Not so fast.
A report released in early July trumpeted the fact that the percentage of minorities in local television news rose to its highest level in 2005.
Not true.
The report, authored by Ball State University for the Radio-
Television News Directors Association, showed minorities accounted for 22.2 percent of local TV news staffs last year, up slightly from 2004 when it was 21.2 percent. Good news, said the RTNDA.
But it was discovered later the 2005 figure is actually down 2.4 percent from the all-time high in 2001. RTNDA attributed the error to the study’s director.
Women fared far better than minorities, according to the survey. The percentage of women in TV news hit 40 percent in 2005, an all-time high. Women also make up one-fourth of the news directors.
None of this comes as a surprise to two local TV news directors. “For any news organization that wants to make sure their coverage is reflective of their communities, they need to be aware of minority communities,” said Tim Wieland, news director at KCNC-Channel 4.
Said Byron Grandy, who heads the news department at KMGH-
Channel 7, “I’m encouraged by the effort this business has made to get more diverse. It’s my responsibility to reflect the community as best I can. No way I can do that without a broad range of folks.”
While steps are being made, the media biz is far from ideal for minorities. According to the RTNDA survey, which covered 1,617 nonsatellite stations, minorities make up 13.2 percent of TV news directors. Radio is even bleaker: minorities constitute only 6.4 percent of the workforce, and minority journalists make up 13.87 percent of newsroom employees at daily newspapers.
“You look at it and say we’re headed in the right direction, but you realize that we have a long way to go,” said Wieland.
The RTNDA survey first appeared in the July/August issue of Communicator magazine.
Around the dial
Channel 4 and KUSA-Channel 9 in a dead heat for audiences at the 5 o’clock news hour, according to the July rankings. Both stations logged a 13 share. Channel 4 got a huge boost when it landed “The Oprah Winfrey Show” as its lead-in at 5. Channel 9 continues to dominate the 10 p.m. newscast, beating second-place Channel 4 with an 18 share to 9. … Restaurateur/historian/raconteur Sam Arnold is recalled in “Shinin’ Times,” producer Lynne Scholfield’s look at The Fort restaurant and its founder, who died in June (8 p.m. Thursday, KRMA-Channel 6) … Arbitron announced during meetings of its advisory board in Colorado Springs last week that, starting this fall, it will measure satellite radio channels … Quotable: “The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.” Lord Acton Dalberg
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
