First report card into TV news’ cultural diversity journey reveals a mixed bag, with a long road ahead
In partnership with the University of Sydney and the University of Technology Sydney, Media Diversity Australia (MDA) has released a “report card” on Indigenous and cultural diversity in television news, with insights into what has changed, what has stayed the same, and opportunities to lead the charge toward greater diversity.
Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories? 2.0 examined the Indigenous and cultural diversity of Australian news and current affairs television media – and asked – “Does Australian news and current affairs represent the society they serve?” given the latest Census data revealed Australia is more diverse than ever.
“The short answer is no, it doesn’t even come close. However, there has been some progress in parts of the media and an opportunity for Australian newsrooms to leverage best practices and become world leaders. This will not only attract more viewers but will also yield economic dividends,” said lead academic associate professor Dimitria Groutsis from the University of Sydney’s Business School.
The report card comes two years after MDA released the landmark report, Who Gets To Tell Australian Stories? The 2020 research provided baseline findings on the stark lack of cultural diversity in television news and current affairs, both on and off screen, which made headlines across the nation and around the globe.
Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories? 2.0 has three parts. Parts one and two provide evidence from five studies combining qualitative and quantitative data on the (i) cultural diversity of reporters and presenters, (ii) the diversity of network boards and television news editorial leaders, (iii) a survey of attitudes of journalists working in newsrooms, (iv) interviews with regional newsroom leaders and a (v) representative sample of Australian viewers who were polled about their views on representation in news and current affairs.
This round of research compared results from Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories (2020) to evaluate progress and identify opportunities for improvement. This report also investigated some additional areas providing evidence on regional newsroom leaders to identify some key representation challenges, given this, is often a talent pipeline for metropolitan newsrooms, and an audience attitudes poll to map insights from viewers.
Part three of the report provided an international comparison drawing on a literature review and an examination of what broadcasters abroad are doing to address the lack of diversity and inclusion, with clear recommendations on how newsrooms can, and should, do better.
“Clearly there has been some work done in the public sector entities, but the commercial sector seems yet to understand the business case for both Indigenous and other forms of diversity, on boards, in leadership roles, and on our news screens. It’s very disappointing given the focus on most other areas of business and industry. They’re well behind,” said professor Nareen Young, associate dean (of indigenous leadership and engagement) at UTS Business School.
“Given the spirit of the times, commercial television needs to get behind the well-established push to recruit, support, and promote Indigenous people on the networks. There are massive amounts of research they can draw on to help them with their business case,” she said.
The overall share of appearances on television by presenters and reporters of Anglo-Celtic background increased from 2019 to 2022. The Anglo-Celtic category remained vastly overrepresented on television, across all states and territories, while the share of appearances on television by presenters and reporters of Indigenous background improved overall but was inconsistent across networks.
Moreover, the share of appearances on television by presenters and reporters of European cultural backgrounds declined. Australia’s non-European population is at least 19 times greater than the representation on commercial networks (where it was no more than 1.3% of on-air talent).
The non-European category remained the most severely under-represented, particularly on commercial networks.
Nine is the only network to decrease its portion of Anglo-Celtic on-air talent. The ABC is the only network to show an increase in non-European on-air talent.
Researchers were unable to identify a single Indigenous reporter or presenter at the Seven Network which has the least on-air cultural diversity.
Who appears on our screens is more Anglo-Celtic, however, there are pockets of progress In leadership positions, there’s slightly better representation on the gender front, but cultural diversity has declined.
SBS remains the only network board to have representation of Indigenous, Anglo-Celtic, European and non-European members. Its board now has two Indigenous members, up from one in 2020.
In terms of the gender mix, there has been some progress albeit inconsistent across the networks. Evidence showed a greater gender balance on the boards of the ABC, Ten and Nine.
Concerningly, Indigenous representation and cultural diversity among television news leaders, is even worse than the board profiles.
Two free-to-air networks (the ABC and Nine) appear to have exclusively Anglo-Celtic senior television news leadership teams.
Other than NITV which has an all-Indigenous leadership team, Ten has the most diverse leadership.
“MDA is working towards creating a representative media landscape that looks and sounds more like Australia. We not only hold up a mirror to the industry but crucially, we also provide practical and evidence-based solutions.” MDA’s CEO Mariam Veiszadeh said.
Non-European Australian audiences have the least trust in news and are most concerned about representation. A majority of respondents agreed that Australia’s cultural diversity is well-represented in news and current affairs.
However, a clear majority of non-European background respondents say they would like to see more cultural diversity represented among presenters and stories told – indicating that cultural diversity may not be as well-represented as asserted.
There are also variances in non-European respondents’ trust in news with a higher proportion saying they had stopped consuming news or current affairs sources because they thought it was biased.
Newsroom staff is more positive about the industry’s attitude to diversity, and encouragingly, there has been a more positive response by staff to the perceived representation of Indigeneity and cultural diversity in the media industry overall from 2020 to 2022.
Concerningly, there has been an increase in perceived barriers to career progression for Indigenous and culturally diverse staff behind the camera.
“Our findings show that there is a significant way to go, with a serious need for media leaders to support meaningful, informed adjustments, and strategic interventions to build a more representative industry,” Groutsis said.
Regional newsrooms have often been seen as a talent pipeline, but diversity issues are even starker. Interviews were carried out with 19 editorial leaders across several regional newsrooms, all leaders had an Anglo-Celtic background.
While there was an understanding of what cultural diversity brings and the desire to increase representation, most believed the change required was beyond their resources and scope.
Now in its fifth year, MDA has chapters in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and recently, the ACT.
In addition to commissioning research, the not-for-profit has launched a membership model for media outlets who want strategic diversity, equity & inclusion consulting and support. Other programs include summer fellowships, 12-month women of colour mentorship program, journalism secondments, networking events and a talent hub of diverse journalists looking for work.
Who Gets To Tell Australian Stories? 2.0 was funded by Google News Initiative, the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance and the University of Sydney. In-kind support was provided by Isentia and Telum Media.
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Who gets to tell Australian stories?
Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories? 2.0
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