Why now? Here are the statistics
- Only 13% of UK journalists are from non-white ethnic groups (NCTJ Diversity in Journalism report, 2022)
- Newsroom processes ‘continue to be exclusionary and racism is commonplace.’ Black journalists are pigeonholed, face racism and discrimination, and feel there is a lack of support. Representation of minority communities is weak in UK media (Ethical Journalism Network, Structural Racism in UK Newsrooms, 2022)
- 80% of UK journalists come from the highest social classes, compared to 42% of the general workforce (NCTJ, 2022)
- 43% of Britain’s top 100 journalists were privately educated, compared to 7% of the general population (Sutton Trust Elitist Britain report, 2019)
- 39% of professionals in the media (including newspaper columnists, high profile editors and broadcasters) went to Oxbridge, compared to <1% of the general population (Sutton Trust, 2019)
- 33% of newspaper columnists went to private school and Oxbridge ((Sutton Trust, 2019)
- Working class representation in journalism has hit a record low. Socioeconomic status is the only area in which the UK news industry is becoming increasingly unequal (NCTJ, 2022)
- 92% of news media professionals went to university (Sutton Trust, 2019)
- 89% of UK journalists have a degree or higher level qualification (NCTJ, 2022)
- 19% of UK journalists have a work-limiting health problem or disability (NCTJ, 2022)
- 6% of workers in UK TV and radio are disabled (Ofcom Diversity and Equal Opportunities in Television, 2019)
- 6-8% of workers in UK TV and radio identify as LGBQT+ (Ofcom Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in TV and Radio report 2022)
- LGBTQ+ journalists face a hostile environment in the UK; 82% reported being subject to online harassment and abuse (Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, Are media organisations adequately protecting LGBTQ+ journalists from harassment and abuse? 2022)
