Jan. 13, 2004

Contacts:
Ernest R. Sotomayor, President, UNITY Board of Directors
Long Island Editor, Newsday.com
631-843-3664

Anna M. Lopez, Executive Director, UNITY
(703) 854-3585

Diversity Summit Addresses Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Radio and Television Newsrooms

January 13, 2004 1:12 PM EST

The Radio-Television News Directors Association and UNITY: Journalists of Color convened an historic meeting in New York on Friday, January 9, 2004, to examine the disturbing decline in racial and ethnic representation in the nation’s local broadcast newsrooms. In attendance were the presidents of four network news divisions and senior executives of major television and radio ownership groups, as well as representatives of RTNDA, UNITY and its four partner organizations representing journalists of color.

The group held a candid discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing broadcast news organizations when it comes to diversifying their work force. After reviewing the downward trend in minority employment in local television and radio stations, the group discussed possible causes and exchanged ideas for reversing the decline.

The corporate representatives reaffirmed their commitment to racial and ethnic diversity in their newsrooms. The group as a whole agreed that more research is needed to determine the causes of the decline, to study retention rates, and to pinpoint possible solutions. Among the ideas shared within the group were strategies to address diversity in hiring, retention, advancement, training and news content. Those ideas will be shared widely in the near future for use by anyone in the industry seeking new tools and strategies for improving diversity.

Further, the UNITY partners pledged their commitment to working in partnership with the industry to increase racial and ethnic diversity in local radio and TV newsrooms and to improve coverage of people of color.

RTNDA said that it would seek resources to conduct needed research and to enlarge its directory of resources for news executives seeking more diversity in their newsrooms.

The conference was convened in response to the 2003 RTNDA/Ball State University survey of women and minority staffing, which showed a decline for the second straight year in the percentage of journalists of color working in local radio and television newsrooms.

The UNITY alliance partners are the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Native American Journalists Association. RTNDA is the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. RTNDA represents local and network news executives in broadcasting, cable and other electronic media in more than 30 countries.
RTNDA and UNITY have partnered on diversity issues for more than a decade. Both groups see the New York conference as a crucial first step in addressing the issue of racial and ethnic diversity in electronic news.

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About UNITY: Journalists of Color
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity. UNITY, representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.

In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in the nation, UNITY develops programs and institutional relationships that promote its mission. For more information on UNITY, visit www.unityjournalists.org, email info@unityjournalists.org or call (703) 854-3585.