Pauline Brandt Speaks at Diversity in the Media, book launch,
Southampton 3rd July 2008
Coming to Southampton all those years ago to work at BBC South was a big step for me. Over the years I learnt a lot and developed some firm friendships. It was not always easy. There were times when I wondered what on earth I was doing here, like the day a received a letter from someone who suggested that our southern screens should be vacated by the likes of me – and this is the polite précis – that I head back to London or the jungle and take with me another black journalist working at BBC South. A close friend put a comic spin on this and asked if my husband had been informed! Of course, they were my southern screens too and thankfully, there were many more people who did not hold such views. I always had a vision that I was probably the only black friend to the little old lady who lived on her own in a remote part of Dorset. I was also thankful for the support of the Cultural Diversity Advisor Group to the Media.
In the 1970’s the businessman Milton Friedman said: “The business of business…is business.” Well, I would say that the business of media is…much more than just media. It’s about forming relationships and creating dialogue with key stakeholders. It is widely being recognised that an excellent model of communication involves a two way flow of information. In addition, crucial factors such as accountability, responsibility and reputation come to the fore.
The media needs to fully engage with a range of audiences on a myriad of platforms. Engagement needs to be more than a mere box-ticking exercise. I once heard an analogy that our media organisations need to act like a mirror, reflecting the community that they serve. I have visited America several times and I am fascinated by their TV output – if only for the fact that there are many more people on screen that look like me. I recently saw such a mirror in operation, during the recording of the breakfast show at NBC TV studios in New York. The programme was presented by the distinguished and broadcaster Bryan Gumble, who is black and his co-host was the razor sharp journalist Katie Kouric who is white. (Echoes of News at Ten). I also noticed that behind the camera, there were a range of professionals representing a diverse range of communities, representing the City of New York. I could not help but think why the same does not operate here. If people from global majority communities are not represented in the mainstream media, there is no reason for them to watch, listen or read. However, it must be said that what I witnessed in America is the result of much struggle. The gains have been hard won and the task is far from completed.
An American journalist called Soledad O’Brien recently conducted a series on CNN titled: “Black in America”. She concluded that:
“Most African-Americans aren’t out there selling crack on the street corner. They get up, they go to work, come home and go to bed. Those people are invisible in the media.”
I would add that those from black and minority ethnic communities doing extraordinary things are also often overlooked. What happens over the pond and elsewhere in the world can often be applied here too.
Sociologists have recently created a new discourse by the name of Glocalisation. The local is the global – especially in the age of the internet and 24 hour news. Media relationships with communities locally can have an impact around the world – (The Shilpa Shetty Big Brother racist incident on channel 4 is but one example).
On a local level, I would like to thank Anver for having the vision and tenacity to create and publish this book, documenting the history of the Cultural Diversity Advisory Group to the Media. If this does not get done, then history becomes hearsay.
Great strides have been made, but I think there is still much left to do in terms of recruitment, progression and retention. I think the key lies in meaningful conversations between committed individuals like you in the media and in the community, who want to see and implement change. We need to make it our business to work for equality to ensure a more just future.
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