It’s time to stop whitewashing comms
For a long time, the media has been held responsible for whitewashing Australian experiences – for telling stories that go beyond basic misrepresentation to advocating for and justifying racism.
But there’s been a blind spot – the PR and comms industry. Naomi Brooker, founder and CEO of SUADA, says it needs to stop.
We create narratives about people and brands. We build communities. We shape behaviours and perspectives. And while we don’t control every story that’s published via traditional and social media channels, we certainly play a significant role in what these stories look like.
And for too long, we have evaded accountability for our ‘tokenistic diversity’ highlighted in an independent 2022 report about our industry.
There’s something to be said for an industry that is unwavering in its insularity – for an industry body that is propped up by a Fellows Committee of entirely non-Indigenous, non-diverse faces and a Board with diversity that’s limited to a member with French heritage.
The simple fact is that we get away with it – and it needs to stop.
