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A Report on Diversity in Canadian Newsrooms ¹
Executive Summary

In 41 Canadian newsrooms surveyed, there are 2,620 professional journalists. Of those, only 67 are minorities. That's 2.6 per cent - five times less than the percentage of minorities in the Canadian population. Can newspapers afford to be that out of touch with their communities?

Non-whites hold only 2.6 per cent of the professional jobs in Canada's daily newsrooms, a census done by the Editorial Diversity Committee of the Canadian Newspaper Association indicates. That's five times less than the 13.2 per cent of the population who were counted as either aboriginal peoples or visible minorities in the 1991 federal census.

Forty-one newspapers answered the survey, which was sent out in fall, 1993, to editors at the 82 papers belonging to the CNA. The response rate of 50 per cent, while disappointing, compares to the 53 per cent rate of return achieved by a less comprehensive survey in 1989. Then, a total of 64 minorities worked at 43 Canadian dailies. Today the number is 67.

Among other highlights from the survey:

• The 41 papers surveyed employ a total of 2,620 newsroom professionals (supervisors, reporters, copy editors and photographers/artists). Of those, 67 are non-white. Chinese-Canadians and Blacks are the largest groups of minorities in the newsroom, with 17 and 16 employees respectively. There are only four Native Canadians.
• 50 of the 67 non-whites (75%) work in newsrooms with circulations over 100,000.
• 16 of the 41 papers surveyed (39%) have all-white staffs.
• Minorities are more likely to be hired as reporters and photographers than supervisors and copy editors. Only 10 of the 41 papers have non-white supervisors. Twenty of the 24 minority reporters and 10 of the 16 minority photographers work for papers in the over-100,000 circulation group.
• Fifty-four per cent of papers say improving the racial balance of their newsrooms will have to wait until the economy turns around and their hiring freeze ends. However, the 41 papers hired a total of 47 new full-time employees during 1993, and only three were non-white (6%). Minorities did better in securing part-time 18 of 89 openings (20%).
• Only 11 of the 41 papers declared they had a "very strong" commitment to hire visible minorities, and a similar number said their interest was "not very strong." When asked why, nine in the latter group said they only hire on merit.
• When asked if the climate in their newsroom could be impeding the hiring and progress of minorities, 38 of the 41 editors polled said no (93%). The three who answered yes were all in the over-100,000 circulation group. However, 19 papers (46%) agreed that their top editors need more training to effectively manage diverse newsrooms.
• Only 9 papers (22%) said they had been approached by minority groups within the past year to discuss problems in coverage. Six were in the over-100,000 circulation group. Chief complaints were coverage that perpetuates stereotypes, and insensitive or unbalanced coverage.
• 32 of the 41 papers in the survey (78%) could list at least one initiative they had taken to cover a more diverse readership. These ranged from regular audits of newspaper content to meetings with community groups.
• More than half the papers (23 out of 41) said they could see no problems in hiring visible minorities other than a hiring freeze. "Availability of qualified candidates" was the problem most often cited by the others. One newspaper with a circulation over-100,000 listed "backlash from white staff' as a problem.
• When asked if newspapers should do more to attract minorities for newsroom jobs, 22 of the 31 papers that answered said yes (71%). Ten did not answer.

1. Results of a 1993 survey conducted by the Canadian Newspaper Association's (CNA) Diversity Committee. Published by the Editorial Division, CNA - April 1994. Reprinted with permission. Originally published on the World Wide Web at http://www.reseau-medias.ca/eng/issues/minrep/quick/cdna1994.htm