How can we increase the number of people in the media who come from an ethnic minority?

I am working hard to start a full time career within the media
in Scotland.

On Monday evening’s edition of Scotland 2014 on BBC Two north of the border, comedian Lenny Henry gave a thought provoking interview about ethnic minorities and the media. He passionately feels that television isn't representative of the population of the UK and wants money ringfenced for programming that enables more diversity.

My heart is with him as far as his sentiments are concerned, but I've developed my own independent perspective on what the issues are and how best to address the under representation of ethnic minorities in the media. And for this blog post, I will focus on Scotland in particular, as this is the area where I want to spend my career within.

I believe, ideally, that the media of a country should reflect the current population of the whole area and it is disappointing to think that there aren't many TV and radio presenters who come from an ethnic minority background in Scotland at the moment. But the question really is - why there is a lack of diversity?

We must be careful not to start playing a blame game of some kind towards the people within the media who make decisions on who they hire. Editors and producers choose people on the basis of both talent and someone's continued commitment and willingness to develop a media career. Regardless of who the person is and where they come from, it is more likely for someone to make it if they continuously persist in making it on screen or on the airwaves and fully set their sights on a broadcasting career than for someone not to put in any effort at all to make things work.

I do not favour quotas, because I think using such a mechanism for recruitment is a patronising way to hire people. Furthermore, would I really want to be picked for a job on the basis of my ethnicity rather than my talent? Absolutely not. It brings me absolutely no benefit nor the satisfaction in knowing that I genuinely was talented enough to deserve being appointed into a particular job. We are all the same no matter who we are, no matter where we come from and no matter what we look like and that should never change.

As far as ringfencing money is concerned in order to boost the low numbers of people from an ethnic minority, I think this is a viable idea and should be taken seriously. Any money that is invested into improving the diversity of programming available to viewers is a good thing and should be considered. I don’t think viewers will be against the idea and in fact I think they would welcome it if it resulted in a reduction of the current inequalities that exist at the moment.

I had a conversation with a representative from a prominent organisation within Fife about the lack of ethnic minority representatives within the media a few weeks ago. From our constructive exchanges, it became apparent to me that one of the main ways in which positive change can and should happen is for individuals and groups within communities to be enlightened and inspired to look at the possibility of seeking some sort of greater involvement within the media. This can happen by prominent individuals and organisations connecting with them in some way or another to introduce the idea of getting involved in radio or television (and even print, let's not forget that platform).

You can certainly count me as a member of an ethnic minority due to my Middle Eastern background. It could be asked as to how I personally feel knowing that there are very few people of an ethnic minority on television or radio in Scotland, especially when also considering that this is an industry I want to get fully involved in for the rest of my career. You might expect someone like me in my current situation to feel put off by that fact, but frankly I’m not. Meritocracy generally prevails so why should the current situation intimidate me?

I'm continuously promoting myself to convince someone out there that I've got what it takes to be successful within the broadcast media and although knocking on that life changing door can be repetitive, it has to be done. One day that major door could open for me and if it does then I hope to inspire others. For now, I must continue to cheer myself on.