Panellists and delegates discussed new ways to improve the representation of BAME, LGBT+ and women in sports media, as reported by Journalism.co.uk
See all pictures from the conference here…
With women only making up 28.9 per cent of on-screen roles at major sports media events, including only a 3.25 per cent representation from BAME women and 2 per cent from Asian communities (BCOMS, 2018), how can sports media improve its diversity?
Representatives from major UK sports publications including BT Sport, The Sun, Channel 4 and Sky Sports discussed diversity initiatives at D Word 3 this week (8 October), offering potential solutions to the lack of women, and how the media organisations can prevent anti-LGBT language or behaviour in the workplace.
Anne-Marie Batson, sports broadcaster, BBC 5 Live sports extra, spoke of the frustration that diversity in media is not improving quickly enough. She suggested that news organisations hold masterclasses for people that want to work both behind and in front of the camera, ensuring training goes across all ages.
Perhaps, her panel suggested, UK news outlets could adopt an adaption of the ‘Rooney Rule’— the NFL policy which requires a BAME application to be interviewed for senior positions.
Batson noted the importance of holding pledges to account, ensuring diversity targets are measured and met.
Piara Powar, executive director of the FARE Network, said young people should consider their options abroad, starting by realising that the world does not revolve around the UK — noting the amount of opportunities outside of this market.
After all, monitoring the spread of media companies abroad, learning new languages and keeping an eye on where there are interesting opportunities, as well as using the British passport to their advantage, reporters can tap into many different avenues they originally did not consider.
The Thinking Global panel
Original story by Jacob Granger, Journalism.co.uk
