There’s no denying the moments that make us cringe when we watch TV news. Between the vapid punditry about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to the unhealthy obsession with Jon and Kate’s relationship, it can be difficult to feel good about what is on the screen.

It turns out that what’s happening behind the cameras is equally cringe-inducing. According to a recent RTNDA/Hofstra study, the diversity of the news work force at our local television and radio stations has slipped.

The percentage of Hispanics working in local TV news outlets fell from 10.3 percent to 8.8 percent in just one year. African-American employment in local TV decreased by half a percentage point from an already low 10.1 percent to 9.6 percent. Now only 4 percent of TV general managers are minorities.

For local radio, the statistics are also troubling. Less than 10 percent of stations have minority news staffers, making the average figure per outlet just 0.2 people.

The study did deliver some good news, however. The number of women in the news work force has reached a record high: Women now make up more than 41 percent of the TV news work force and more than 29 percent of TV news directors. And while these are figures worth celebrating, we still have a long way to go toward having a news force that actually represents the American people.

With belts tightening during the economic downturn, more people are relying on their local news to stay informed. In a Hearst-Argyle television study earlier this year, 99 percent of participants said their increased or steady viewing of local TV news was due to the recession. Without diverse newsrooms during this crucial time, how can we expect our communities to get the news they need?

Consider this: African-American and Hispanic communities have been hit hardest by the recession. Each group’s unemployment rate is reported to be above the country’s average, at 15 percent and 13 percent, respectively. But this rise in unemployment among minorities has coincided with the loss of a minority presence in newsrooms. Essentially, those suffering disproportionately from the recession are not represented in the media.

These declines in minority representation in commercial broadcasting can be countered with more local alternative voices and a commitment to documenting minority employment in media.

Last month, Free Press encouraged the FCC to collect data on the racial, ethnic and gender makeup of the board members of low power FM radio stations, community-based, nonprofit outlets that broadcast at the local level and that serve as a welcome antidote to the mainstream media. Giving the public access to such statistics is a solid start to understanding diversity in U.S. broadcasting.

While we need to face the race divide in commercial broadcasting, LPFM stations fill the gaps left by profit-seeking big media by giving schools, neighborhoods and minority organizations a place on their local airwaves.

The good news is that we don’t have to sit back and live with these statistics. Congress may be in recess now, but citizens are not. Tell your representative to support the Local Community Radio Act and bring more LPFM stations to communities traditionally underrepresented in the news, both as media makers and media consumers.

Denise Linn is a Free Press summer intern in Washington D.C. and a fourth year Media Studies major at the University of Virginia.