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News companies to hold 500 meetings with 200 Black and Asian journalists

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George Alagiah and Sir Trevor McDonald will be opening an event next week to help address the under-representation of black and minority ethnic (BME) professionals in TV and radio news. More than 200 BME journalists and news crews will be there – probably the largest ever gathering of BME broadcast news professionals in the UK.

More than 500 one-to-one meetings have been scheduled at Move on Up in News on 21 September, between BME professionals who are seeking to progress their careers and more than 80 of the UK’s top executives and journalists from all major news broadcasters. The BBC, ITV News/ITN Channel 4 News, Sky, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Reuters and PA will be there along with the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Times and commercial radio news providers.

The 35 BBC news representatives include Peter Horrocks, head of television news, Stephen Mitchell, head of radio news, Francesca Unsworth, head of BBC Newsgathering, Jon Williams, world news editor and Alison Ford, UK news editor. ITV News chief operating officer Guy Ker will be attending along with 24 colleagues including Deborah Turness, editor of ITV News, and Stuart Thomas, Editor at ITV London. BBC correspondents Clive Myrie and Kurt Barling, Nina Hossain from ITV and Asian Network presenter Sonia Deol will be on hand to offer advice and tips on how to climb the career ladder in broadcast news.

Move on Up in News is jointly organised by broadcasting union BECTU and the BBC, in conjunction with ITV News, ITN and the NUJ. It is the fifth Move on Up event that the union has organised for BME workers. Move on Up project director Janice Turner comments: “Research shows that 96% of journalists are white, as are 97% of camerapeople, for example, and we know that the higher up the ladder you look the fewer BME professionals are there. And considering the main concentration of the media is in London where almost a third of the population is ethnic minority, this is a crucial issue for an industry that seeks to report the news to the whole of society.

“This is why BECTU is working in partnership with media companies to facilitate contacts between the employers and the talented pool of BME media professionals. We are absolutely delighted that the employers’ enthusiasm to collaborate on this vital issue matches ours.”

George Alagiah has been a keen supporter of the Move on Up in News event since its inception. He commented: “There are plenty of people out there, people of colour and talent, who feel the broadcast industry is not interested in them. We have a few more faces on screen – but the floor management, the boardrooms, and the places where budgets are allocated and schedules drawn up do not represent our diverse country.

“I’m delighted that the broadcast and online news media and the unions have come together to organise such a practical initiative. I congratulate BECTU and the BBC for their partnership in organising Move on Up in News.”

Sir Trevor McDonald, ITV’s veteran news presenter, said: “Let’s face it, the news business is still overwhelmingly white and middle class. I hope this event will lead to our newsrooms and studios to becoming more representative of the communities they serve.”

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Making it in film or television is tough for young people from low income and ethnic minority backgrounds who often don't have the contacts or the financial backing to do long stints of unpaid work. Events like BECTU's fantastic Move on Up initiative can help make a real difference by putting black and Asian professionals keen to work in the media in touch with the people they need to know to get in and get on with a career in the news."

Entry to Move on Up in News is by application only.

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