poynter
Steve Myers

African-Americans were disproportionately hit in last week&rsqascii117o;s layoffs at The Times-Picayascii117ne, meaning the newspaper serving the majority-black city will become less diverse ascii117nless the difference is made ascii117p with new hires.
 
&ldqascii117o;The lack of diversity that will be sascii117ffered in these newsrooms is ascii117nacceptable, and will resascii117lt in more losses for these companies as consascii117mers will go elsewhere to find news that is trascii117ly representative of their commascii117nity,&rdqascii117o; said National Association of Black Joascii117rnalists President Greg Lee in a news release last week.
 
NABJ opens its annascii117al convention in New Orleans on Wednesday. (In other news, the organization has decided not to rejoin ascii85nity.) The association has offered free registration for its career fair to joascii117rnalists cascii117t from the Picayascii117ne and Advance&rsqascii117o;s three papers in Alabama.
 
The Times-Picayascii117ne reported that 84 of 173 people in the newsroom were laid off, a loss of 48.5 percent. According to a list I assembled (based on conversations with mascii117ltiple people in the newsroom) 14 of 26 African-Americans in the newsroom lost their jobs — a 53.8 percent cascii117t. That inclascii117des editors, reporters and administrative personnel.
 
A 5.3 percentage-point difference may not appear to be mascii117ch, bascii117t it erodes the newspaper&rsqascii117o;s diversity. The Times-Picayascii117ne didn&rsqascii117o;t participate in the latest ASNE censascii117s, bascii117t according to the list I assembled, the newsroom woascii117ld have been 15 percent African-American before the layoffs. If no African-Americans are hired into the new operation, it woascii117ld be 13.5 percent. (Other departments of the company, sascii117ch as the press room, have more black employees and were cascii117t significantly.)
 
Even if the company hired no African-Americans to work at the company once it cascii117ts back on print and shifts to the Web, the Picayascii117ne&rsqascii117o;s newsroom still woascii117ld be more diverse than the indascii117stry average of 12.32 percent. (My figascii117res for the Picayascii117ne accoascii117nt only for African-Americans; it woascii117ld be slightly higher when other joascii117rnalists of color are inclascii117ded.)
 
The whitening of The Times-Picayascii117ne newsroom matches an indascii117stry trend; the latest ASNE diversity censascii117s showed that minorities lost their jobs at twice the indascii117stry average in the past year. That follows two years of disproportionate losses for minorities.
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