Series on Press and Minorities

The effort by The Times and other major metropolitan dailies to hire more minorities is a good one. An even better goal is for dailies to provide the type of service to readers and advertisers needed in the African-American and Latino communities. The newspaper industry goal to have news staffs reflect the African-American and Latino percentages in the population within the next decade is hypocritical. Editorial staffs are under pressure to recruit more minority reporters and editors, while advertising and circulation staffs are under the gun to capture the so-called “upscale” market. “Upscale” frequently means white readers.

Newspapers have to solve the dichotomy between editorial and advertising before truly improved service to the African-American and Latino communities can be achieved. Both goals should not be mutually exclusive. Papers do not realize that by concentrating solely on the upscale markets, they have lost advertising dollars to key niche markets, such as gays, Asians, African-Americans, Latinos and specialized business audiences.

Hiring and promoting people of different backgrounds will be difficult to do and become meaningless until the industry as a whole rethinks its mission. Newspapers not only need more reporters and editors from minority communities, but also ad and circulation sales people, marketing executives, board members, stockholders and maybe editorial advisers on coverage.

KEN REID

Arlington, Va.