Does the UK media have a racism problem? These journalists think so

Last updated Mar 14, 2021

The objections, together with a rebuke from the Guardian newspaper, come after the Society of Editors rejected allegations made by Prince Harry that racism had performed a job in how the British press lined his spouse Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

The feedback have been made throughout an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey through which the couple opened up in regards to the challenges of life contained in the royal household. The media protection “was bringing out a part of people that was racist,” Meghan mentioned.

Society of Editors government director Ian Murray mentioned in an announcement on Monday that it was “untrue” that sections of the UK press have been bigoted. “It is not acceptable for the Duke and Duchess to make such claims without providing any supporting evidence,” he mentioned, pointing to “universal supporting coverage” within the media of their marriage.

The Society of Editors has 400 members, principally working journalists, and runs the Press Awards, the premier annual awards occasion in British journalism. The occasion was previously known as the British Press Awards.

“The UK media has never shied away from holding a spotlight up to those in positions of power, celebrity or influence,” Murray mentioned within the assertion. “If sometimes the questions asked are awkward and embarrassing, then so be it, but the press is most certainly not racist.”

However a number of British journalists disputed that view.

“We disagree with the Society of Editors statement on the Meghan and Harry interview,” the Guardian mentioned in an announcement posted to its company account on Twitter on Tuesday.

“Every institution in the United Kingdom is currently examining its own position on vital issues of race and the treatment of people of colour. As I have said before, the media must do the same. It must be much more representative and more self-aware,” added editor-in-chief Katharine Viner.

Journalists cited a spread of proof to assist their claims that Meghan had obtained racist protection, together with comparisons of favorable protection afforded Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, and statistics exhibiting that UK newsrooms proceed to wrestle with variety.

However compelling proof will also be present in headlines run by main tabloids. One Mail On-line headline declared in 2016 that Meghan was “(almost) straight outta Compton.” Across the identical time, The Each day Star ran a headline asking whether or not Harry would “marry into gangster royalty?”

Sathnam Sanghera, a columnist at The Occasions newspaper and writer of a latest e book on how imperialism formed Britain, mentioned on Twitter that it “pains me to say that my industry has been in denial about its institutional racism.”

Piers Morgan blasted by co-host over Meghan: 'You continue to trash her'

HuffPost UK editor-in-chief Jess Brammar mentioned on Twitter she disagreed with the Society’s assertion that it’s “untrue that sections of UK press were bigoted.”

And Anne Alexander, senior political producer for ITV’s “Good Morning Britain,” added that she was “still trying to process this ridiculous statement.”

“How can you possibly say that no part of the media is bigoted? It’s a partial reflection of society, which is in parts bigoted,” Alexander added.

Murray didn’t instantly reply to questions from CNN Enterprise on Tuesday.

Jobber Wiki writer Frank Lengthy added to this report.

Does the UK media have a racism problem? These journalists think so - CNN media