What data exists on the religious or ethnic makeup of major US media company executives and board members?

1. What the headline numbers say — executives, boards and editors

Sector‑level snapshots point in the same direction: Zippia’s 2025 media‑executive dataset estimates Whites make up roughly three‑quarters of media executives (74.6%), with Hispanic/Latino (8.7%) and Asian (8.2%) representation far smaller ^[2]. Statista’s 2020 summary of the top 200 media companies reported African Americans made up about 10% of board seats and that 81% of board members were non‑minority (implying limited Hispanic and Asian representation) ^[4]. The Reuters Institute study of top editors across markets found only two US outlets in its sample had non‑white top editors (11%), underscoring scarcity at the highest editorial ranks ^[3].

2. Different data, different scopes — why numbers vary

Sources use distinct methods and populations. Zippia draws on aggregated profile databases and defines “media executive,” which can include a wide set of roles across companies ^[2]. Statista’s board numbers came from a Spencer Stuart analysis restricted to the top 200 media companies in 2020, a corporate‑governance lens focused on boards rather than day‑to‑day executives ^[4]. Reuters Institute sampled individual outlets’ top editors, a newsroom leadership measure rather than corporate boards or C‑suite roles ^[3]. These definitional differences explain divergent percentages and limit direct comparisons across datasets ^{[2] [4] [3]}.

3. Journalists and newsroom composition — related but distinct metrics

Reporting on newsroom staff shows similar patterns: a 2022 Pew‑based figure cited by Forbes reported 76% of journalists were white, with Hispanics ~8%, Black ~6% and Asian ~3% — a staff‑level snapshot rather than executives or boardrooms ^[5]. The Reuters Institute separately highlights that U.S. newsrooms have few non‑white top editors in its sample, again signaling concentrated homogeneity at leadership tiers ^[3]. In short, staff diversity metrics and leadership/board metrics both point to overrepresentation of white individuals but measure different phenomena ^{[5] [3]}.

4. Gaps, limitations and what’s not in these sources

Available sources note limitations: Reuters Institute cautions race and ethnicity are complex and cross‑national comparisons are approximate ^[3]. Many datasets (Statista premium charts, Zippia’s algorithms) use proprietary methods or paid access and may not publish raw lists or methodologies in full for independent verification ^{[4] [2]}. The search results do not provide comprehensive, up‑to‑date rosters of major US media corporate boards or executives broken down by both race and religion; available sources do not mention religious affiliation data for executives or board members (not found in current reporting).

5. Competing viewpoints and implicit agendas in the data

Analyses from industry trackers and recruiters often frame diversity as a lagging business and ethical issue; e.g., Investopedia and corporate studies point to both underrepresentation and business cases for diversity ^[6]. Trade‑oriented outlets such as Forbes and advocacy studies emphasize the persistence of whiteness in newsrooms to argue for reform ^[5]. Researchers (Reuters Institute) emphasize methodological care in coding race and warn against overinterpreting small samples ^[3]. Readers should note that firms compiling these stats may have commercial incentives (selling reports or consulting), and advocacy pieces have reformist agendas — both can shape selection and framing ^{[4] [5] [6]}.

6. Practical next steps if you need more granular data

To map religious or more granular ethnic breakdowns of specific companies, the sources suggest several approaches: consult corporate proxy statements and board bios (Statista/Spencer Stuart focus on boards) or newsroom staff reports (Pew/Reuters style), and supplement with proprietary datasets like Zippia for executive‑level estimates ^{[4] [2] [3]}. For religion specifically, the current reporting and datasets returned here do not include religion of executives or board members — you will need targeted company disclosures or investigative compilation, since standard corporate diversity reports rarely collect religious affiliation (not found in current reporting).

Conclusion: Multiple independent data points in the available reporting converge on one clear finding — U.S. media leadership and newsroom staff remain majority white, with substantially lower shares of Hispanic, Black and Asian leaders — but datasets differ by scope (boards vs. executives vs. top editors), methodologies vary, and religion is absent from the cited datasets ^{[2] [4] [3] [5]}.