British media ‘in denial’ about racism, black journalists say

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Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors, said in a statement earlier this week that it was “not true” that parts of the British press were bigoted or racist.
Murray responded to Prince Harry’s comments during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in which he said that racism had played a role in the way the British press covered up his wife Meghan, and that coverage in the tabloids was a major factor in the couple’s decision. to leave. the country.
In a letter posted online, journalists of color – including from The Guardian and Condé Nast – urged the Society of Editors to address bigotry and racism in UK media coverage, rather than pretending it wasn’t exists.

Murray’s insistence that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had not provided ‘supporting evidence’ to support claims of racist reporting demonstrated a ‘deliberate ignorance’ about the discriminatory treatment of Meghan by the British press, as well as other people who do not identify themselves as White, according to the letter.

“We, the undersigned journalists of color, who work in British media organizations, regret and reject the statement of the Society of Editors denying the existence of racism and bigotry in the British press.” the journalists wrote.

“The general refusal to accept intolerance in the British press is laughable, does a disservice to journalists of color and shows an attitude and an industry in denial,” they added.

The letter cited a range of evidence to support their claims, including a 2016 European Commission report against racism and intolerance, which found that hate speech among traditional British media, especially tabloid newspapers, “remains a serious problem” and fuels prejudice.
Compelling evidence can also be found in the headlines of major tabloids. The 2016 One Mail Online headline stated that Meghan was “(almost) straight out of Compton.” Around the same time, The Daily Star had a headline asking if Harry would marry a gangster royalty?

On Wednesday, the Society of Editors released what it described as a “clarification.”

“Our statement about Meghan and Harry … did not reflect what we all know: that there is a lot of work to be done in the media to improve diversity and inclusion. We will reflect on the response our statement elicited and work to become part of the solution, ”the body, which organizes the prestigious annual Press Awards, said in a statement. It declined to respond to questions or clarify whether it still stuck to its previous comments.

One of the reasons Meghan faced racist coverage in the UK is that the media is not diverse
But the damage has already been done. ITV news anchor Charlene White on Wednesday stop hosting the Press Awards. In a letter first reported by HuffPost UK, White told the Society of Editors to “look elsewhere” for a host.

“Maybe someone whose views match yours: that the British press is the only institution in the whole country with a perfect track record,” she added.

The editors of The Guardian and Financial Times newspapers have also disputed the Society of Editors’ original statement.

“There is work to be done across all sectors in the UK to expose and challenge racism,” FT editor Roula Khalaf said in a statement. “The media plays a vital role and editors must ensure that our newsrooms and reporting reflect the societies in which we live,” she added.

“Every institution in the UK is currently examining its own position on essential issues such as race and the treatment of people of color. As I said before, the media needs to do the same. It needs to be much more representative and self-aware,” added Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief of Guardian, please.

Reach Plc, which publishes the Mirror, the Express, and The Daily Star, declined to comment on the Society of Editors’ statement. CNN Business has contacted the Daily Mail and The Sun’s publisher, News UK, for comment. Harry and Meghan said last April that they would no longer deal with major gossip magazines and have sued a number of newspapers.

Address the lack of diversity

The British press remains mostly white compared to the overall racial and ethnic makeup of the United Kingdom.

A report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in 2016 found that only 6% of journalists in UK newsrooms do not identify as white, compared to about 13% of the general population. The same survey found that while Black Britons make up 3% of the population, but only 0.2% of journalists.

And according to a report from the Reuters Institute last July, none of Britain’s top 10 print, digital, or broadcast broadcasts have a black editor-in-chief.

The Society of Editors should have used the Sussexes’ comments to spark an open and constructive discussion about how best to avoid racist coverage in the future, including the lack of representation in the UK media on to address, especially high-level, ”the letter from journalists of color said.

“At a time when many industries and businesses are awaiting race in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, we think it would be better use of the Society of Editors’ time to reflect on the lack of diversity, ”it added.

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