Those of you who are active on the social media scene may by now have heard of Media Diversity UK, otherwise known as @writersofcolour, and their campaigns both to increase the opportunities for people of colour in journalism who are underrepresented in the field, and to bring an end to #allwhitefrontpages, and #allwhitetv.

 

Samira Sawlinia, one of the large number of writers at Media Diversity, took the time to answer some questions we sent her, in order to give us some insight into why the work of this growing organisation is so vital, why she is so passionate about improving media diversity, and why we should be too.

 

To begin with, can you tell us why you think increasing media diversity- in terms of writers and editors, and the people and characters who are included in what we read, hear and see- is such an important issue?

 

The media in any country should be a reflection of its society and has a responsibility to cater to its readers. In 2011 the Guardian’s list of 100 most influential people in media had only one non- white name. That same year 3 newspapers did not have a single non-white writer on the comment pages and only 5 non-white writers had a regular weekly fixed column in the British broadsheet press.

 

Similarly the 2012 Creative Skillset Employment Census reports that representation of BAME people has declined further since the last Census. Almost 2,000 BAME people have left the industries since 2009 reducing the representation to just 5.4% of the total workforce. With less than 7% of journalists and editors coming from ethnic minority backgrounds, according to the Professional Publishers Association (PPA), Media Diversity UK aims to combat the lack of ethnic minority representation within the industry and the pages themselves.

 

Media Diversity UK works tirelessly to bring prominence to the breadth of written talent which has often been ignored due to the continued obstacles faced by writers and journalists from ethnic minorities in the UK and worldwide.

 

We provide these talented individuals with a platform through which they not only present their work but more importantly bring about awareness around issues which can often go unaddressed in society today. Racism, discrimination and exclusion of minorities on a range of conscious and subconscious levels in the UK, continues to be a very real issue.

 

Only through more diverse voices in the media will we work towards a fair and non- discriminatory society where views from every corner, every perspective are represented. For example there was recently a TV debate on whether Muslim women should be ‘allowed’ to wear the Niqab. Strangely, there was not one Muslim woman on the debate panel. That opportunity was not given to a Muslim woman to present her view to the wider society.

 

Based on this we give voice to un-discovered talent, boldly address issues around race through which we believe society will then move on to become truly multicultural and most importantly, campaign and lobby for the British media to commit to acknowledging the need for it to diversify. We believe that through doing all this, the barriers in the UK related to race and discrimination will slowly continue to be broken, leading to a more free and fair system in society.

 

Our social media campaign #AllWhiteFrontPages aims to raise awareness of British media’s need to include ethnic minority groups in their stories. Frequently every image featured on the front pages of the national newspapers is of a white person. When the media does cover stories of people from diverse backgrounds and class the stories are often negative, reinforcing stereotypes.

 

At this moment in time there are thousands of young people of colour starting their first month of university lectures in journalism or media studies. These young people will soon leave university and enter a job market where they are likely to struggle to make it in the field of media and journalism because of their colour or ethnic background. We believe that for this generation and for a more multi-cultural Britain and harmonious global society there is an urgent need for every aspect of the media, be it press, TV or film to diversify. Otherwise we simply risk living in a world where the information and knowledge we are presented with creates a tunnel vision view.

 

We, our writers and our readers and supporters are bound by the belief that discrimination of any sort is unacceptable and through our work and our words it can one day be eradicated.