A recent minority census conducted by the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), found that people of color hold just 21.8% of all jobs in English language TV newsrooms. This startling statistic prompts the question: Where is the diversity in today's newsrooms? Research shows that one of the key reasons for the lack of minority representation is the fact that minorities are not being hired at the small market level (Wang).

Since 30% of all Americans are minorities, our newsrooms should reflect at least the same diversity. Sadly that is not the case. The truth of the matter is that lack of qualification is why minorities are not getting hired. Very rarely are journalists skilled enough to be hired into large market newsrooms directly out of college. Aspiring journalists must further hone their ability at the small market level. The problem is that minorities are not getting hired at this level, which makes it nearly impossible for them to attain jobs in larger market newsrooms. "The demand is higher than the supply for experienced, high potential minorities," said one general manager in a top 10 market. "In the smaller markets, station managers have to cultivate it.

Even when minorities finally get their foot through the broadcasting door, it is increasingly difficult for them to obtain high-level positions. Only 6.5% of news directors at English language stations are minorities and this percentage is dropping every year (RTNDA). This lack of retention suggests that TV stations are running out of minority journalists at an alarming rate. Gaining ownership is an even tougher task for minorities. According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), there are 11,524 commercial radio and broadcast stations in the United States, but minorities own only 337 or 2.9%. Though it is a substantial .1% increase from last year's numbers, it is still below the numbers from 1994 when minority ownership was at its peak with 343 stations.

The lack of minority representation in journalism is detrimental to the minority youth in the nation as well. It is important for young children, especially those who aspire to be journalists, to see diversity in the newsroom. It is essential that children see someone that looks like them doing what they want to do in order for them to realize that achieving their dream is possible. They need positive minority role models that are not only athletes.

Despite these low numbers, TV news is doing a much better job at diversifying its newsrooms than daily newspapers. While minorities hold 21.8% of jobs in English TV newsrooms, they only occupy 11.6% of daily newspaper journalism jobs, according to the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE). Even more startling is the fact that the survey that yielded these statistics was taken well before newspapers began a major layoff. What's surprising is that while there are fewer minorities holding journalism jobs at newspapers, they have bette

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