news
Broadcasting’s record on diversity is ‘woeful’
MORE women are leaving broadcasting than joining and the representation of disabled people in senior positions is woeful, according to the UK’s industry watchdog Ofcom. Its five-year review said
that some progress had been made – there are twice as many people working in radio from minority-ethnic backgrounds than there were three years ago, but present trends mean the proportion of TV employees who are disabled will fall over the next five years, and so will that of female radio employees. Natasha Hirst (above), chair of the NUJ’s equality council, said: “This is a woeful performance from the broadcasting industry. Improving diversity requires a long-term commitment and a full understanding of the barriers that prevent workers from under-
represented backgrounds from entering and progressing their careers in broadcasting. “Glossy policies and lip service about inclusion are an insult to all of us. Employers should work closely with the unions and groups with lived experience to create sustained culture change and opportunities for diverse groups to reach their potential.” Paul Siegert, national
broadcasting organiser, said: “We have been telling broadcasters for some time that they need to do more
to keep hold of older women and people with disabilities. “Often broadcasters are great at attracting
disabled workers but not very good at keeping them. They need to ask themselves why this is. The answer may come if they do more to nurture and promote people from these backgrounds into senior roles.”
BBC boss gets 16.6% pay rise Davie’s pay rise was
TIM DAVIE, director general of the BBC, has been given a pay rise of 16.6 per cent – or £75,000. The increase comes amid falling morale at the corporation where staff have faced job cuts and pay freezes.
granted as the BBC was coming under increasing political pressure ahead of the next licence fee decision. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “NUJ
Fresh call for O’Hagan murder inquiry
THE NUJ has renewed its call for the UK government to set up a panel of international experts to investigate the murder of Sunday World journalist Martin O’Hagan in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, and the failure of the authorities to bring those who shot him to justice. The fresh call for an inquiry came on the 20th anniversary of his killing on September 28. O’Hagan, who was once a member of the Official IRA, had a
20 year long journalistic career covering the paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday World and secretary of the Belfast and district branch of the NUJ. A supporter of radical left-wing politics, he felt journalism was the most effective means to influence change.
Twenty years on, page 24 theJournalist | 05
members gave their all over the past 18 months to provide the best possible service to the public. Their reward was a pay freeze last year and a below-inflation deal this year. “This lavish bung for the
director general, accompanied by briefings that try to justify his pay in relation to the so-called market, is tone deaf and represents an insult to staff whose remuneration is repeatedly approached through the prism of public sector constraints.”
“
Glossy policies and lip service about inclusion are an insult to all of us
Natasha Hirst NUJ equalities council
inbrief...
MAGAZINE GROUP LOSES £13 MILLION The National Magazine Company, which owns Hearst UK, publisher of Cosmopolitan and other glossy magazines, reported a loss of £13.4 million for last year. This year, it made nearly one fifth of its staff redundant and closed Town & Country magazine.
SUBSCRIBERS BOOST SPECTATOR PROFITS The Spectator more than doubled its pre-tax profits last year fuelled partly by a 40 per cent boost to subscriber numbers. Pre-tax profits at the magazine, which is a subsidiary of the Telegraph publisher Barclays’ Press Holdings, grew from £666,000 in 2019 to £1.6 million.
FORMER NEWS OF THE WORLD EDITOR DIES Greg Miskiw, the former News of the World news editor who served a prison sentence for phone hacking, has died aged 71. He spent 18 years at the now closed Sunday newspaper until 2005. He served 37 days in Belmarsh prison for illegally accessing voice messages and the rest of a six-month sentence at home wearing an electronic tag.
Space – the final media frontier
The Daily Star has appointed what it believes to be the first extraterrestrial
affairs correspondent. It said that Michael Moran will cover the ‘biggest beat in journalism’. The paper has launched an online section called Spaced Out, which includes interviews with
celebrities about their reported encounters with aliens. Moran said he intends not to be so silly that people don’t take reports seriously and not so dry that they don’t read the
stories. He joined the Star two years ago with a ‘limitless appetite for ofeat stories’.
NICK MCGOWAN-LOWE
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