Home Login RADIO ONLINE RSS Facebook
Advertisement

Fewer Than Half of Radio News Staffs Include Women


RTDNA
RTDNA

According to 2021 RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Newsroom Survey, fewer than half of radio news staffs include any women at all, up slightly from last year, especially smallest markets. Overall, women are just under 40% of the radio workforce, down slightly in the last year. Men outnumber women in radio 60.5% to 39.5% overall, as well as among white, Hispanic/Latino and Native American radio staffers. Among African Americans and Asian Americans in radio news, women outnumber men.

There are fewer women radio News Directors this year, down 3.5 percentage points from close to a third to just over a quarter. The public-commercial gap in representation grew, with women better represented than last year at public stations, but worse at commercial ones. Public radio female News Directors now outpace commercial women radio news directors by 18 points.

Radio general managers are slightly more representative this year, with women making up almost 3 percentage points more than last year, but still 73.3% of GMs are men.

Radio newsrooms now include the highest percentage of people of color in radio since 1998 -- and the second highest percentage ever -- but nearly 85% of the radio news workforce is still white. The local radio news workforce is 15.8% Black, Indigenous or people of color overall, up just under half a percent.

Public radio is significantly more representative, for both women and people of color, than commercial radio news. Public radio newsrooms are 78.8% white compared to commercial newsrooms which are 91.7% white. Representation in radio news improved over the last year for news staff identifying as Native American or Hispanic/Latino, but slipped slightly for African American and Asian American radio staff.

Representation of people of color increased marginally among radio News Directors, from 7.1% to 7.2%. This year saw higher percentages of radio News Directors who are African American or Hispanic/Latino, but fewer who are Native American.

Local radio General Managers of color made up most of the ground lost last year, but 93% are still white. General Managers of color are more than twice as frequently found in major markets. Stations in the Midwest had the least diverse management, with stations in the South and public stations more representative among radio management.

Note that the typical (median) radio news operation had a full-time news staff of one, with the overall average number of full-time staffers at just over 3.

Advertisement

Latest Radio Stories

Poll: Strong Bipartisan Support for Public Radio Funding
National Public Radio (NPR)
National Public Radio (NPR)
A new national poll conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of NPR finds that two-thirds of Americans support continued federal funding for public radio, with broad bipartisan approval and high levels of trust in public radio's role in emergency communication and community service. More

Bruce Logan Returns to Audacy Houston as VP/P
Bruce Logan
Bruce Logan
Veteran radio programmer Bruce Logan has reported rejoined Audacy Houston as Vice President of Programming and Program Director for Country KILT-FM (100.3 The Bull). While the company has not yet made an official announcement, the move marks a return to familiar territory for Logan, who previously held the More

Red Apple Media Appoints Bert Goldman as CTO
Bert Goldman
Bert Goldman
Red Apple Media names veteran broadcast engineer Bert Goldman as its new Chief Technology Officer. He brings more than 50 years of radio engineering experience to the role, with a deep background in station construction, facility upgrades, signal optimization, and regulatory compliance. Goldman has More
Advertisement

Chris Fillar Joins WWJ Newsradio 950 as Morning Co-Anchor
Chris Fillar
Chris Fillar
Audacy names Chris Fillar as the new morning co-anchor on WWJ-AM (WWJ Newsradio 950) in Detroit. Fillar steps into the role alongside Jackie Paige, with the duo now leading weekday broadcasts from 5-10am ET. Fillar, who has delivered sports updates on WWJ and sister WXYT-FM (97.1 The Ticket) since 2018, More

Anna & Raven Show Expands to Montgomery and Columbia
Anna & Raven Show
Anna & Raven Show
Syndicated Anna & Raven Show continues its rapid growth, adding two major Southern markets to its expanding list of affiliates. Beginning this week, the morning program will now be heard on WMXS (Mix 103.3) in Montgomery, AL and WARQ (Live 93.5) in Columbia, SC. The show is now carried in more than 75 More

SiriusXM Adds Low-Cost, Ad-Supported Subscription Plan
SiriusXM
SiriusXM
SiriusXM has unveiled SiriusXM Play, a new low-cost, ad-supported subscription package aimed at attracting more price-sensitive consumers and expanding its reach across North America. Priced at under $7 per month, the new plan offers access to more than 130 curated music, talk, and More

Return to Menu

Advertisement

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Radio news and headlines delivered right to your e-mail box -- and it's free.

Advertisement

Advertisement