By: Charles Geraci Approximately 30% of Gannett's new hires for newspaper newsrooms during the past year have been people of color, the company announced today with the start of the Unity 2004 convention in Washington.
Gannett Co. Inc. reports that minorities now comprise 18.6% of professionals in its newspaper newsrooms, up slightly from 18.3% in June 2003. The percentage of newsroom managers also increased to 18.6%, up from 16.9% the previous year.
"We had a good base last year and we have made good progress over the past 12 months," said Phil Currie, senior vice president of news for the company's newspaper division, in a statement. "This is very important, because a more diverse staff helps us better provide more diverse content with the aim of reaching more readers and better reflecting our whole communities."
At Gannett's USA Today (
Click for QuikCap), minorities make up 12.8% of newsroom managers, up from 11.1% in June 2003.
"Gannett is committed to diversity and our hiring record proves it," said Douglas H. McCorkindale, chairman, president and CEO of the company, in a statement. "We have been the leader in hiring women and people of color for a generation because diversity is smart journalism and smart business."
A Knight foundation report of newspaper companies ranked Gannett No. 1 earlier this year for having staffs that best reflected the number of minorities in communities where the company owns newspapers.
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