Practical steps for improving diversity in the news media will take centre stage during a panel discussion at the upcoming Society of Editors Virtual Conference 2020.

The free debate, to be held on the evening of Wednesday 18 November 2020, will look at how diverse talent from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) backgrounds and other underrepresented communities can be supported to pursue a career in journalism. The panel will also discuss how newsrooms can increase engagement with marginalised communities and how to attract and retain diverse voices in fields such as reporting sport, politics and other areas of journalism. 

Looking ahead to the debate, Ian Murray, Executive Director of the Society of Editors said that the time for talk was over and practical steps were needed to address the lack of representation in some aspects of the UK news media. 

He said: “We all know the industry faces a challenge in creating newsrooms that truly reflect the diverse communities they represent. We have known this for some time, but although there has been a great deal of work done to try and resolve the issue, the challenge remains. This panel will take the gloves off and tackle the hard issues of just what could and should be done.”

Chaired by PA Managing Director and former HuffPost UK Editor-in-Chief Polly Curtis, the discussion will also hear from Leon Mann, Broadcaster and Founder of the Black Collective of Media in Sport and Shingi Mararike, News Reporter at The Sunday Times. 

Mann is a sports consultant, film-maker and broadcaster and, as the founder of the Black Collective of Media in Sport, he leads a networking group for black sports journalists. He is also the co-founder of the Football Black List, an initiative – supported by the Premier League – that highlights the achievements of the black community in the sport. 

Mararike, meanwhile, helped to launch News UK’s diversity initiative, the News Academy, while he was still a student and was hired as The Sunday Times’s first apprentice in 2017. A reporter since 2018, his story about children using corrosive fluid as a weapon kickstarted the paper’s “Acid Attack Britain” campaign. 

The debate will also hear from Eleanor Mills, Founder and CEO of Inherspace.co.uk and Chair of Women in Journalism (WIJ) and Vic Motune, Head of News at The Voice.

Chair of Women in Journalism since 2013, Mills is a vocal campaigner for more women’s voices to be heard in the media. Research conducted by WIJ earlier this year also highlighted a shocking lack of media diversity across newspapers, radio and television with black reporters and contributors still underrepresented in news rooms and news stories. A former editorial director of The Sunday Times, Mills is now Founder and CEO of InHerSpace.co.uk a new online magazine for women.

As Head of News at The Voice, the UK’s largest publication aimed at a black British audience, Motune’s role sees him involved in developing content for the print edition, as well as video and audio content for The Voice’s website and social media platforms. A journalist whose experience includes print, radio, and television news he has won two Race in the Media Awards for his work and a MIND award for reporting on mental health.

Registration for the free ‘Diversity in the News Media’ discussion is now open.

The debate is part of the Society of Editors Virtual Conference 2020 which will include four In Discussion with… keynote talks as well as eight panel debates held virtually over the course of November and early December.

The In Discussion with…series will hear from Rachel Corp, newly appointed editor of ITV News and the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett of Maldon. Details of how to register for all the debates and talks are available here.

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Diversity in the News Media Speaker biographies  

Polly Curtis, Managing Director, PA Media
Polly is Managing Director of PA Media, the UK’s news agency. She has a uniquely broad experience having worked as a reporter, news editor, and then digital editor at the Guardian before leading HuffPost UK as Editor-In-Chief and then helping devise new business models with the slow news start-up Tortoise. Polly served on the Cairncross Review for the future sustainability of high-quality news and is a member of the board of the Society of Editors. 

Shingi Mararike, News Reporter, The Sunday Times
Shingi helped to launch News UK’s diversity initiative, the News Academy, while he was still a student and was hired as The Sunday Times’s first apprentice in 2017. A reporter since 2018, his story about children using corrosive fluid as a weapon kickstarted the paper’s “Acid Attack Britain” campaign. He is also interested in reporting on social mobility, race and some of the causes behind serious youth violence. Shingi has written for ten different sections of The Sunday Times in two years and regularly appears on Times Radio.

Leon Mann, Broadcaster and Founder, Black Collective of Media in Sport
Leon is a sports consultant, film-maker and broadcaster. His career in the sports media has seen him take on numerous roles including presenting for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. He is the founder of the Black Collective of Media in Sport, a networking group for black sports journalists, and is also the co-founder of the Football Black List, an initiative – supported by the Premier League – that highlights the achievements of the black community in the sport.  Leon is the current vice chair of the Sports Journalists Association and is a former spokesperson for Kick It Out, football’s equality campaign, and also the FARE network. He was recognised in 2018 by the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, for his work striving to increase diversity in the media.

Eleanor Mills, Founder and CEO, InHerSpace.co.uk and Chair, Women in Journalism
Eleanor is Founder and CEO of InHerSpace.co.uk a new online magazine for women in the prime of their lives, which offers thought-leadership, media consultancy, media training (specialising in a by women for women approach) and expert-led therapeutic advice and online groups to help with life-pinch points and transitions.  She is currently writing her first novel – The Trip, about female mid-life crisis and reinvention. She is Chair of Women in Journalism and an award-winning Editor, writer and columnist. Until summer 2020 she was Editorial Director of The Sunday Times and the award-winning Editor of The Sunday Times Magazine. Eleanor is a trustee of the Society of Editors, and a board member of Reporters Sans Frontiers UK

Vic Motune, Head of News, The Voice
Vic is Head of News at The Voice, the UK’s largest publication aimed at a black British audience. His role involves developing content for the print edition, as well as video and audio content for The Voice’s website and social media platforms.

A journalist whose experience includes print, radio, and television news he has won two Race in the Media Awards for his work and a MIND award for reporting on mental health.

Before joining The Voice, Vic was a producer with 5 Live, creating and producing the weekly magazine show Word Up! He has also written for publications such as the New Statesman, the Big Issue North, and Mental Health Practice to name a few.