5

0.2

0.9

49341 / Rockford / MI / 13.7 mi.

4,932

9,839

50.1

$64,165

3.3

1.3

0.4

0.2

0.5

49426 / Hudsonville / MI / 14 mi.

4,821

8,683

55.5

$60,507

2.9

1.2

0.2

0.1

0.7

49548 / Grand Rapids / MI / 6.8 mi.

4,284

12,281

34.9

$39,543

17.8

6.6

5.3

0.7

3.0

49315 / Byron Center / MI / 12.2 mi.

3,215

4,755

67.6

$57,603

3.5

1.2

0.5

0.2

0.8

49507 / Grand Rapids / MI / 2.3 mi.

3,203

12,723

25.2

$36,520

69.0

23.2

41.9

0.4

1.3

49316 / Caledonia / MI / 13.1 mi.

2,713

4,838

56.1

$61,810

5.1

1.4

1.1

0.3

1.4

49423 / Holland / MI / 27.4 mi.

2,549

16,234

15.7

$45,430

24.7

18.2

1.9

0.3

3.0

49321 / Comstock Park / MI / 7.3 mi.

2,517

6,102

41.2

$46,231

11.8

5.6

2.7

0.5

1.5

49301 / Ada / MI / 9.7 mi.

2,513

3,403

73.8

$83,902

4.6

1.1

0.4

0.2

2.1

49331 / Lowell / MI / 15.3 mi.

2,255

5,003

45.1

$52,654

4.5

2.0

0.7

0.4

0.5

49424 / Holland / MI / 25.1 mi.

2,126

14,572

14.6

$55,260

22.2

13.0

1.7

0.2

5.8

49512 / Grand Rapids / MI / 7.8 mi.

1,864

5,397

34.5

$42,315

26.2

4.0

12.0

0.4

7.4

49345 / Sparta / MI / 13.6 mi.

1,852

4,459

41.5

$46,309

5.0

3.1

0.3

49464 / Zeeland / MI / 18.5 mi.

1,752

7,006

25.0

$52,706

7.7

4.3

0.4

0.2

1.7

49319 / Cedar Springs / MI / 19.3 mi.

1,659

4,783

34.7

$46,608

4.1

1.9

0.2

0.6

0.4

49348 / Wayland / MI / 19.7 mi.

1,547

4,053

38.2

$47,684

4.0

1.9

0.4

0.7

0.2

49306 / Belmont / MI / 8.8 mi.

1,532

2,815

54.4

$61,601

3.8

1.3

0.7

0.3

0.7

49333 / Middleville / MI / 21 mi.

1,352

3,267

41.4

$53,321

3.4

1.3

0.1

0.3

0.4

48838 / Greenville / MI / 25.3 mi.

1,324

6,394

20.7

$37,883

4.7

2.6

0.4

0.5

0.3

49058 / Hastings / MI / 29.3 mi.

1,310

6,752

19.4

$44,440

3.5

1.6

0.2

0.4

0.2

49401 / Allendale / MI / 14.2 mi.

1,189

3,354

35.5

$43,449

7.8

3.0

2.8

0.3

1.0

49404 / Coopersville / MI / 16.7 mi.

1,189

2,717

43.8

$50,410

4.0

2.4

0.2

0.4

49337 / Newaygo / MI / 32.3 mi.

1,111

4,681

23.7

$38,295

5.4

3.3

0.3

0.6

0.3

49323 / Dorr / MI / 17.9 mi.

1,087

2,511

43.3

$58,064

4.0

1.9

0.4

0.7

0.3

49302 / Alto / MI / 16.4 mi.

1,063

2,133

49.8

$62,520

3.2

1.1

0.3

0.4

0.7

49417 / Grand Haven / MI / 24.6 mi.

1,053

10,727

9.8

$51,142

4.4

1.9

0.3

0.4

0.8

48846 / Ionia / MI / 30.8 mi.

981

5,572

17.6

$41,071

20.6

4.1

13.4

0.6

0.5

48809 / Belding / MI / 21.3 mi.

791

4,011

19.7

$40,275

5.0

2.7

0.4

0.5

0.4

49329 / Howard City / MI / 31.7 mi.

643

2,421

26.6

$43,598

4.3

1.7

0.2

0.5

0.3

49327 / Grant / MI / 27.1 mi.

636

2,626

24.2

$40,509

11.6

9.7

0.4

0.3

0.2

49330 / Kent City / MI / 19.7 mi.

617

1,582

39.0

$48,601

7.0

5.4

0.5

0.2

49343 / Sand Lake / MI / 23.7 mi.

600

1,772

33.9

$46,860

4.3

2.0

0.4

0.8

0.3

49307 / Big Rapids / MI / 49.7 mi.

552

6,561

8.4

$30,483

12.1

1.5

6.5

0.6

1.7

49435 / Marne / MI / 10.4 mi.

538

1,145

47.0

$57,356

3.4

1.9

0.3

0.4

0.2

49456 / Spring Lake / MI / 30.1 mi.

504

6,889

7.3

$51,359

3.6

1.4

0.4

0.6

49412 / Fremont / MI / 38 mi.

497

4,178

11.9

$39,405

4.8

2.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

48881 / Saranac / MI / 23.8 mi.

494

1,990

24.8

$44,544

3.2

1.8

0.1

0.2

0.3

49460 / West Olive / MI / 24.2 mi.

481

2,436

19.7

$54,503

12.6

9.0

1.1

0.6

0.9

49349 / White Cloud / MI / 43.1 mi.

436

3,084

14.1

$32,500

8.6

2.7

2.9

0.9

0.2

49601 / Cadillac / MI / 88.6 mi.

384

7,978

4.8

$36,091

3.1

0.9

0.2

0.7

0.5

49419 / Hamilton / MI / 25.2 mi.

373

2,159

17.3

$55,426

4.3

2.9

0.1

0.2

0.5

49403 / Conklin / MI / 15.2 mi.

358

783

45.7

$51,103

8.0

6.7

0.0

0.3

49431 / Ludington / MI / 79.1 mi.

335

6,832

4.9

$34,322

6.2

3.4

0.6

0.7

0.3

48849 / Lake Odessa / MI / 28.7 mi.

332

2,244

14.8

$42,228

5.9

3.9

0.1

0.3

0.4

49328 / Hopkins / MI / 23.5 mi.

326

1,267

25.7

$47,727

7.6

4.1

0.3

1.6

0.3

49346 / Stanwood / MI / 45.1 mi.

323

1,839

17.6

$43,482

2.7

1.1

0.3

0.4

0.2

49326 / Gowen / MI / 25.9 mi.

264

1,272

20.8

$48,517

3.3

1.2

0.7

0.2

49408 / Fennville / MI / 36.2 mi.

261

3,403

7.7

$43,292

21.9

18.9

1.1

0.5

0.4

49453 / Saugatuck / MI / 32.9 mi.

251

1,157

21.7

$44,917

6.3

3.6

1.0

0.4

0.5

49344 / Shelbyville / MI / 26 mi.

240

1,286

18.7

$41,591

4.8

2.4

0.4

1.1

0.2

48886 / Six Lakes / MI / 39.9 mi.

234

859

27.2

$32,672

5.1

1.6

0.4

1.5

0.1

49336 / Morley / MI / 39.1 mi.

230

1,354

17.0

$35,475

4.9

0.8

0.6

1.3

0.2

48815 / Clarksville / MI / 21.9 mi.

213

759

28.1

$43,942

2.6

1.3

0.1

0.2

0.1

48850 / Lakeview / MI / 38.4 mi.

210

1,717

12.2

$36,991

4.3

2.1

0.1

0.6

0.2

49339 / Pierson / MI / 27 mi.

207

761

27.2

$48,750

3.9

0.9

0.1

0.7

0.5

48888 / Stanton / MI / 37.2 mi.

202

2,545

7.9

$38,615

4.8

2.7

0.2

0.5

49660 / Manistee / MI / 88.8 mi.

201

5,617

3.6

$34,837

8.4

2.2

2.6

1.4

0.4

49677 / Reed City / MI / 65.3 mi.

197

2,626

7.5

$36,169

3.7

1.1

0.5

0.2

49304 / Baldwin / MI / 66 mi.

195

1,854

10.5

$22,608

25.5

2.0

19.6

1.2

0.2

49010 / Allegan / MI / 28.5 mi.

185

6,182

3.0

$42,407

6.3

2.2

2.3

0.4

49451 / Ravenna / MI / 23.4 mi.

177

2,062

8.6

$42,379

4.3

2.5

0.3

0.4

0.1

49318 / Casnovia / MI / 19.8 mi.

173

503

34.4

$51,985

6.2

5.3

0.0

0.1

49325 / Freeport / MI / 23.3 mi.

171

553

30.9

$45,875

4.7

2.0

0.6

0.2

0.4

49441 / Muskegon / MI / 34.3 mi.

167

16,961

1.0

$37,515

13.0

3.5

6.4

0.7

49347 / Trufant / MI / 29.3 mi.

129

504

25.6

$39,167

1.6

0.5

0.3

0.2

0.1

48884 / Sheridan / MI / 35.1 mi.

115

1,550

7.4

$35,806

10.2

2.0

6.3

0.5

0.3

49406 / Douglas / MI / 36.4 mi.

105

375

28.0

$44,821

2.8

2.0

0.5

0.1

0.0

48829 / Edmore / MI / 43.9 mi.

102

1,298

7.9

$31,950

5.2

2.6

0.2

0.6

0.2

48897 / Woodland / MI / 32.3 mi.

102

541

18.9

$43,558

4.2

2.4

0.1

0.3

49448 / Nunica / MI / 22.9 mi.

1,191

8.0

$46,019

3.9

1.7

0.6

0.5

0.1

49684 / Traverse City / MI / 123.5 mi.

13,586

0.7

$44,677

4.7

1.6

0.4

1.0

0.5

49332 / Mecosta / MI / 49.9 mi.

1,251

7.2

$32,972

6.2

1.2

1.9

0.2

48865 / Orleans / MI / 28.7 mi.

670

13.1

$36,813

3.7

1.9

0.2

0.3

0.1

49322 / Coral / MI / 31.3 mi.

452

18.6

$37,269

2.8

1.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

48858 / Mount Pleasant / MI / 62.6 mi.

15,269

0.5

$31,279

11.7

2.4

2.6

3.1

1.9

49303 / Bailey / MI / 23.7 mi.

344

23.5

$37,778

8.1

6.5

0.0

0.4

0.0

49454 / Scottville / MI / 75.1 mi.

1,733

4.4

$35,858

5.8

3.0

0.4

0.7

0.3

49631 / Evart / MI / 62.9 mi.

2,433

3.1

$32,500

3.8

1.2

0.5

0.6

0.3

48885 / Sidney / MI / 32.6 mi.

301

21.9

$41,838

2.6

1.1

0.1

0.9

0.1

49073 / Nashville / MI / 38.3 mi.

1,915

3.4

$39,082

2.6

0.6

0.2

0.4

49644 / Irons / MI / 78.6 mi.

822

7.5

$28,375

3.7

1.5

0.2

0.6

0.2

49663 / Manton / MI / 101.7 mi.

2,016

2.9

$35,000

3.5

1.2

0.2

0.6

0.3

49070 / Martin / MI / 29 mi.

771

7.5

$42,688

5.2

3.0

0.2

0.3

0.6

49657 / Mc Bain / MI / 89.7 mi.

1,138

5.1

$39,193

2.5

1.5

0.1

0.2

48834 / Fenwick / MI / 33.6 mi.

853

6.7

$40,938

5.0

3.5

0.4

0.1

0.3

49656 / Luther / MI / 76.5 mi.

604

9.3

$28,182

4.9

1.3

0.4

1.7

0.1

49090 / South Haven / MI / 48 mi.

5,918

0.9

$37,008

19.5

5.6

10.7

0.9

0.5

49655 / Leroy / MI / 74 mi.

1,138

4.7

$36,250

2.7

1.0

0.1

0.5

0.2

49614 / Bear Lake / MI / 104.4 mi.

1,070

4.9

$35,750

4.7

3.1

0.1

0.7

0.4

49335 / Moline / MI / 15.1 mi.

75.4

$67,875

1.8

0.0

0.9

0.5

49436 / Mears / MI / 64.1 mi.

662

7.1

$36,360

13.9

11.6

0.4

0.7

0.2

49659 / Mancelona / MI / 138.1 mi.

2,411

1.9

$34,215

4.2

1.2

0.2

1.1

0.2

49689 / Wellston / MI / 87.6 mi.

676

6.7

$29,778

4.1

0.6

0.7

1.1

0.1

48875 / Portland / MI / 34.7 mi.

3,307

1.3

$53,464

2.9

1.2

0.3

0.4

0.2

49078 / Otsego / MI / 32.3 mi.

3,381

1.3

$44,920

3.3

1.3

0.3

0.4

48811 / Carson City / MI / 43.2 mi.

1,250

3.4

$35,754

24.0

3.8

17.1

0.7

0.3

49310 / Blanchard / MI / 48.5 mi.

1,018

3.9

$36,636

4.3

1.5

0.8

0.3

0.4

49420 / Hart / MI / 60 mi.

2,251

1.8

$32,060

20.2

17.4

0.4

0.9

0.1

49046 / Delton / MI / 33.7 mi.

2,737

1.4

$43,348

3.3

1.4

0.3

0.5

0.1

49305 / Barryton / MI / 60 mi.

1,047

3.5

$29,344

3.8

1.0

0.6

0.7

0.0

49455 / Shelby / MI / 57.2 mi.

1,885

1.9

$35,364

19.2

16.6

0.2

1.1

0.2

49449 / Pentwater / MI / 68.1 mi.

1,203

2.9

$41,189

5.7

3.4

0.1

0.6

0.4

49688 / Tustin / MI / 80.7 mi.

972

3.6

$37,339

2.5

0.6

0.2

0.4

0.3

49080 / Plainwell / MI / 34.6 mi.

5,328

0.6

$47,614

3.9

1.5

0.4

49639 / Hersey / MI / 64.6 mi.

891

3.8

$35,385

3.2

0.6

0.3

0.4

0.3

48880 / Saint Louis / MI / 64.6 mi.

2,542

1.3

$35,176

24.0

5.2

15.5

0.9

0.4

49309 / Bitely / MI / 55.2 mi.

766

4.3

$25,711

13.6

3.3

7.4

0.8

0.3

49340 / Remus / MI / 52.9 mi.

1,088

2.8

$34,833

7.3

1.6

2.7

0.9

0.1

49338 / Paris / MI / 55.1 mi.

718

4.2

$40,020

3.2

0.8

1.1

0.5

0.0

49665 / Marion / MI / 81.9 mi.

1,625

1.7

$30,398

3.1

1.1

0.4

0.1

49629 / Elk Rapids / MI / 135 mi.

1,038

2.3

$35,605

3.8

1.9

0.2

0.8

0.4

File

mi_the_grand_rapids_press

Time

5/13/05 4:59 PM

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