MUMBAI: The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), in the US, has expressed disappointment over the news that the percentage of Asian American radio and television journalists has dropped to the lowest level the organisation has seen in this decade.
The percentage of Asian Americans in television newsrooms, throughout the US, dropped to 2.2 per cent this year. This is the same level as it was at in 1995. The numbers were released by the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) and Ball State.
By comparison, 4.1 per cent of the television newsroom workforce in 2001 were Asian Americans. The data covering radio newsrooms painted an equally bleak. Only 0.2 per cent of the radio newsroom workforce are Asian Americans.
AAJA broadcast VP Randell Yip added, “This downward trend will not reverse itself until television and radio news organisations make a sincere effort to recruit, train and offer opportunities to Asian Americans.”
“AAJA is committed to providing scholarship, fellowship and training opportunities to our more than 2,100 members. However, none of that will have an impact until media organisations commit themselves to hiring and promoting a diverse workforce that includes Asian Americans,” he added.
The survey had more positive results for other minority groups in the US. Hispanics in local TV rose from 6.5 per cent last year to 8.9 per cent, and in radio, they rose from 1.2 per cent last year to 3.9 per cent this year. Blacks in TV rose from 8.4 per cent to 10.3 per cent, and in radio, they rose to from 4.8 per cent to 7.3 per cent, this year.
Newsday courts reporter and National Association of Black Journalists president Herbert Lowe said, “Another year, another survey? It is the same thing. The industry is not sufficiently hiring or retaining or promoting black journalists. Sitting across the tables and bemoaning the same excuses isn’t getting us anywhere. The industry must hire, retain and promote. Plain and simple.”
Tag: AAJA
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Asian American presence in US broadcast newsrooms declining
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Shortage of Asian American male broadcast journalists in US: study
MUMBAI:There is a critical shortage of Asian American male broadcast journalists in the US, according to a first-ever study that quantifies the problem and addresses some of the reasons behind it.
“Asian Male Broadcasters on TV: Where Are They?” was conducted by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communications and was released at the ongoing 15th annual convention of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) taking place from 7-10 August in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
In the top 25 television markets, there are a total of 85 Asian females on-air and 19 Asian males on-air, resulting in a nearly 5 to 1 ratio of women versus men, the USC study found.
AAJA President Victor Panichkul said: ” The results of this study as well as the results of surveys done by RTNDA [Radio-Television News Directors Association] lend credence to the concerns that our male broadcast journalists have been raising in the past few years that the gender disparity among Asian Americans in broadcasting is significant. When our numbers are compared to the numbers of male and female African American, Native American, or Hispanic broadcast journalists, what we see is a problem that impacts our members more significantly than other people of color.”
In light of the findings, AAJA will re-evaluate its current programmes to see how the organisation can better target them toward Asian American males with an interest in broadcast journalism, Panichkul said. In addition, AAJA hopes that other industry organizations will take part in helping to find solutions to this problem.
Some of the findings in the study include:
1. Asian Americans make up a small percentage of the student population in US journalism schools, but males far out-number females by approximately 4 to 1.
2. In making career choices, Asian American male students are highly motivated by parents, prestige and starting salaries. They are more likely to go into science-related occupations.
3. There is a lack of key Asian American male broadcast role models (such as Connie Chung is for Asian American females).The results from the USC study confirm other research done on the makeup of broadcast newsrooms. A recent Ball State University study found that Asians make up 2.7 per cent of the broadcast newsroom in 2001, or about 650 people. Asian males constituted only 1 per cent of the workforce, while Asian females made up 1.7 per cent. Meanwhile, there are more Hispanic, African American and white males than females in the newsroom, the survey found.
The USC study is based on surveys of the top 25 television markets and top journalism schools in the United States. Interviews with program managers, news directors, and agents in the television industry as well as a focus group of Asian American students were also conducted.
AAJA is a non-profit educational association based in San Francisco, devoted to training and developing Asian American journalists and ensuring fair and accurate coverage of the Asian American community. It has 1,700 members in 18 chapters across the United States and Asia.