Abstract
Ironic maybe, but as a child growing up in one of the more culturally diverse parts of the country, I remember one of the things I most wanted to achieve was a sense of fitting in and looking like everybody else. Looking back, this might seem sad but that need to fit in was a reality of human nature, especially when you’re very young. Call it a survival instinct.
If you stand out by dint of your appearance and the way you carry yourself, you’re more at risk – you can’t blend into the background. So there is an inherent bravery in those who choose to go against the grain and to wear their identity openly. I’m relieved to say the notion of celebrating difference – or at least acknowledging it – is now on the agenda when it comes to reflecting our communities in our journalism. But there is still a way to go.
As journalists, it is incumbent on us to tell everybody’s stories but it’s simply not possible to represent every single perspective unless those perspectives are represented in the newsroom.
I was working in London during the Olympics, at a time when the east of the capital was undergoing some regeneration. The plans involved potentially displacing communities who had lived on estates for many years in favour of brand-new developments for better-off people.
While attending a council meeting – and subsequently being removed just minutes in, after the agenda was suspiciously declared to be commercially sensitive – I became aware of the ethnic make-up of many of the campaigners, and also of the subtext. What would be the impact on the area’s black and brown and working-class communities? The crossover of those groups in parts of our cities is too complete to ignore.
As it happened, I submitted a straightforward news report which made it to the back end of the newspaper, but I was conscious my lens was different and wondered whether I’d made the right decision. Would I have been given the support or the platform to present a piece that reflected the nuances of the controversy? That was not what had been commissioned. How would I have known how even to pitch it that way?
Fortunately, as my career developed and I moved around and up the levels, I was privileged to be given the platform to have some small influence. But the barriers to actioning and encouraging true inclusion in our newsrooms up and down the county remain. First, the culture and environment which allows people – such as reporters – to thrive. Are people from all backgrounds empowered to bring themselves to work? Or, once they’ve arrived, are they slotted into a straitjacket, with no wriggle room or ability to channel their energy into shaping the role in a way that benefits the publication? This can be helped along by ensuring all levels are on their way to becoming more representative.
The most recent report by the National Council for the Training of Journalists on diversity showed issues with the promotion of black and minority ethnic groups into more senior editorial roles. Either these colleagues are hitting glass ceilings or they are simply not being retained in sufficient proportional numbers. Yet they can become role models for existing and would-be younger journalists, helping to motivate and empower them. Staff networks, such as the ones we have at Reach, are a great way of bringing these issues to the fore and an important step in elevating people.
Content and output is a reflection of that culture. As a local editor, I was tasked with enlisting colleagues across the south east region of our business to diversify our output. We identified communities, set targets, and worked on projects. But we found those willing volunteers (and they are usually volunteers who do this through passion and in their free time) either moved on or became disillusioned with a lack of progress. We’re aware that it can’t only be an extra responsibility, with the burden resting on just a few shoulders.
Perspective is key here. Quite often, stories about people from minority backgrounds tend to adopt the rags to riches narrative. The “I came here with just my boots on and now I run the world”. I don’t wish to diminish the value of these but it’s not the only valid representation of those communities. Covering both everyday issues and crises from all perspectives is an equally legitimate way of ensuring representation.
I’m proud to work at a company which has supported and backed the launch of my newsletter written for marginalised communities – Untold Stories. We’ve presented one for Muslims in Birmingham, and ethnic minorities in Bristol. We have a content project in our regional newsrooms specifically to build on editors’ knowledge of their patches to increase the amount written for underserved groups.
This can only work in the long term if people from different backgrounds are in the newsroom in the first place, which brings me on to the third rolling barrier: that of recruitment. The challenge here isn’t only a case of connecting the job adverts with the right partners, but also having authenticity and inclusive values as a brand or publication so nobody feels this is not the place for them. Most important when it comes to lifting this barrier is a clear idea of what you want your team or newsroom to look like and sound like, with clear and public goals. Visibility is important – as is recognising difference and acknowledging how it enriches our industry.
