Society launches diversity, inclusion and belonging hub
The Society of Editors has launched its Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Hub (D&I) to provide advice, case studies and resources around diversity and inclusion in the media.
More than a year in the making, the free-to-use hub is an essential guide for everyone across the industry and has been launched with the collective aim of promoting diversity and inclusion in the news media.
Providing information and support related to training, recruitment, practical support, career progression and mentoring, the digital reference guide also highlights good practices and shares practical initiatives that are contributing towards broadening diversity across all news platforms.
Dawn Alford, Executive Director of the Society of Editors said: “For over a year, the Society has been consulting with dozens of news media organisations and outside organisations to better understand the vital work that is continuing to ensure that UK newsrooms reflect the communities that they serve.
“The Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Hub is an ongoing resource that will be regularly updated and will bring together information on areas such as training, scholarships and apprenticeships, recruitment and mid-career support. The aim is for the hub to evolve and grow as news media organisations broaden their representation. I’d like to thank everyone who has given their time to advise the Society and who has contributed to this important work.”
The hub provides information on schemes that aim to proactively support women, people of colour, improve disability inclusion efforts, and highlight existing initiatives intended to develop a greater understanding of the specific experiences – and needs – of LGBTQ+ employees.
The hub will be regularly updated with further resources and aims to assist individuals at every stage in their career – from school-leavers from diverse backgrounds wanting to begin a career in journalism, to senior editors finding new ways of recruiting more widely, to mid-career journalists from diverse backgrounds seeking to progress into leadership positions.
Martin Breen, President of the Society of Editors and Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life said: “Our members recognise that it is essential that newsrooms reflect the diverse make-up of the audiences they seek to serve. Initiatives and important work are ongoing to improve this representation but, like all industries, there is always more that can be done.
“The hub will not only highlight what organisations are doing to better ensure representation at an entry-level but the important work that must continue to ensure talent is retained and that journalists from diverse backgrounds are supported throughout their career and involved in the decision-making process.”
Alison Phillips, Editor of the Daily Mirror and chair of Women in Journalism said: “The hub is a great first step that highlights the important work that is ongoing inside – and outside – the industry to ensure that quality journalism is produced by diverse voices from diverse backgrounds.”
Vic Motune, a board member of the Society of Editors and News Editor at the Voice: “The Diversity and Inclusion Hub is a vital resource to highlight the important schemes and initiatives that newsrooms are employing to engage diverse audiences through better representation and diverse content.
“It is important that organisations continue to build on this work and that, as the media landscape continues to change, newsrooms recognise the importance of diverse perspectives and how that diversity and inclusivity translates through content and innovation.”
Former Lennox Herald journalist Kamal Ahmed, a board member of the Society and Editor-in-Chief, The News Movement: “Having been involved in the building of the hub, I know how hard the team at the Society has worked to ensure that it is both a practical and enduring resource for journalists in all levels of our brilliant news industry.”
The Society’s work in encouraging diversity and inclusion across all sectors of the media is supported by Camelot, Meta and Google.
If you have an initiative or resource that you would like us to share please contact us on inclusion@societyofeditors.org. Visit the hub here.
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UK journalists urged to take part in survey to improve journalists’ safety
Journalists in the UK are being urged to share their experiences of online abuse, physical threats and harm in an online survey with research to be used by the government to improve protections.
The survey – the largest of its kind in the UK – aims to capture information which will feed into ongoing work to improve journalists’ safety, including by shaping informed and targeted measures implemented by those including the police, employers and government.
The research – commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – with the support of the Society of Editors and National Union of Journalists follows the publication of the National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists in 2021, delivered by the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, which brings together all relevant parties to ensure that journalists operating within the UK can do so free from physical threats, abuse and violence.
It is hoped the survey will be repeated at regular intervals so that journalists’ experiences – and the measures to improve them – can be tracked over time. This year’s survey will form the baseline against which to measure future change.
All information provided will be treated confidentially, and the results will be published in a way that will ensure that individuals and the organisations they work for will remain anonymous.
Journalists working in the UK can take part in the survey here and are encouraged to share the link with their UK-based colleagues.
Coverage of war in Ukraine
UK news media organisations have collectively raised millions for aid efforts in Ukraine as extensive coverage of the war continues and journalists come under attack.
Appeals by the Mail, The Sun, The Independent and the Evening Standard have raised more than £5million since the crisis began. News organisations have continued to dedicate extensive resources to covering the war and pile pressure on the government to do more to help refugees.
The coverage comes as journalists continue to put themselves at risk by covering the crisis as Sky News reporter Stuart Ramsay revealed earlier this week how he was wounded in an ambush outside Kyiv on Monday 28 February. The news has only just come to light following the escape of his Sky team from the country. He wrote an account of the ordeal for the Daily Mail earlier this week.
Campaigns
The Sun’s Ukraine Appeal was boosted this week by a £1million donation from Camelot with funds from the appeal donated to the Red Cross who are working on the ground providing food, shelter and medical supplies.
Nigel Railton, CEO of Camelot, which operates the National Lottery, said: “The Sun’s Ukraine Fund is doing an incredible job in raising vital funds for the Red Cross to help those in such desperate need, so all of us at Camelot are pleased to be able to support this hugely important campaign.”
The Mail and The Mail on Sunday’s Ukraine Appeal Fund topped £4million earlier this week as high-profile individuals continued to support the appeal including the Archbishop of York.
Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, said: ‘The Christian faith teaches me to love my neighbour – refugees are most definitely our neighbours, however and wherever they come from.
‘The crisis in Ukraine compels us to respond to this need generously and it is great to see how readers of the Daily Mail have risen to that call.’
The £4million raised in eight days is being given to charities such as CARE International and the Red Cross which are already working inside Ukraine.
The Independent and Evening Standard raised over £120,000 in the first 48 hours of their appeal and it has since expanded with funds going to the new Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal.
The Independent’s Refugees Welcome campaign has also launched a petition calling for the UK to lead the international community in helping those who have been displaced by the conflict. The petition has been signed by more than 175,000 people.
The i has also set up its own fundraising page with money raised also going to the DEC. The fund had surpassed £275,000 on Thursday 10 March.
The Guardian has also directed readers to the Disasters Emergency Committee and other sources if they want to find out more about how to help the situation in Ukraine.
The Mirror, meanwhile, has continued to dedicate extensive resources to covering the crisis and is providing live coverage and updates highlighting key events.
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Freedom of expression being undermined by judges prioritising personal privacy, says SoE
Freedom of expression is being undermined by judges increasingly prioritising personal privacy over the public’s right to know, the Society of Editors has said.
Writing as part of its response to the government’s consultation on Reform of the Human Rights Act 1998, the Society warned that enhanced protections were urgently needed to strengthen statutory provisions for freedom of expression and that the courts should be given specific direction on how to approach questions surrounding the public interest and journalistic activity.
Supporting calls for the introduction of an actual or likely serious harm threshold in misuse of private information cases, the Society also called for a limit on the factors that can be considered in demonstrating harm most importantly by ruling out damage to reputation which it said was already properly protected in defamation law. It also called on the government to consider the implications of the recent ZXC vs. Bloomberg Supreme Court ruling when looking at how best to strengthen current protections for freedom of expression.
It said: ‘Freedom of expression is a unique and precious liberty on which the UK has historically placed significant emphasis however in recent years we have seen this liberty significantly undermined by judges increasingly prioritising personal privacy over the public’s right to know.
‘Alongside a worrying trend in Strasbourg case law, the recent landmark judgment in the Supreme Court’s ZXC vs. Bloomberg ruling means that an individual’s right to privacy can now legally take precedent over public interest journalism.
‘The courts must be given specific direction on how to approach questions surrounding the public interest and journalistic activity. Alongside consideration of the extent to which information is already in the public domain or has been disseminated by the claimant, judges must also give due regard to the importance of editorial discretion and editorial judgment as to where the public interest lies.’
The Society also called on the government to amend burdensome data protection legislation and higher the threshold for interim relief in relation to injunctions alongside the introduction of enhanced protections for journalists’ sources.
It said: ‘The Society supports the introduction of necessary provisions to strengthen journalistic exemptions under the Data Protection Act 2018. The government cannot proclaim to want to strengthen freedom of expression provisions without addressing the significant burden that current UKGDPR rules place upon the media.
‘The rights of data subjects are increasingly being used by the wealthy as a means of reputation management and we are also seeing data protection claims used against the media as bolt-ons in defamation and misuse of private information cases. The additional costs burden that these unnecessary claims place upon news outlets has a chilling effect on the public’s right to know.’
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The Society’s Executive Director joined a panel discussion at the Evening Standard on Tuesday as part of a global conversation across eight international cities to mark International Women’s Day.
Organised as part of Athena40’s 4th Global Conversation event, the Evening Standard debate discussed gender diversity, inclusion and open communication in the workplace. Alongside the Society’s Director Dawn Alford, the discussion also heard from Anna van Praagh, Chief Content Officer at the Evening Standard, Nimco Ali, columnist, co-founder and CEO of The Five Foundation and Abbianca Makoni, London Press Club young journalist of the year and also Scoop of the Year winner. Carole Stone CBE, former BBC Radio 4 producer and event organiser, chaired the panel which also looked at the barriers women face in media and politics.
Find out more and watch the session here.
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Telegraph Media Literacy Programme returns
Following a successful pilot in 2021, the Telegraph’s Media Literacy Programme will be returning for a second year.
The month-long programme aims to break down the barriers to journalism, and provide pupils with the tools and skills to think critically about the media landscape.
This year the scheme has been rolled out to over 150 participating students from diverse backgrounds across the regions. The course is hosted by Commuter Editions Editor Danny Boyle, and Snapchat Editor Rachel Matthews and will feature award-winning journalists from across The Telegraph’s newsroom, from a wide variety of areas including: Travel; the News Desk; Creative; Women’s Sports; Video; Beauty; Audio; Foreign Desk; and Social.
The interactive sessions include: How to be a Travel Writer; The Secrets of Visual Journalism; Inside the World of a Beauty Director; A Day in the Life of Telegraph US Correspondent; How to be a Sports Writer; Inside the World of a Music Writer; Making the Telegraph Beautiful; and Inside the World of Podcasts.
The final session includes career tips for working in the media industry and advice on how to write a CV. The Telegraph has once again teamed up with Deborah Streatfield who runs The Careers Office, a charity aimed at helping young people from diverse backgrounds make decisions about their future.
Ian MacGregor, Telegraph Editor Emeritus, said: “After a successful pilot scheme, I’m delighted to see our Media Literacy Programme return on a much bigger scale. The Telegraph is committed to inspiring future generations to develop careers in journalism, as well as educating students on the importance of quality journalism.”
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Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for weekday front pages
In recognition of the important work of the UK news media, the Society is now showing a selection of daily national and regional front pages every weekday morning via its Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. To submit a front page for inclusion in the next day’s edition, please email claire.meadows@societyofeditors.org.
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Have your say on the sustainability of local journalism
The Society is consulting with media organisations to submit a response to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee’s inquiry into the sustainability of local journalism. In particular the inquiry will be looking at the role of the BBC in supporting or disrupting local journalism, the impact of the 2019 Cairncross review, the role of social media and how government can support local news outlets.
Anyone wishing to discuss their thoughts with the Society should email claire.meadows@societyofeditors.org by Wednesday 16 March 2022. Bill Heaney