Cultural Diversity Advisory Group to the Media: *Diversity in the Media by Don John

Wednesday 9 July 2008

*Diversity in the Media by Don John

Don John
Diversity in the Media, book launch, Southampton 3rd July 2008

The quality of our work can only be measured by how much we have improved and if we find ourselves standing still, it means that we are going backwards. Despite some progress there are places where we are standing still and some places where we have given it up almost completely. The market place and to a lesser extent the moral imperative has compelled the media to come to the table of diversity, primarily because it is good business.

Should we be judging the moral quality of our press and TV by the fact that we do not have raging neo-nazi propaganda masquerading as day time television and we do not have black children running around the home shrieking "mummy mummy there's a black man on television" as we did in the 50s and saw as a mark of progress.

Have we made progress...yes we have made some and there are many committed individuals in the media who are making strenuous efforts and some against all odds to change the complexion of the media in its composition and its portrayal... but many argue that its a bit like football, there are fewer bananas on the pitch...which is commendable, but the boardrooms are still essentially "white".

So what do we do now, responsibilities lie in 2 places:

The Media
During the life of CDAGM we have moved some way from the crude racist stereotyping we accepted as the norm many years ago and the days when the ink used in our papers could not deal with black features. , but sometimes we are shamefully surprised and having seen some examples of that work in other parts of the country our record in the South is decidedly better.

The Communities
As for our own BME communities we have much work to do also. We need to organise ourselves in a manner in which we cannot be ignored. Making our perspective on news issues more competitive is an art and sometimes it is not about the fact that we think it is important, we have to sell it and we need to use every guile, opportunity, contacts and what I call the "bother" factor to get our voices heard. I am not sure whether as communities we consider the profile of our communities sufficiently important for us to invest in.....that must changeAnver's record of this struggle ....and yes it is a struggle helps us to mark where we have come from to help us to consider further where we are going. and we should remember thatSome say the future is orange...........the likelihood is that it is somewhere between black and white

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Cultural Diversity Advisory Group to the Media

PRIMARY AIMS AND OBJECTIVES as amended by Zita Eckett on 27th may 2007

§ To work closely with various sections of the media towards ensuring that they fully and properly reflect the aspirations and portrayal of the visible minorities in every aspect of their composition and delivery, and in a fair and just manner for the multicultural and diverse society of Britain,.

§ To monitor and assist the media on matters relating to the recruitment, retention and employment of its workforce, with a view to facilitate compliance within the spirit of its own standards, public policy and the law.

§ To advise on matters relating to the representation of the culturally diverse audience through the fair portrayal and characterisation of the relevant visible minority communities.

§ To determine and advise on whether the media provides visible minority viewers with any positive role models.

§ To assist in the development of means by which visible minority communities or individuals can be involved in the media.

§ To advise and comment on national and international issues that impact on the condition of all minorities in the South’s region.

Diversity in the Media, Book Review by Ramnik Shah

JOURNAL OF IMMIGRATION ASYLUM AND NATIONALITY LAW, Tottel Publishing, Vol 22 No 2 2008 at pp 202-203
Diversity in the Media: History of the Cultural Diversity Advisory Group to the Media, 1992-2007,
Compiled by Anver Jeevanjee, Edited by Professor Werner F Menski with the assistance of Ashish Parmar";
Waterside Press (Sherfield Gables • Sherfield-on-Loddon. Hook • Hampshire • RG27 0JG); 176 pages; £18;
Copyright: Anver Jeevanjee 2008; ISBN 9781904380429

Diversity in the Media` is a short catchy title for what, as the sub-title suggests, is essentially a record of the work of the Cultural Diversity Advisory Group over a 15 year period from 1992 to 2007, though it was not formally launched as an organization until 1996. It was founded by Anver Jeevanjee, whose name should be familiar to immigration law practitioners as an independent minded member of the Immigration Appeal Judiciary for some 22 years until 2004. While there he was never afraid to express a dissenting opinion. It is clear that he has brought the same zeal, combativeness and perseverance in leading the fight against unfair or unbalanced portrayal and treatment of ethnic minorities or of issues relating to them in the media in the last two decades.
Starting with concerns over the coverage of BBC South in the early `90s, Jeevanjee and a few other active individuals soon expanded their monitoring and campaigning work to "the then Southern Evening Echo newspaper, Southern TV and other local media in early 1992" and so they came together as a group, motivated no doubt by what he describes in his Introduction as a "lack of racial, historial or geographical awareness amongst the public and more so media staff" which, according to him, "apart from political correctness now... has not gone much further"!
The book is thus a miscellany: a collection of correspondence, emails, policy discussion papers and responses to consultation documents, submissions, reports, press releases, commentaries and observations on a vast range of topics and issues relating to the media`s role, deficiencies and effectiveness in the public sphere, interspersed with biographical sketches or glimpses of some of the key people at the centre of the story narrated in the book. The measure of the group`s endeavours and struggles can be gauged from any number of selected passages from the book. Here is one: "We were quick to complain and criticise when our advice failed to be implemented and if any of the regional bodies would not emulate or discuss some simple ideas on diversity training presented to them" from Australia, Canada or other parts of the world.
The other members of the group or people from within the media world with whom the group interacted and whose views or contributions have been recorded in the book include Pauline Brandt, a former BBC South presenter who has provided a Foreword, and Navdip Dhariwal whose career has progressed from BBC South, where it began, on to its mainstream channel, in the course of which she served until recently as its highly visible South Asia correspondent based in Delhi. The BBC as a publicly funded national institution has of course been the mainstay of the group`s concentrated efforts throughout; this is evidenced by a mass of documented material reproduced or referred to in the book.
From our perspective as immigration lawyers, students, academics or activists, if we can take some comfort from this publication, it is that the path to recognition and acceptance of minority rights and concerns is never easy. The book will serve as a useful reminder and inspiration to those who come after us to continue the fight.

Wednesday 9 July 2008

*Diversity in the Media by Don John

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