Only 6% of U.S. journalists are Black, survey shows

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A new study highlighting how news coverage among journalists varies by gender and race found that only six percent of U.S. journalists identify as Black or African American.

Despite representing 12 percent of the U.S. population, Black Americans only represent six percent of working journalists, according to a new study from Pew Research Center.

The analysis surveyed nearly 12,000 working U.S.-based journalists and looked at 11 news beats: sports, government and politics, science and tech, economy and business, crime and law, local and state, environment and energy, entertainment and travel, social issues and policy, education and family, along with health.

black journalists — Left: Famous late 19th century Black journalist and NAACP co-founder Ida B. Wells.
Right: Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times journalist and 1619 project co-creator Nikole Hannah-Jones (Associated Press)

The survey found men are more likely than women to report on sports (83%), government and politics (60%) and science and tech (58%). Meanwhile, women are more likely to cover education and family (63%), social issues and policy (58%) and health (64%).

When it comes to race, Black, Hispanic and Asian American journalists are underrepresented in almost every news beat.

Journalists from Ida B. Wells in 20th century to Carl Rowan in the 21st century have played influential roles in providing news coverage that caused the nation to become more aware of systemic racism.

Today Black journalists like the Grio’s April Ryan, the NYT’s Nikole Hannah-Jones and CNN’s Omar Jimenez carry the torch of those who came before them.

Yet it’s unclear what more could be uncovered if more Black journalists were represented in the field.