This event was recorded as part of a live broadcast on 22 February 2023.
Despite more content being shared through media outlets than ever before, the issue of whose stories are being told or highlighted in the news remains persistent. There is an ongoing shift towards increased diversity both in the newsroom and in the way we tell news stories, in an attempt to better reflect the society the industry reports. Is there still a way for our media platforms to be used as tools to expose its users to a variety of cultural influences and experiences? What is the best way to tell stories of people from different backgrounds for the audiences at home?
This event brings together industry leaders, academics, and creatives to discuss how our media landscape can best share a more diverse range of stories, art forms, and creative endeavours, moving beyond a surface level ‘diversity’ to creating an environment that facilitates intercultural exchange.
The Aspen Institute UK, in partnership with the Khalili Foundation, explore these pertinent questions. It is part of the wider World Festival of Cultural Diversity which, in association with UNESCO, is bringing together various intellectual and creative initiatives in collective celebration of our world’s cultures.
ON THE PANEL:
Marcus Ryder – Marcus is the Head of External Consultancies at the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, which was set up to explore and increase diversity across the industry including journalism, acting, film, TV and radio in both front-of-house and behind the scenes roles. He is also the Chair of RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and is the author of “Access All Areas – the Diversity Manifesto for TV and Beyond” and the Editor of “Black British Lives Matter”. He was previously Chair of the Royal Television Society Diversity Committee and is currently a trustee at the Press Pad Charitable Foundation. Awarded an MBE for his services to media diversity, Marcus was recently named as one of the most influential figures in the entertainment industry globally by the Variety500.
Meera Selva – Meera is Chief Executive of Internews Europe, a non-profit that supports independent journalism in over 100 countries. She is also a senior research associate of the Reuters Institute and an associate fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, as well as a member of the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Meera was previously the Deputy Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and is a co-founder of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network. She is an experienced journalist who has reported from the field across Europe, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, including several years at the Associated Press.
Andrea Medrado – Andrea is a Lecturer at the School of Media and Communication, University of Westminster. Prior to joining Westminster, she taught at the Department of Social Communication of Federal Fluminense University (UFF) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Andrea previously acted as a Co-Investigator for the e-Voices Redressing Marginality project (an AHRC-funded networking grant that analysed different uses of digital media to fight marginalisation in countries of the Global South). She is currently Vice President of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). Her forthcoming book South-to-South Communication, a study on how media activism and artivism mediate dialogues among marginalised communities in the Global South, will be published in May 2023.
MODERATOR:
Luba Kassova – Luba is a journalist, researcher, and audience strategist, and the award-winning author of Missing Perspectives of Women in News report series, commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, including the latest From Outrage to Opportunity. Previously the director and co-founder of successful international audience strategy consultancy AKAS, Luba has redirected her energies since 2019 to focus more on journalism and in 2021 received the Webreport award for exceptional journalism. She has provided audience strategy consultancy to news organizations including Channel 4 News/ ITN, The Guardian, International Center For Journalists, Committee to Project Journalists, The Fuller Project, Internews, Ukraine’s Hromadske and Public Service Broadcaster – UA:PBC. Prior to starting her consultancy, one of Luba’s key roles was Head of Audiences for BBC News where she led a major General Election project.