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HOLLYWOOD REPORTER GRAPHIC Some of the few Asian American on-air television journalists in the United States. |
In the top 20 television markets in the U.S., Asian American journalists are still rarely seen on air.
"As journalism evolves, newsrooms cannot afford to overlook AAPI communities," states a press release from the Asian American Journalists Association. "On-air representation matters to audiences, and newsrooms must reflect the diversity of the communities they cover, not only to ensure that the totality of their communities’ experiences are captured in their editorial process, but also to build trust with and engage with audiences."
The study's findings were not encouraging and suggests that stations are not doing enough to ensure diversity for its on-air staff. "While the project is a snapshot in time, the lack of representation in local TV newsrooms is a historical and structural problem that needs to be addressed," says AAJA.
This is hard to believe if one lives in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Denver, television markets keenly aware of the AAPI audience and try to reflect that audience in their newsrooms. However, even with the recent attention to the surge of anti-Asian attacks and 2020 Census results, television newsrooms still find it difficult to keep pace with the changing audience.
FYI: The final report can be read here.
The snapshot of the data from a study conducted by the Asian American Journalists Association does not bode well for AAPI representation. Of the 94 stations included in the study, 22, or. a quarter of the stations had no AAPI broadcasters on air.
The AAJA is releasing the findings from a broadcast snapshot analyzing the number of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) reporters, anchors, meteorologists and hosts working in local television newsrooms across the nation.
AAJA examined AAPI representation across major metropolitan areas by comparing the demographics of the top 20 TV media markets, which include cities such as Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago, with the proportion of AAPI on-air staff at the stations.
AAJA found that local TV stations in the top 20 Designated Market Areas (DMAs) did a poor job proportionately representing the AAPI population in their communities. Nearly half (48.3%) of the AAPI population in the U.S. lives in the top 20 DMAs, yet a quarter of the stations had no AAPIs on air.
The project found that:
- A quarter of the stations (22 out of 94) had no AAPIs on-air.
- More than 70% of the stations did not have a proportion of on-air staff comparable with the AAPI population in their DMA.
- Only 4 out of 20 of the DMAs had on-air staff comparable with their local AAPI population: Phoenix, Denver, Miami and Cleveland.
- Philadelphia, Detroit and Orlando were the markets with the least proportionate AAPI representation on air.
AAJA initiated this broadcast snapshot in the absence of publicly available diversity data from stations. The project builds on AAJA’s mission to advance diversity in newsrooms and ensure fair and accurate coverage of communities of color.
With the population of the U.S. becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, diverse and inclusive hiring, news gathering and reporting is also a smart foundational business practice that newsrooms cannot ignore.
Recent data from Nielsen reveals that the Asian American population in the U.S. has grown to 23 million, a 90% growth since 2000. In 2019, the buying power for this group was $1 trillion, a 314% jump since 2000. That growth was nearly three times greater than the general U.S. population, and the increase in buying power of Asian Americans is projected to keep outpacing total U.S. buying power. The average household expenditure for Asian Americans is 18% higher than that of the national population, and Asian Americans overindex on spending on major consumer categories, making for a lucrative audience for new platforms, content, and advertising.
Making sure AAPI communities are covered accurately is critical, but even more at a time when many are on edge from increased anti-Asian violence and xenophobia. Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition that gathers data on anti-AAPI xenophobia, logged more than 10,000 anti-Asian incidents since March of 2020.
This broadcast snapshot provides a baseline of data for AAJA to continue advocating for diversity. In addition, AAJA acknowledges that regardless of numbers, AAPI journalists and journalists of color are also likely to experience implicit biases, microaggressions and pay and gender inequity in their workplaces.
Representation is crucial to accurate and nuanced coverage.
For decades, AAJA members — especially those in broadcast — have been told that they were too close to stories affecting the AAPI community because of their identity. During the March 2021 Atlanta shootings, AAJA members reported being asked, “Are you sure your bias won’t show if you cover the Atlanta shootings?” or told, “You might be too emotionally invested to cover this story.”
AAPI journalists are oftentimes uniquely positioned to cover AAPI communities and stories because of their expertise, cultural understanding, language proficiency and unfettered access to sources.
On the other hand, when AAJA members are the only, or one of the very few AAPIs in the newsrooms, they are expected to carry the burden of speaking for or representing on behalf of all AAPI communities, says the study.
The study contends that newsroom leaders must acknowledge this conflicting duality and empower and support their AAPI reporters.
The quantitative data encourages that all stations should evaluate how they can build more opportunities to recruit more journalists of color, retain them in the workplace, and strive for equitable coverage of growing communities. In addition, AAJA acknowledges that regardless of numbers, AAPI journalists and journalists of color are also prone to experience implicit biases, microaggressions, and pay and gender inequity in their workplaces.
AAJA focused on on-air staff as a measure of AAPI representation due to the availability and visibility of information. From July to September 2021, AAJA staff and member volunteers surveyed 94 local, English-language commercial TV stations in the top 20 DMAs. Project staff used resources such as station websites, AAJA membership and public pages to find on-air staff who either looked AAPI or self-identified as AAPI.
In gathering the data, the study includes the number of AAPI on-air staff, the AAPI population and station ownership. This snapshot reveals a total of 201 AAPI on-air staffers across the top 20 DMAs.
The study will be used as a benchmark to track future progress at these commercial television newsrooms. Through this work, AAJA hopes to spark productive dialogues that lead to concrete steps in increasing AAPI representation in local TV newsrooms.
“We’re trying to be as visible as possible because there are so many out there feeling unheard and unseen," said AAJA president Michelle Ye Hee Lee when interviewed by the Hollywood Reporter.
"What you’re seeing from AAPI journalists now is that this invisibility has hurt our professional opportunities, our news coverage and our community’s ability to be thoughtfully covered in the news.”
In addressing this summer's AAJA convention held in Los Angeles, Lee challenged the 2,000 members to be innovative, be creative but also don’t be silent, to help raise the standards of how the AAPI community is treated in newsrooms and news coverage.
“Be loud…We must not settle for anything other than full inclusion of AAPIs — inclusion, with dignity. And we must push for progress in our industry along with our Black, brown, indigenous, LGBTQ+ colleagues because we are not in it alone,” Lee said.
“We can’t accept nips and tucks anymore," Lee continued. "We need transformation. In order to make lasting change, we need to be louder. We cannot let the industry and its top leaders coast. We must not settle for anything other than full inclusion of AAPIs – inclusion with dignity.”
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