The Pew Research Center, which is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, has recently released a new report on the state of news, information, and journalism in the digital age. This report, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, focuses on trends in news outlets that cater to Black and Hispanic communities in the United States. The Pew Research Center highlights that these news outlets have been a consistent part of the American news landscape, but there has been a recent decline in audience numbers.
The report identifies Univision and Telemundo, the two largest Spanish-language television networks in the U.S., as the leading sources of news for Spanish-speaking audiences. However, both companies have experienced a drop in their audiences. Univision’s average audience declined by 11% for the evening news time slot, 16% for the late night news time slot, and 7% for the morning news time slot. Telemundo’s audience also dropped by 9% in the evening news time slot and 16% in the late night news time slot.
The report further indicates that Univision affiliates’ morning news saw an increase of 17%, while evening news viewership declined by 7% and late night news viewership declined by 8%. On the other hand, Telemundo affiliates experienced an increase or steady viewership during these time slots. Pew Research Center also highlights a significant reduction in the number of news outlets written in Spanish. In 2021, there were 18 weekly or semiweekly Hispanic newspapers with circulation data available, but this number dropped to 11 in 2022.
The average circulation for Hispanic weeklies with available data has been declining over the past three years, from approximately 109,000 in 2020 to about 92,000 in 2021, and further down to about 83,000 in 2022. The only daily Hispanic newspaper for which there is data available, El Nuevo Herald in Miami, also experienced a decline in circulation. The report attributes this decline to the challenges in data collection among Hispanic newspapers.
Regarding Black-oriented newspapers, the report acknowledges them as a long-standing minority news sector in the U.S. Data obtained from the CUNY School of Journalism’s Community Media Center Mapping Black Media Project lists 200 newspapers that are owned or catered to African Americans. However, obtaining audience figures for the industry as a whole has been difficult due to the lack of audited circulation figures.
The report reveals that among the eight Black-oriented newspapers with data for both 2021 and 2022, two had increases in circulation, while none experienced a drop of more than 10%. Unfortunately, there are a number of newspapers whose circulation data is no longer available. The report emphasizes the need for better data collection in the industry.
In terms of radio and television stations catering to Black audiences, the report mentions 48 radio stations and station networks owned or oriented toward African Americans, as well as three television stations. While audience data may not be readily available, survey data suggests that Black Americans are more likely to prefer getting their news from television and are more likely to follow local news closely.
The report also highlights the recovery of average station revenue for Spanish-language news stations listed in the BIA Advisory Services database. However, there is a lack of revenue data for Black-oriented newspapers, which are mostly privately owned. The Pew Research Center is not aware of any databases that separate Black-oriented television or radio news stations from English-speaking media.
In terms of diversity within newsrooms, the report reveals that the percentage of African Americans in local television newsroom staff has remained stable at around 12% to 13% since 2018. However, the percentage of African American television news directors is much lower at just 6%. In 2022, 9% of the television news workforce and 7% of television news directors are Hispanic or Latino, both declining from 2021.
Overall, the report provides an insightful analysis of the state of news outlets catering to Black and Hispanic communities in the U.S. These communities have historically been served by dedicated news sources, but recent declines in audience numbers and newspaper circulation raise concerns. The Pew Research Center emphasizes the importance of better data collection and highlights the need for increased diversity within newsrooms to better reflect the communities they serve.
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