MEDIA AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY

I was interviewed yesterday by BBC Radio on the subject of Kenyan violence and whether this had affected my family and relatives living there. I was happy to cooperate, but also suggested to them that I should be contacted not just for ethnic minority related news but for mainstream stories affecting Britain. My ethnicity is not the sole thing that defines me. Fortunately, the journalist was empathetic, but I know that many media people do not like to be criticised. Similar parallels apply in many sectors - e.g. actors complain that they only get roles which somehow relate to their ethnicity. Can you imagine a black Dr. Who? Why not? Somehow it seems that all the main TV anchors have to be white for most programmes and also editors who work behind the scenes - this is not changing fast enough.