home page

about us
RESOURCE MATERIAL / Media Diversity: RACE
A selection of articles and resources examining the theory of the media's role in reporting on race
• IRR's European Race Bulletin
A digest on the rise of racism and fascism in Europe collates   and summarises news reports from papers, magazines, NGOs and campaigns in every European country. The Bulletin, published by the UK Institute for Race Relations, provides a rare opportunity for understanding domestic race policy in the context of European harmonisation. It is essential reading for students, academics, researchers, campaigners, policy makers, educationalists, lawyers and all those concerned about racism, fascism and democracy around Europe. (IRR).

• 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)

Delving into the Divide: A Study of Race Reporting in Forty-Five U.S. Newsrooms
 •

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• Black TV newsman is French first
A black journalist has been chosen to present one of France's most popular TV news programmes. (BBC)
• US women of colour face stereotyping and discrimination in the newsroom
'Women Journalists of Color: Present Without Power' resulted from a March 1999 US-wide study by the 'International Women's Media Foundation' (IWMF) in Washington, D.C. The majority of women of color working for the media say their career progress is hampered by lingering racial stereotypes and subtle discrimination. They still face substantial obstacles to promotion opportunities, and still find that their strengths as journalists, and the value that their presence brings, are consistently being ignored and downplayed.

• 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)
• 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.

• Tackling the racists
UK journalists often choose to turn a blind eye to colleague's racism. Joy Francis explores the issue. (Press Gazette)
• France gains first black presenter on main evening TV bulletin
Black faces are few and far between on French TV. So when Audrey Pulvar appeared this month as co-presenter of Soir 3, it caused something of a
commotion: the 32-year-old journalist from the French Caribbean island of Martinique was the first black newsreader to present the main evening news on a national French TV station. (By Jon Henley, The Guardian, 20 September, 2004)

• Warnings of rising racism in Italy after newspaper publishes book
Human rights groups have warned that racism is becoming increasingly tolerated in Italy, after the country's biggest-selling newspaper published a book by a veteran journalist which warns of an Arab invasion of Europe. (By Sophie Arie, The Guardian, 7 August, 2004)
•Responding to bias in Swedish news media
Quick Response started in 1999 when a Swedish committee against racism came with an idea for an institution that could quickly respond to false information being spread in the media about immigrants. Quick Response scrutinizes Swedish news reporting on the issues of integration, immigration and racism. It aims to encourage debate among journalists about how these issues are reported and on how people are portrayed in the media. Its main target groups are journalists and journalism students. An interview with Ulku Holago, Quick Response project manager, on diversity issues in her nation's newsrooms. (NewsWatch)

•Do US newspapers' staffs reflect the racial diversity of their communities?
Each daily newspaper in the United States now has a web page comparing the racial diversity of its news staff and the community it serves, part of a new report for the Knight Foundation on 1,413 newspapers and their circulation areas. The report is intended to help journalists and readers discuss how well their newspaper's staff reflects their community. (The Knight Foundation)

•UK press coverage of asylum issues can be linked to racist attacks
Press coverage of asylum issues in the UK can be linked to racist attacks and street harassment, say academics in a new report, 'Media Image, Community Impact'. The first research of its kind, it says negative reporting in UK newspapers triggers hostile actions because it increases community tension. The report was prepared by the Information Centre About Asylum and Refugees (ICAR), and commissioned and funded by the Mayor of London. (ICAR)

•What diversity means in public broadcasting
BBC Radio London presenter Henry Bonsu has been axed because his bosses said he was 'too intellectual'. Whereas in the past, distinct Black media voices were shut down in the name of 'multiculturalism', today it is done under the fashionable banner of 'diversity'.
(Independent Race and Refugee News Network)


•BBC takes presenter off the air for anti-Arab comments
The BBC suspended freelance television presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk after he wrote a newspaper article branding Arabs "suicide bombers, limb amputators, women repressors" and asked what they had given to the world other than oil. (BBC)

•Don’t Let Racism Creep Into Your Writing
One journalist writing a crime story included a brief police description of a suspect: “Male, black, 25-30 years old, 5’10”, 175 lbs., dark shirt, dark pants.” He wrote the story, included the description, and thought nothing more about it – until a complaint of racism hit the editor’s desk. Was it justified? Read the journalist’s thoughts on the Newswriting.com site.  (Newswriting.com)

• Why do black people star in so few British advertisements?
Advertising agency chief Jonathan Mildenhall, the first black executive to reach senior management level in a major British advertising agency, says it is because the UK advertising industry is out of touch and institutionally racist. (Independent.co.uk)

•Surge in Images of Black and Hispanic Women on US Magazine Covers
A survey of 30 magzines in the United States shows that the number of black and Hispanic people been depicted on the covers has nearly doubled in five years - but few of them are men. (by Jeffrey Blyth - Press Gazette, December 6. 2002)
• 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.