Generally status quo, as for the first half of the 1990s.

The 1990s brought mostly status quo for women and minorities in newsrooms at U.S. commercial radio stations.

Women remained just under a third of the radio news work force -- 32.4% at the stations sampled in 1990, 31% in 1993, and 31.3% in 1994. About a fourth of the news directors surveyed were women -- 25.4% in 1990, 26.3% in 1993 and 26.6% in 1994.

Minority shares of the work force essentially stood still -- 10.8% in 1990, 12.3% in 1993 and 11.3% in 1994. As radio news directors, minority journalists dropped from 9% in 1990 to 7.2% in 1993 and 6.2% in 1994.

Small ups and downs from year to year mean little and can be due to normal sampling error. Only trends across several years point to real change or the lack of it.

The latest of the national surveys conducted by the author since 1972 was in mid-1994. Two mailings brought responses from 303 (37%) of a sample of 830 of an estimated 6,640 commercial radio stations with working addresses. When the yearbook source indicated that AM and FM stations shared a single newsroom, only one of the stations was counted in sample selection. For details, see Radio Survey Method.

In television since 1990, women have gained and minorities have lost

Work Force

With only 360 degrees in the work force pie, when one share gets larger, another must get smaller. White men and minority women gained in radio newsrooms in the four years from 1990 to 1994. The white male share of the work force increased from 61.3% to 63.8%, the female minority share from 4.5% to 6.4%. The latter gains were mostly by African American women.

That left white women and minority men as the losers. The white female share of the radio news work force edged down from 27.9% to 24.9% in the 1990-94 period. Minority men were 6.3% of all staff in 1990 and 4.9% in 1994.

As Table 1 shows, the female share varied little by market size, but minority radio journalists were more likely to be found in larger markets.

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Table 1. Female and Minority Shares of the
Radio News Work Force -- 1994
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Female Minority N

All stations 31.3% 11.3% 248

Major markets 32.9% 16.4% 35
Large markets 26.6% 16.8% 44
Medium markets 29.9% 10.0% 82
Small markets 28.8% 5.0% 90
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While the shares always add to 100%, the size of the work force can shrink. That's happened to radio news in the 1990s. The estimated number of radio newspeople dropped from 19,700 in 1990 to 15,600 in 1994.

So even white men, who gained back some lost ground in percentages, were an estimated 2,100 fewer than in 1990. Minority men lost about 2,500 of their numbers. White women lost about 1,600. Only minority women held their own in numbers despite the cutbacks. The estimated number of black women was about 100 more in 1994 than in 1990.

For Hispanic journalists in radio, the percentages shown in Table 2 for 1994 differ little from 1990. But the estimated number was about 100 lower.

Asian American and American Indian journalists are rarely found in radio news.

The numerical projections in Table 2 come from multiplying the 1994 survey percentages by the number of radio station news operations, as indicated by survey responses.

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Table 2. Radio News Work Force
in Detail -- 1994
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Estimated
Share Number

White men 63.8% 9,950
White women 24.9% 3,885
White total 88.7% 13,835

Black men 2.4% 375
Black women 3.9% 610
Black total 6.3% 985

Hispanic men 1.4% 220
Hispanic women 1.1% 170
Hispanic total 2.5% 390

Asian men .4% 60
Asian women .7% 110
Asian total 1.1% 170

Indian men .7% 110
Indian women .7% 110
Indian total 1.4% 220

Minority men 4.9% 765
Minority women 6.4% 1,000
Minority total 11.3% 1,765

Men 68.7% 10,715
Women 31.3% 4,885
Work force total 100.0% 15,600
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News Directors

One of every four radio news directors is a woman. That has held constant in the 1990s -- 25.4% in 1990, 26.3% in 1993 and
26.6% in 1994.

But very few radio news directors are members of minority groups, and they're getting fewer -- 9% in 1990, 7.2% in 1993 and 6.3% in 1994.

As Table 3 shows, the share of female news directors is greatest in major markets, those with more than a million population.Minority news directors are least often found in small markets, those of less than 50,000.

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Table 3. Female and Minority Shares of
Radio News Director Positions -- 1994
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Female Minority N

All stations 26.6% 6.2% 248

Major markets 32.4% 9.7% 35
Large markets 38.6% 4.9% 44
Medium markets 22.0% 9.8% 82
Small markets 21.8% 2.3% 90
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The bad news for all concerned is that there were fewer radio news directors of all kinds in 1994 than in 1990. An estimated 750 stations discontinued news operations during the four years. So out went 750 jobs for radio news directors.

Practically every estimated number in Table 4 is smaller than in the table for the 1990 survey. There were about 400 fewer white male and 100 fewer white female news directors, though both groups picked up percentage points from minority losses. The estimated number of minority male news directors dropped by roughly half, from 385 to 181. Minority women's numbers essentially held steady.

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Table 4. Radio News Directors
in Detail -- 1994
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Estimated
Share Number

White men 70.1% 3,855
White women 23.7% 1,304
White total 93.8% 5,159

Black men 2.5% 137
Black women .4% 22
Black total 2.9% 159

Hispanic men .4% 22
Hispanic women 1.3% 72
Hispanic total 1.7% 94

Asian men .0% --
Asian women 1.2% 66
Asian total 1.2% 66

Indian men .4% 22
Indian women .0% --
Indian total .4% 22

Minority men 3.3% 181
Minority women 2.9% 160
Minority total 6.2% 341

Men 73.4% 4,037
Women 26.6% 1,463
Total news dirs. 100.0% 5,500
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Looking Ahead

There's no apparent reason to expect much change in radio newsrooms. Women may gradually increase their shares of the work force and news director positions. But little growth is indicated for the presence of minorities in radio news. For many years, that presence has been minor. And there's nothing in view that promises to make much difference.

One factor may be the increasingly poor salaries paid in radio news. As in television, most radio journalists are college graduates. It may be that minorities tend to find it harder to get an education than do more often affluent whites. Possibly they are less willing or able to sacrifice pay for the professional satisfaction of radio news.

Further looks at the future, applying to both radio and television, are included in Minorities and Women in TV News.

Also related:

Race, Gender & Radio News Careers
Who Does What in Radio News
Women Break Glass Ceiling in TV News
Minorities in Broadcasting Training Program

This research was supported by the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where the author is a professor emeritus, and by the Radio-Television News Directors Foundation. The findings are presented here to serve the industry, students, fellow scholars and others who may be interested in the workings of the broadcast news media. Use beyond customary excerpting for review, news stories or scholarly works is prohibited without permission from the author. References should be credited to Vernon Stone, University of Missouri. Your feedback is invited.

jourvs@showme.missouri.edu