A survey and investigation by Press Gazette, who describe themselves as ‘aiming to give media industry leaders the information they need to thrive in the digital age’, have found that the majority of journalists and the public consider the UK media to be ‘bigoted or racist’.
Some of their key findings were:
Two-thirds of journalists who responded to a Press Gazette survey believe the UK media is bigoted or racist in some way.
Respondents highlighted perceived shortcomings in how the UK media treats racial minorities both in its reporting and inside newsrooms with many citing the industry’s lack of diversity, particularly at senior levels.
Two in three respondents (66%) said that the UK media is racist or bigoted in some way, echoing Prince Harry’s assertion that the press is bigoted .
Respondents describing themselves as white (794 people) were far less likely to say that the UK media was racist or bigoted (62%) than people of other ethnic origins (82%).
Less than half (46%) of white respondents working for the tabloid press agreed that the UK media is bigoted or racist – compared to 81% of white respondents from the broadsheets.
Ninety per cent of people working for broadsheets and 83% of people working for UK national television and radio news brands said that bigotry and racism affect the industry more widely.
Many readers also drew a link between racism or racial bias in the media and attitudes in society as a whole commenting that the press reflects British society.
“I think there is a lack of diversity in journalism across the board, be that gender identity, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status. Therefore, however hard we try, there are always going to be unconscious biases that are at play,”
Overall a very worrying and distressing picture was painted of a UK media and a wider society that is not fit for our purpose. Also the fact that the tabloid… print media journalists do not see the racist dimensions as much as the broadsheets and that they are the most read is not a surprise but is also extremely concerning.
The suggestion that the media is generally under represented in terms of ethnicity, gender, class and sexuality suggests a very skewed demographic that paints their picture but not one that reflects a progressive decent nation. Why this is requires a more complex discussion and solutions
but until it is remedied the UK media will remain one of the least trusted in the Western world
To read the full Press Gazette article: https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/two-third-journalists-uk-media-bigoted-or-racist/
And finally as Adam Samuels summarises:
Asking a horrifically, systemically, endemically racist institution to investigate itself re said racism, is like asking a horrifically, systemically, endemically racist institution to investigate itself re said racism…Accepting the results of any such investigation(s) is like believing Donald Trump when he claims he’s the most popular US President ever. It is also beyond offensive to those on the receiving end of said racism, now & historically. It is also beyond offensive to everyone’s intelligence, and the response should be a United “F**k off you lying b*****ds!” Once again the media must take seriously their huge part in the overall responsibility for this and rectify their enabling and their own racism.
But, and this is a key point, there are plenty of liberals who are racist. Plenty. They *think* they are good people, while enabling both overt & subtle, endemic racism all over the place. Because in their eyes, genuinely, if you hold left wing/progressive views, it is impossible to be racist or prejudiced against you as you are sub-human. That is genuinely how they think. It is a deeply-rooted cultural thing. They will even laugh, be sarcastic & defend horrific words & actions while thinking they are the good guys. But then people who live their lives and judge others by media narratives are always the very worst of humankind. They are the enablers who give weight to the worst kind of racists elsewhere, when attacking literally the least racist people out there. That they do this with complete impunity speaks volumes about our society.
The UK is really, really, really f***ed up, eh?!
Jason Cridland
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