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RESOURCE MATERIAL / Media Diversity: ETHNICITY
A selection of articles and resources examining the theory of the media's role in reporting on ethnicity
• Fergal Keane responds to BBC race comments
The BBC's Fergal Keane has described as "pretty absurd" any suggestion that he was less "culturally aware" when reporting on Africa because of the colour of his skin. (Press Gazette)

• BBC's diversity chief slammed for race comments
The campaign group Liberty and Law has asked the chair of the Commission for Racial Equality to intervene after the BBC's editorial director of diversity publicly lamented the corporation's use of predominantly white reporters to report from non-white countries. (Press Gazette)

Reporting Diversity - Ethnicity (PDF / 191KB) • Reporting Diversity - Ethnicity (PDF / 191KB)
The Media Diversity Institute’s “Reporting Diversity Guide” is a comprehensive manual for journalists and trainers. It includes an ‘Ethnicity’ section that provides tips on reporting on ethnic groups and analysis of articles on ethnic themes taken from newspapers around South East Europe. (MDI, 2002 ) (PDF / 191KB)

• What Can A Word Do?
A final report, produced by Yerevan Press Club ( Armenia ), "Yeni Nesil" Journalists Union ( Azerbaijan ) and " Black Sea Press" Association (Georgia) with the support of Eurasia Foundation Program of Cooperation in South Caucasus. The report sums up a study of the press of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia aiming to understand how it contributes to hostility in the three neighbor countries towards each other. Proceeding from the primary research administered, the report writers argue that the media of the three countries do not provide adequate and accurate coverage each other and often use negative stereotypes and clichés about each other.

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Bonuses tied to diversity targets
Mark Thompson is getting tough over diversity. He is demanding that targets must be met for increasing the numbers of staff from ethnic minorities and with disabilities - and any director who fails to deliver will not get an annual bonus.
(by Andrew Harvey, Ariel BBC, 17January, 2006)

• Israeli Media Coverage of  killing of  Palestinians
The research by Keshev, Jerusalem based NGO,  investigates media coverage of the events in December 2005, when,  according to the major media outlets in Israel , 22 Palestinians were killed. In the framework of this study, Keshev examined all relevant items in the daily editions of the three major newspapers, Ha'aretz , Yedioth Ahronoth and Ma'ariv , and the nightly television newscasts on Channels 1, 2 and 10.  A total of 135 items were examined. (KESHEV)

• Rumours of a riot
It started with a claim that a young black woman had been raped in a shop - and exploded into a race riot that left a man dead. But what was the truth behind the rumour that set Birmingham alight? Ed Vulliamy investigates (The Guardian)

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Content analysis of Azerbaijani media on multi-culturalism and unity
A 2003 content analysis of the Azerbaijani media on the issue of multi-cultural differences and regional unity in the South Caucasus . Daily newspapers, TV and radio channels - both pro-government and opposition - were monitored between December 2002 and February 2003. A second part of the study saw 1,000 Azeri people surveyed on the same topic.


• Covering race and ethnicity
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism on journalism, race and ethnicity. Included are sections on race relations, immigration, fitting in, racial identity, words as weapons, and the language of race.
(The Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University)

• Guidelines for countering racial, ethnic and religious profiling
Guidelines for countering racial, ethnic and religious profiling in coverage of the war on terrorism, from the US Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). The SPJ urges journalists to use language that is informative and not inflammatory; to portray Muslims, Arabs and Middle Eastern and South Asian Americans in a way that reflects the richness of their diverse experiences; and to seek truth through a variety of voices and perspectives. (SPJ)

• One-third of the US public portrayed negatively (PDF / 970KB)
A study by the US-based Media Tenor Institute for Media Analysis, examining the coverage of ethnic and racial groups, found that leading US media present an unbalanced portrait of society in which minorities - now nearly one-third of the US population - played secondary roles in major political and economic news stories, whilst featuring prominently in negative situations involving court cases, violence, epidemics and conflicts.
• Nationalism, racism and xenophobia in the Russian mass media
A media monitoring by the Moscow Helsinki Group which forms a part of its large-scale report 'Nationalism, xenophobia and intolerance in contemporary Russia'. The monitoring was conducted in five Russian regions from October 2001 to January 2002. Regions were chosen to provide a cross-section of geographical location, economic performance, political preferences, and known high and low levels of hate speech. Widespread hate speech was uncovered, ranging from 'soft' forms to direct calls for violence.
(Moscow Helsinki Committee)
• The Language of Hate: A Slip of the Tongue or Racism?
Hatred of minorities and 'others' has grown noticeably in Russia in recent years, writes Sergey Lukashevskiy. This atmosphere of hatred has an effect on the way that people speak, including the way language is used in the mass media - language that has the power to control as much as disseminate ideas. (Sreda/Moscow Helsinki Committee)
• Arab-Israelis lack faith in the country's Hebrew-language media
New research on the rarely surveyed Arab-Israelis (who make up almost a fifth of the population) has found a severe credibility crisis amongst them regarding the Hebrew-language media. Arab-Israelis believe Arabic-language media to a much greater extent than Hebrew-language media, particularly concerning coverage of the Arab sector and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

• Advertising and ethnic communities in the UK (PDF / 149KB)
A short report (with many case studies) from 2001, commissioned by the UK Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) after its realization that, "whilst the cultural and economic contribution of ethnic minorities in the UK is of increasing value, the industry has done little to promote greater understanding and employment of ethnic minorities". The report found that while 7.9% of the UK population is of ethnic minority origin (31% in London), only 4% of IPA agency employees are of ethnic origin - and almost three-quarters of them were in support roles.

• Georgian state TV to launch five minority language news programmes
Georgia's state TV is to introduce weekly news programmes in five minority languages - Abkhaz, Armenian, Azeri, Russian and South Ossetian - in a bid to defuse tensions and increase understanding amongst the country's ethnic groups. The programmes, due to go to air by January 2005, have been undertaken in consultation with MDI. They are part of a comprehensive redesign of the news department. (MDI)

• New Balkans media network for minority rights and interethnic tolerance
Three media organizations from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia have launched a new educational service on minority rights and interethnic tolerance. The six-month initiative is designed to establish a media network to promote cooperation and stability among ethnic minorities in the region. (IJNet)

•Report says Israeli authorities discriminate against Arab journalists
A new report by I'LAM - a media center for Israeli Palestinians - says that Arab journalists have been subjected to a sustained policy of discrimination by Israeli authorities. Cases are documented in several categories including: protracted interrogations, physical attacks, the non-renewal of permits, and censorship.
(I'LAM)

• Nigeria 2002: A case study of media impact on ethnic and religioustension
In November 2002, the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna erupted in violence, leaving more than 200 people dead and thousands injured or forced to flee their homes. Long-running tensions between two communities in Nigeria were apparently aggravated by an international event, the Miss World contest that some Nigerians found distasteful, and then inflamed by an article in the Nigerian 'ThisDay' national newspaper. The whole troubled story makes a good case study for anyone interested in local reporting and the role of the media during conflict or in situations of ethnic and religious tension.

• Covering Conflict: How the News Media Handles Ethnic Controversy
News gathering is a highly imperfect art, writes Ira Rifkin. Problems with basic facts, not to mention nuances, are common. But when you are talking about conflicts that are at their root racial, ethnic or religious, the stakes are higher. This is the stuff riots, wars and deep-seated prejudices are made of, and the news media has an even greater responsibility than it normally does to get it right. (by Ira Rifkin - CML 2002)