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Diversity in Journalism


Te profession remains ‘socially exclusive’ and highly educated, with the latest figures showing a drop in women journalists and no diversity in top jobs


2022 was 101,500, a fall in 2021’s calculations of 108,000, and the overall figure for women is down. Te Diversity in Journalism


F


report, compiled by Mark Spilsbury using the Office for National Statistics Office (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS) data for the National Council for the Training of Journalists, paints a profile of the profession. Te report’s main findings are: • Te proportion of women who


are journalists is lower than the proportion of women working across the economy (41 per cent compared to 48 per cent). However, the proportion of women in senior roles is higher (47 per cent) than those more junior ones (37 per cent). • Eighty-eight per cent of journalists come from white ethnic groups, a litle higher than all UK workers


ewer journalists are working in the economy, latest workforce statistics show – the figure estimated in


(86 per cent). Te figures show a dearth of black and minority ethnic journalists in senior roles. • More than one in five (22 per cent)


report having a work-limiting health issue.


• Journalists are more likely to


have parents working in “higher- level” occupations, one of the key determinants of social class, with 72 per cent with parents in one of the three highest groups, compared to 44 per cent of all UK workers. Senior editors are also more likely to have parents from higher socio- economic groups. Te report identifies a number


of trends: the 2022 data shows 59 per cent of journalists are men, the highest level recorded in the LFS data; a slight decrease in white ethnic journalists and an increase in non-UK workers; and an increase in the proportion with a disability (Covid has played a part


Quality, trust and diversity in journalism


Diversity in Journalism An update on the characteristics of journalists


REPORT COMMISSIONED BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE TRAINING OF JOURNALISTS


Mark Spilsbury May 2023


in that, according to the report). It also notes that as journalists are largely concentrated in London and metropolitan areas with diverse communities “it could be argued that further progress is needed” in recruiting from that pool. For the first time, data is available


on sexual orientation (and the ONS notes the sample size is low) and it shows a higher proportion of journalists saying they are non heterosexual/non-straight with the all-UK figure for heterosexuals being 96 per cent. Mark Spilsbury, the report’s author, sees the sharp increase in those who reported illness and disability – slightly higher, but more or less in line with the national picture – as one of the headlines. He also believes a change which now calls for a highly- educated workforce – 91 per cent of journalists will be graduate or post-graduates – has had unintended consequences. Tat essentially excludes half of the working population. He said: “Te high levels of academic atainment needed these days for journalism means the industry is not recruiting from the general population.” Worryingly, the report shows just how stubbornly entrenched the lack of diversity and under- representation of women and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds is in the media. “If news organisations are not welcoming to women and different groups and don’t encourage them to thrive and progress then it’s not surprising that they leave,” said Mark. “Changing this entrenched culture is one of the toughest challenges for us alongside overcoming the economic and social threats to quality journalism and trusted news.”


DIVERSITY


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