THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE U.S MEDIA 2015

Radio news work force,1995 – 2014
1995 2000 2005 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Caucasian 85.3% 90% 92.1% 95.0% 92.9% 88.3% 89.1% 87.0%
African American 5.7 5.0 0.7 2.9 3.9 5.2 2.3 4.8
Hispanic 7.5 3.0 6.0 0.7 2.6 4.6 5.7 6.2
Asian American 0.6 1.0 0.7 0.4 0 0.8 1.3 0.3
Native American 1.0 1.0 0.5 1.1 0.6 1.1 1.6 1.7
Source: 2014 TV and Radio News Staffing and Profitability Survey/RTDNA /Hofstra University Annual Survey
Minority population vs. minority broadcast workforce, 1990 – 2014
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Minority
population in U.S. 25.9% 27.9% 28.6% 32.8% 34.9% 35.4% 36.3% 36.6% 36.9%*
Minority TV
workforce 17.8 17.1 21.0 21.2 20.2 20.5 21.5 21.4 22.4%
Minority radio
workforce 10.8 14.7 10.0 7.9 5.0 7.1 11.7 10.9 13.0%
*projected
Source: 2013 TV and Radio News Staffing and Profitability Survey/RTDNA /Hofstra University Annual Survey
Trailing RTDNA’s annual report, the management- and marketing-focused trade publication,
Radio Ink, placed three women on its May 2015 list of the nation’s 25 best
program directors: Mary Ellen Kachinske of WTMX in Chicago, a Hubbard Radio station;
Robin Bertolucci of KFI and KEIB in Los Angeles, iHeartMedia stations; and Leslie
Whittle of KRBE in Houston, a Cumulus Media station.
In broadcast news commentary, women fared better on alternative
analysis shows than on mainstream cable shows, FAIR says
On Pacifica/Public Broadcasting’s “Democracy Now,” founded and co-hosted by Amy
Goodman, women constituted 40 percent of guests who weighed in on a whole gamut
of issues during a five-week snapshot in 2014.
Six other cable news commentary shows, with marquee hosts, weren’t nearly as mindful
about being gender- or race-balanced, according to Fairness and Accuracy in Media (FAIR).
During five intermittent weeks of February, March and April 2014, FAIR conducted
its sampling of guests on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360˚,” Fox’s “The Sean Hannity
Show,” Fox’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” MSNBC’s “The
Rachel Maddow Show,” MSNBC’s “All in with Chris Hayes,” and “Democracy Now.” In
total, the shows had 1,015 guests.
Largely, those guests mostly were journalists, civilian government and military officials,
political pundits, think tank wonks, lawyers and academicians—who themselves hail
from male-dominated occupations.
Guest selection, FAIR contends, also was shaped by stories that played heavily in the
news, including the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and armed Nevada
cattle rancher Cliven Bundy’s standoff over his claims that he had right to let his animals
graze on federal land.
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WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER
The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2015 TOC womensmediacenter.com