The under representation of minorities in the PR Industry

NEW MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

2008-03-28T08:06:00.005-07:00

The beautiful thing about the Internet, as a communications medium of New Media, is that it bridges the gap between people from different countries, permitting them to exchange views and share information. Scholar Cancross (1988) expresses this fast development as "the death of distance"

In the past year, there has been countless examples of the rising influence of new media on public relations. These include (1) the outing of Prince Harry during his brief stint in Afghanistan (2) China's child kidnappings which the country's traditional media refused to explore until a firestorm of net postings forced them to report.

I shall explore the latter in detail. As we all know, talking about politics in China can be dangerous. Critics of the Communist Party are often silenced. However, the blogosphere is changing all this and increasingly Communist leaders are fearing the power of the blog as bloggers are becoming impossible to control - a strange concept for the Chinese government.

Currently, there are over 30 million bloggers in China - a considerably large number for a country where free speech is suppressed so vigorously.

The child kidnaps were originally ignored by members of the traditional press refusing to assist with the search until the parents of the kidnapped children appealed through a written letter to bloggers. After several online attention, the mainstream media eventually decided to investigate the issue. This incident cast a sad light on the Communist party and finally ignored the dominance of the Propaganda department of the party.

It latter turned out after investigations that local police officials were involved in the kidnappings revealing the real reasons why the Department of propaganda had been initially reluctant to give information.

On a general note, I wonder what the rising influence of new media means for our profession. I think it means that practitioners can become more efficient at predicting what could be a potential crisis. Learning what public opinion is can better equip practitioners on all parts of the job from launching a product, developing an effective campaign strategy to dealing efficiently with future public relations crisis.

SKILLS & PROFESSIONALISM IN PR

2008-03-28T08:06:00.003-07:00

I think for the next 25 years, debates will continue to surface about the skills required for Public Relations and whether they are - or should be - intellectual or practical. As someone who has worked predominately in developing countries - I will rightly argue that it is about who you know not necessarily how much you know.

In the Western world, it is increasingly obvious that it is more about your academic achievements (I discovered this the hard way whilst trying to apply for jobs in a highly competitive market)

What I will concur is that to be truly distinct in the market, one needs to couple both. If our dear profession will be reckon with, we need to demonstrate passion for it and this can only start when more people show interest in it and are willing to go and gain qualifications to truly demonstrate how serious they are about the profession not just taking in the media's representation of the job as a certificate.

GOOD BUSINESS: THE RISE OF CSR

2008-03-28T08:06:00.001-07:00

I was shocked to discover that good CSR has only become mainstream in just little over a decade. For years, it was seen as a do-gooding slide show taken on by a few companies.

I was recently at a M&S mega store on Oxford Street sitting in the cafeteria flicking through their in-store magazine when I stumbled upon their CSR campaign "Plan A" which is essentially a set of 100 worthy targets over the next 5 years.

The company detailed explicitly its plans to give 15,000 children in Uganda a better education; save 55,000 tonnes of CO2 in a year; recycle 48m clothes hangers; triple its sales of organic food; convert over 20m garments to fair trade cotton. My initial response was all this sounds very elaborate - how can the company afford to warehouse this vast range of activities under the 'doing-good' umbrella.

I asked myself, is this really necessary and if so for whose benefit? As a PR student, I'm familiar with the CSR boom - the need for big companies to tell the world about their corporate citizenship, the need to push the message through websites, magazines, print press even CEOs are on the act, jumping at opportunities to speak at conferences about their willingness to be more "green".

And why not, after all, in 2006 the government made it law; according to the 2006 Companies Act, it is a requirement for public companies to report on social and environmental matters.

To answer my question on for whose benefit - the companies itself of course. This is essentially an exercise in protecting reputation, enhancing trust in big business, keeping the army of NGOs at bay whilst motivating, attracting and retaining staff.

THE FEMINISATION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

2008-03-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

As a man looking to do great things within the PR industry both local and abroad, I find it deeply unsettling this debate that the entire PR industry irrespective of country of practice is increasingly feminised. I must admit, this comes as no surprise to me. This isn't the first time my sexuality has been questioned as a result of my profession of choice. It stated as a joke amongst my male peers but quickly it became a painful blow to me.

This leads to the question, how exactly did this happen?

Today, 79% of the PR employees are women, the remainder are men - the only comforting fact here is that the men fill the board level/ senior management roles in firms and consultancies across the world.

Which asks the question, are women incompetent? Are they less intelligent than their male counterparts?

The first sets of reasons that jump to mind - when thinking women in PR - is the same framework that can apply to any profession and I must confess I find it incredibly hard to tailor this specifically to PR.

Factors such as lesser working hours, maternity leave periods, lower ranking positions in comparison to their male colleagues. The question is this is typical of most industry, why the particular issue in PR?

Some have argued that women's natural capabilities quickly ‘box' them into certain stagnant roles within PR firms/agencies. Skills such as writing and creativity make women easy targets for these roles in their job description where their male counterparts fill managerial roles. During my research, what I found to be most absurd is an independent study conducted by the University of Kent on this current situation. A key finding was this notion that women will never occupy key positions because of their inability to network.

We can go on and on for reasons why women are not on the top of the PR industry as they so rightly deserve after all women continue to make huge breakthroughs in every sector. American Democratic presidential candidate is testimony that it is all a matter of time before things change. It would be utterly foolish to out rightly conclude that women will not dominate the world of business or politics.

PROPAGANDA: A FORM OF PR?

2008-03-05T09:53:00.005-08:00

Many journalists assume that public relations is largely propaganda. Many public relations practitioners tend to break-out-in-a-rash at this accusation. I personally don’t, I have long accepted that there will never be a clear distinction between the two; denying that PR practitioners use strategies and campaigns to persuade anyone about anything in my view is preposterous.

The connection between propaganda and public relations (quite frankly I don’t know why academics and scholars have crafted to separate definitions) can be further explored with some of the more definitions out there.

The European Public Relations definition of public relations is ‘the conscious organisation of communication’. It also defines public relations as ‘a management function’ using the Iraqi war and ‘the embedded journalists’ as an n example, isn’t this just a classic example of public relations? Why is this considered largely propaganda?

Propaganda has been described as ‘the deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognition and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist’ (Jowett and O’Donnell 1992)

This emphasises the purposefulness of propaganda, its organisation and the way propaganda seeks to further the sender’s not the receiver’s interests. It also draws further on the point that the propagandist seeks to influence the thoughts and behaviour of the audience. The issue is that it could equally describe a great deal of public relations activity. Edward Bernays (the father of public relations) has famously described public relations as ‘the engineering of consent’.

If PR is about persuading people to consent to the purpose of an organisation – or person, why is it any different from the definitions given above on propaganda? This is all hypocritical in the public relations practitioners path, we all want to be “ethical” and “correct” by labelling the “dutier” aspects of our discipline of looking after reputation.

To go one step further, too many PR scholars focus in its wartime application. I’m still searching for truly convincing civil or corporate examples of propaganda.

I am not convinced that examining the nature of war, the attempt to achieve mutual understanding and to establish a beneficial relationship, between the government and the publics – we can ever achieve PR – it will always be seen as propaganda.

Scholar Taylor (1992) has said we should discard any notions of propaganda being “good” or “bad”, and use those terms merely to describe effective or ineffective propaganda.

He raises a key issue of intent in propaganda, not just who says what to whom, but why (Taylor 2001). I utterly agree with this approach as I believe propaganda should be re-examined rather than demonised in PR texts.

Utterly, the role of PR in political, military and corporate communications is seen as fuelling propaganda.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT: THE 'BEIJING TORCH'

2008-03-05T09:53:00.001-08:00

Effective crisis management protects organisations, their reputation and, at times, can salvage their very existenxe. In the case of this chosen case study, the protests against the Beijing Olympics.

Ineffective crisis management could potentially harm China's hard-won reputation reputation built over recent decades.

It is no rocket science that recent pro-Tibet campaigners are quickly disrupting normal runnings of much anticipated Beijing Olympics - which China has been working incredibly hard for over six years to use as a vehicle to establish it's nation as an economic and political power house.

However, as more and more oppositions and global protests over shadows the Olympic games, creating embarassing headlines as we've seen on the streets of London during the Olympic torch journey through our Capital's streets.

36 people were arrested, two protesters were held for trying to put out the flame which one man ried to grab the torch out of a celebrity carrier's hands. The images splashed across newspapers were one of shock and chaos. I couldn't actually see the flame admist 2,000 police uniforms, China's blue track-suited "guardians of the flame" and hundreds of protest placards.

The question is couldn't the Chinese government have prepared something to combat this embarrasing images which has already casted a shadow over the sporting tradition?

Surely, this crisis could have been identified before it happened hence a better response to the situation could have been applied. Schlors, Heath (1997) supports the argument that managing issues can help prevent a crisi. He states: "

if a organisation is engaged in issues management before, during, and after a crisi, it can mitigate - perhaps prevent - the crisi from becoming an issue by working quickly and responsibly to establish or re-establish the level of control desired by relevant stakeholders

"

Perhaps, i'm playing naive and expecting the Chinese government to have predicted this outcome. Perhaps, it is impossible to determine how protesters will recruit across the world afterall it is alledged that in China, no protests have been seen during the Olympic rally show on TV.

This will make sense thinking on Schlors Sam Black's breakdown of crisis into the 'known uknown' and the 'unknown unknown'. The latter are events that cannot be predicted and that can come about from unconnected events or circumstances that are unpredictable.

I will not share my personal views on the current situation - Iam neither a politician or a sporting athlete what I will conclude with it is how China communicates about the crisis that will make the real difference. There are tons of evidence that good communication in a crisis situation can support or increase a country's reputation. It is evident that China's lack of effective communication solutions is already having a powerful negative effect on the country and sadly, the Olympics games.

China needs to communicate exactly what it is going to do exactly, in a timely manner to all stakeholders - the Olympics board, sponsors, governments, Tibetians, the press, sporting associations, athletes and many others.

DIVERSITY IN THE PR INDUSTRY

2008-03-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

I've always felt there are great benefits to joining accredited associations. I was utterly distraught by the thought that my postgraduate degree was not acknowledged by the CIPR which means upon the completion of the postgraduate, I will not receive an automatic membership into the association. My desire to join one of these associations is because I strongly believe they can often open doors. Surely I'm not the only person that can see this.

Which leads to the question, why are minorities not in these association and why aren't many of them thinking like I am?

According to Shirley Harrison's Public Relations: An Introduction There are approximately 48,000 people in the UK working in Public Realtions in some way, out of this only 6,000 are currently registered with an association.

As it is clearly not a pre-requisite, I strongly urge minorities to join associations for the following reasons –

 Networking
 Professional development
 Accreditation
 Mentoring

I would also like to ask these association for full support. I believe the three greatest barriers why minorirties are not joining the professional organisations include cost of annual membership dues, lack of diversity among membership and insufficient amount of time to participate.

These organisations can help by

1) looking for ways to partner with racially-based PR organisations to provide discounts on professional development and networking opportunities
2) cultivate professional associations with other minority organisations, such as the Urban League, to better understand diversity issues and to help publicize PR opportunities.

THEORIES OF PUBLICS, AUDIENCES AND STAKEHOLDERS: THE SITUATIONAL THEORY OF PUBLICS

2008-02-21T05:07:00.005-08:00

The class lecture on the theories of audiences, publics and stakeholders really allowed me to explore my role in a lot of things around me that affect me.

I find Grunig and Hunt's situational theory of publics incredibly fascinating - the examination of why and when publics are formed and most likely to communicate, how their predicted communication and behaviour can be used to segment publics in order to provide a basis for deciding what strategy is most likely to achieve cognitive, attitudinal and behavioural effects in the publics.

The idea that as a stakeholder of Tesco, I can become a public if I recognise that an issue or problem affecting my family exists which I can see as worth getting involved with the issue or problem.

In recent months, hurdles of young teenagers congregate in front of my neighbourhood Tesco store for hours during and after school hours often harassing by-passers. As you can imagine, in a relatively quiet area this is slightly unusual. I have been puzzled on what to do next however using the Grunig model, I have better understood what type of audience myself and my neighbours are.

I have also learnt further that it is in Tesco's best interest to address this situation whilst its audiences are still latent and aware. If we become active, we could switch to other nearby corner stores.

PROPAGANDA AND PR: THE NEVER-ENDING BATTLE

2008-02-21T05:07:00.001-08:00

The role of public relations in political, military and corporate communications, not just for publicity will continue to be seen as fuelling propaganda.

As long as people continue to lose trust for corporate and government institutions, all efforts by their 'propagandist' to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics will always be categorized as propaganda.

I will have to refer to Taylor (1992) alternative description of propaganda as "....a practical process of persuasion....it is an inherently neutral concept. Taylor brilliantly suggests that the industry should discard any notions of propaganda being "good" or "bad" and use those terms merely to describe effective or ineffective propaganda. Taylor further demonstrates that the issue of intent is important in propaganda - not just who says what to whom, but why?

This is a straight response which should be adopted by the PR industry and encourage decision makers to re-examine rather than demonise the term in public relations text.

The reality is as practitioners we are burdened with the negativity of propaganda which has prevailed since the 2nd world war and the power of Nazi propaganda: the use of film to promote anti-Semitism and the horrific consequences of that message.

It is refreshing (at least in the 1st world) to know the industry's reference to fight the pejorative connotations of propaganda on our profession. Things are slightly different in some African countries (particularly West African) where propaganda is hugely debated however it is not frowned upon and most practitioners believe it is vital to formulating public opinions and agendas mostly in government relations.

Personally, I feel the industry spends too much energy on fighting the battle of propaganda; this draws me back to Taylor's definition which clearly states that e should focus on 'effective' not 'ineffective' propaganda. Simply because they are too many similarities with the functions of our profession and the aims of propaganda.

The best the industry can do is ensuring that all other sectors of public relations i.e. financial, technology are charged propaganda-free.

CAN NEW MEDIA HELP THE UNDER-REPRESENTATION?

2008-01-07T04:00:00.001-08:00

I was watching a great debate last night on CNN's International Correspondents on the rapid growth of new media and its growing supreority over traditional media. Although I understand the fears of cynics who argue that new media has allowed almost everyone to live out their life-long ambition to become a journalist, I must say that I got a sudden buzz over the idea that perhaps new media might help many who are trying to break into the PR industry a platform to voice their frustrations and more importantly competence.

We are all very aware that the PR community has a very strong presence in the world of blogs and podcasts. I honestly believe this might be a great opening for us all.

WHO IS TREVOR PHILIPS?

2008-01-05T05:57:00.001-08:00

On the 8th of September 2006, Trevor Phillips OBE was appointed the Chair of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) by Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

CEHR is a new organisation which inherited the responsibilities of the existing equality commissions: the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission. The new body, became operational in Autumn 2007, providing a powerful, authoritative, single voice on equality and human rights.

In addition to its legal role in enforcing equalities legislation, the body works to ensure that organisations and individuals have access to clear and understandable information in order to foster debate, tackle issues early on and encourage a change of culture within institutions.

Despite his impeccable track record and achievements, Mr Phillips has quickly become the figure of hope for many minorities (especially professionals) and those discriminated against.

Evidence of this lies with one of the aspiring PR practitioners that I have been speaking to whom has recently written a letter to Trevor Phillips about the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in the industry.

We await a favourable response.

HOW THE AMERICANS PRACTICE DIVERSITY

2008-01-04T06:10:00.000-08:00

Although this blog seeks to address the trend of the underrepresentation of minorities in UK PR industry, I thought perhaps it might be interesting to explore how our American counterparts practise diversity.

Upon extensive research, I stumbled upon a National Survey conducted by the PRSA on barriers to diversity. The survey revealed that women-owned/managed firms have a significantly greater commitment to and success in retaining multicultural practitioners, compared to their male counterparts.

This got me thinking, these firms are essentially considered "small-to-medium scale businesses", does this mean that ethnic minorities in America (and perhaps, this could apply in the UK) have a better chance of applying for jobs in smaller and medium scale PR firms? Is the rat race for the top consultancies just too tiring to chase after?

I think it would be fair to say that both countries need to do a lot more to encourage the full integration of minorities into the industry.

THE MILESTONES THE MEDIA INDUSTRY HAS MADE SO FAR

2008-01-04T06:09:00.002-08:00

To be fair, the entire media industry has recently started to look within to see how the faces that make up the industry might affect its output. For instance, The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising have set up the IPA’s Ethnic Diversity project. It’s co-chair Barrett Cernis says the industry must stop recruiting predominantly from the same narrow talent pool of middle class graduates regardless of race

So far, the Ethnic Diversity project showed that the advertising industry has a 4% ethnic minority representation and 70% of that figure are support staff. What about senior management roles?

Those figures need to be reviewed to get a good balance. As much as I appreciate that this is a step in the right direction, more steps must be taken for the media industry to be successful - we must elevate our programs of specialized development, and take into account a broad range of multiculturalism.

The industry must appreciate that there is a massive potential role for ethnic minorities in enhancing the diversity of the PR work force, which would also create a better cultural understanding. With better understanding comes greater success and quality. A one-size-fits-all “minority program” can no longer be expected to identify the talent required to address the diverse needs and challenges of our clients and companies.

WHAT ABOUT TODAY'S ETHNIC PRACTITIONERS?

2008-01-04T06:08:00.002-08:00

Apart from the goal of attracting more members of the ethnic minorities into the PR industry, I feel it is important to encourage those currently working in the industry. It gives me great pleasure to speak with and since I have started operating this URL I have tried to speak with as many ethnic practitioners as possible. Some have given me some ideas as to how they feel their rarity can be preserved. Below are some recommendations -

1) make diversity recruitment & retention part of the institution’s objectives
2) educate supervisors and employees about fostering good working relationships with everyone in the company, including ethnicl practitioners

I think it is fair to say that their longevity and visibility in the industry can only help reduce this trend of under-representation.

PR ASSOCIATIONS TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY

2008-01-04T06:07:00.002-08:00

Upon greater reading and research, I have narrowed down some potential ways in which PR associations like CIPR can promote diversity, they include –

 Create a campaign geared toward recruiting minorities practitioners getting the message earlier to youth
 Offer development opportunities to diversity professionals
 Assist businesses with recruiting competitive diverse candidates
 Avoid creating a quota hiring policy for its own sake, but instead foster a corporate culture that values and supports diversity.

‘MINORITY’ PR PRACTITIONERS FACE HUGE CHALLENGES IN THE WORKPLACE

2008-01-04T06:07:00.001-08:00

To get a true PICTURE of some of the day-to-day challenges faced by practitioners of ethnic origin in today's PR industry, I decided to ask some very basic questions to 4 ethnic practitioners to fully explore this issue of underrepresentation. Our encounter revealed the following challenges -

1) Job satisfaction - our interviews shows that job satisfaction is extremely low. All four are not in the PR sector of their choice.

2) Work related racism - all say they have experienced incidences of racism in their career. The most common problem is the notion of been more qualified for positions than their white counterparts. They also feel ethnic practitioners are put on slow moving career tracks and are often relegated to menial tasks.

3) Mentoring – there is a huge need for mentoring, although all agree that they have been mentored by one or more PR practitioners they would like to be mentored by another minority who has become successful in their own right.

Thank you to all that provided us with their information. Your participation is priceless.

THE EVIDENCE IS EVERYWHERE INCLUDING CLASSROOMS

2008-01-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

On the first day of my postgraduate degree, I was overwhelmed by the number of ethnic minorities on the course.

The class is testimony that the current PR industry does not reflect the true state of the profession. The class is a combine of many ethnic background and origins – Asians, Indians, Africans and Americans. Even more worrying is the fact that the few minorities tell me they likely won’t be joining the profession.

The main objection to practising in this field lies in the 'perceived' low-employment rate. Many will be moving back to their respective countries to pursue jobs sometimes unrelated to their training in public relations.

My fellow classmates embody attributes we all hope are being espoused at the training grounds for PR’s next generation – awareness, focus, and positive direction. So I ask the question, why aren’t the minorities in PR’s classrooms reflected in the UK industry? Why are ethnic students convinced their isn't a job for them in the UK? How can the public relations profession lead, or even remain relevant, if its practitioners do not adequately represent a ethnic society that is a significant % in the U.K?

I’d like to hear from you.

HOW MANY MINORITIES ARE IN PR TODAY?

2008-01-03T04:40:00.000-08:00

In order to truly establish the current status of minority employment within the UK PR industry, I have been speaking extensively with Mr Papa Lawson (an African who currently works with a Top 20 PR agency). I found some of his views very interesting and informing.

"Somehow I don't quite believe that there aren't enough qualified ethnic candidates in the applicant pool, everyone talks a good game about diversity and multiculturalism but in the end it's about commitment. In order to increase the number of minorities in PR, we need to recruit, hire, mentor and promote all people with equal tenacity. It's that simple. In light of our nation's changing demographics, our field must accurately reflect the diversity of thought in the population if we want to remain vital, strategic partners for our clients".

It can be argued that individual success in some fields is less dependent on merit as it on personal connections and aesthetics. Public Relations has always maintained a certain air of exclusivity but at what cost? How can we legitimately represent a diverse range of businesses and consumer brands (with diverse target audiences) if our employee base remains so homogeneous?

The UK currently has a ethnic minority population of 4635296 (Source: ONS, 2003). Go figure!

I want to hear from you.

www.cipr.co.uk/diversity

www.ons.com

THE ETHNIC HUMOUR ON TV

2008-01-03T04:19:00.001-08:00

I’m often deeply saddened by the media's portrayal of the average minority youth especially teenage boys aged between 14 and 19 or should I refer to them as the 'ASBO' generation.

The thought that this is often the image portrayed by comedic sketches such as The Caterine Tate Show burns me as I’m proud to say I’m a produce of hard-working parents who have managed to send all my siblings to prestigious independent schools across the United Kingdom and we have developed a sound mind from our exposures and experiences which we have indirectly brought to our respective professions.

I have similar friends whom we have shared similiar life experiences and we all share the same view that in our industries we often find that instead of trading ideas, we spend most of our career years trying to convince people that even though we have different colour skin, we are exactly the same as them – we speak the same way, eat the same things, watch the same movies, listen to the same music and have similar aspirations.

SOME STEREOTYPES ARE ETERNAL

2008-01-01T07:46:00.007-08:00

To set the records straight, it would be false on my path to say that the underrepresentation of minorities in the PR industry is not partly the community's fault.

As an African and I have a few Asian friends whom have all shared similar expectations with me. When I was growing up, my parents knew that they wanted all their children to have specific job descriptions, these descriptions didn’t stretch beyond the conventional doctor, lawyer or if you were lucky, an accountant.

They were very clear that they wanted me to be a doctor - this is not just a stereotypical anecdote that people hear about - it's true! All first generation 'ethnic' parents wanted their kids to have a good solid profession - after all that is why they flock out thousands of pounds in overseas fees - to make a better life for their children. So, like the good dutiful son that I was, I followed the right path to become a doctor. I studied sciences at school, got the necessary preparations by subscribing to all medical soaps – with my personal favourite been Channel 4's ER.

However after my A’ Level results it was apparent to both my parents and I, that my career path had to embark on a diversion. It took a poor exam result for my parents to reconsider.

The moral of the story is tradition has it that many ethnic minorities, particularly Asians and Africans, are obliged to pursue a doctor-lawyer vocation route because they are perceived to be of a high status and financially rewarding backing.

This we must accept plays a part in interested kids to fully explore their passion if it be Public Relations, Journalism or Marketing from an early age. The only way in which we can hopefully change our parents mindset is if increasing numbers of ethnics show interest in these fields and the successful ones in the industry become more visible.

Or maybe I'll just keep dreaming!

VISIBLE YET SO FAR AWAY….

2008-01-01T07:45:00.003-08:00

As a Sky viewer, since I started thy blog – I cannot help but realise more and more, the explosion of ethnic media. For instance, in the asian market alone there are now more than 30 Asian TV channels.

Flicking through my 506 Sky channels (of which, I only watch 5), there is a pool of satellite channels dediated to the 'advanced' tastes of ethnic minorities. To name a few BEN, OBE, RAJ TV, TV Asian etc. There are even dedicated ethnic pornographic channels targeted at specific demographics i.e. ASIAN BABES. I wonder whom the targets are?

This got me thinking, why are these essentially pirated TV and radio channels despite their bad picture quality and content being not truly exploited by the agencies?

I concluded that it isn’t that marketing and PR agencies are not aware that these mediums exist, they just cant get to grips with this explosion of ethic-specific entertainment, after all why would anyone want to hold on so tightly to what they left behind. But the question is not so black & white, just because people have relocated for a ‘better’ life in England doesn’t translate to the need to forget one’s heritage.

Mainstream advertising agencies needs to jump at the chance to reach a new group of people with high levels of disposable incomes in most areas that they obviously aren't targeting in any way and they probably don't understand

I remember I was only 15 when I first saw Black bank clerk Howard Brown as the face of Halifax Bank's £25m annual advertising. Little did I know that the advert did not translate to the advertising and marketing industry becoming comfortable with multi-cultural Britain. The reality is that Brown is still an exception rather than the norm. Almost every advertising executive you speak to about on-screen ethnic minority representation points to the Howard campaign as their one example of better representation.

Michael Cudlipp, chair of the History of Advertising Trust Archive, says : "The use of black people in advertising is, at the moment, still very self-conscious."

HAT is a charity organisation backed mainly by the advertising industry, they spent two years researching ethnic minority representation in British advertising over the last century.

www.hat.org

THE POTENTIAL FRUITFUL RESULTS OF CHANGE

2008-01-01T07:45:00.001-08:00

In order for agencies to go the next step into the future of PR and to keep up with all of the niche specific firms that are blossoming everyday - they need more diversity.

Different angles and viewpoints is what brings creativity and progression and to just keep bringing those of similar backgrounds and viewpoints into your company equal the same results for your clients.

I encourage top firms to take a chance every now and then and see what gem they might be able to mould.

The top consultancies have to do more of what Edelman is doing - giving young minorities an opportunity to work and succeed in the business. Edelman has made strides by hiring ethnics, giving them meaningful job descriptions and as much responsibility as they demonstrate they can handle rather than just hiring to be "window dressing" with small roles on small accounts.

I applaud Edelman on this exemplary behaviour. I would now like to call on Geronimo Communications, Exposure Promotions, The Red Consultancy, Lexis PR, Trimedia Harrison Cowley, Cake and other top consultancies to support this concern.

There can not be a "glass ceiling" for the advancement of blacks and asians in higher positions (managers, directors, VPs); nor can there be quotas on the number of minorities hired within a firm. The UK PR industry demands the diversity of ideas and that can only come from the collective minds of people of varying cultural and social backgrounds.

WHAT TO DO

2008-01-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

The only way I see to fix this problem of underrepresentation is to incorporate some type of program strictly for ethnic practitioners that will help correct what "it" is that might be missing and is causing them to be looked over.

Students and other potential PR employees are unaware of the benefits of joining the growing field of Public Relations. Schools aren’t doing a good job of introducing students to the field--- or adequately preparing them to compete for jobs in the PR workforce, universities like University of Westminster on the other hand, take this engagement very seriously – providing its students with countless opportunities to gain an internship during their respective programmes.

More so, PR employers could help by making an effort to come on campus and introduce students to the field who may not have known about the career opportunities. We know Edelman for instance, through recruitment fairs has experienced an increase in the number of ‘ethnic’ students that applied for their prestigious internship program both in the UK and the US.

Some other ideas include -

1) Industry professionals and HR staff must take action if we are going to effect meaningful change
2) The industry may want to look to women-owned firms for leadership in this important area
3) Organisations need to work to alleviate the double standards and racism practitioners feel they face
4) Provide diversity and management training for staff and managers
5) Actively recruit at universities with high minority enrolment and at conferences and job fairs that target minorities
6) Hire more people of colour to do outreach. focus on building minority middle & upper management ranks with key positions, not just entry level trainee jobs with no support
7) Advertise in multicultural magazines and media

WHERE IS THE 'ETHNIC' IN MARKETING?

2007-12-30T12:09:00.006-08:00

I'm extremely keen to explore not only the underrepresenattion of ethnic minorities in Public relations but also in Marketing. Upon extensive research I have a growing realisation that advertising and marketing agencies know very little about ethnic minorities in the UK, and their consumption habits as British consumers.

The OMD Group, owned by one of the world's largest media agency network, Omnicom, recently teamed up with media research company Starfish to address this concern dubbed MinorityReport™. The survey tracked minority media consumption, relationship with brands, the impact of advertising and their attitudes and opinions on life in 21st century Britain.

The MinorityReport™ is the largest study into this growing demographic, and will give clients real knowledge of how to communicate with an extremely important group of consumers based on a representative sample of 1,700 respondents in England. It will cover the key ethnic groups including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean Black African, Chinese and Mixed Race.

It’s amazing to think it took this long to conduct an extensive survey considering minorities make up 10% of the total population and they are no less (if not more) consumers than their white counterparts. There are currently nearly four and half million people in the UK that are part of ethnic minority communities - not all of them watch, read or listen to their particular ethnic media all the time. But the majority are tied in to their community and culture in some way or other. The question is, how many agencies understand that or want to understand?

http://www.starfishresearch.com/minority_report_sample.html

WHAT IS ‘BLACK PR, WHITE PR’?

2007-12-30T12:09:00.001-08:00

It is reported from time to time that the PR industry’s image stinks. And it’s not news that there is considerable distrust of PR practitioners by their media cousins. Many journalists don’t try to hide their contempt for PR people – which can be attributed to a mixture of irritation and genuine concern about the dubious tactics that are sometimes employed.

Some of the tactics criticised by journalists present issues more perceptual than real, but others pose serious problems that need to be excised from PR root and branch.

The perceptual problems may be referred to as ‘grey PR’. While not necessarily unethical, these tactics need to be scrutinised before being employed. They include offering free trips to journalists, stunts presented as serious activities (‘Headache Awareness Week’), research designed for marketing purposes or what is termed as ‘white spin’ – arguments based on legitimately-held beliefs but that emphasise such views to the exclusion or diminution of others.

Grey PR is selective without being untruthful. It requires close ethical scrutiny before use.

Then there’s ‘black PR’, which is unambiguously unethical because it deliberately denies people the honest information they require to make reasonable decisions. In effect, black PR is a coercive force in society. And in denying proper information it can do harm.

It can take any of these forms:

a. Astroturfing. Phony grassroots campaigns initiated to provide the appearance of mass community action. The funding source of the astroturf campaign is hidden, as are its true motives, and therein lies its dishonesty.
b. Disinformation. Deliberately spreading information known to be false.

WHO ARE THE ETHNIC ROLE MODELS IN THE INDUSTRY?

2007-12-30T10:58:00.003-08:00

Lenny Henry has once voiced his discontempt with the lack of ethnic persons in top media jobs. He was quoted "Until there are more people of colour involved in the decision-making processes both on mainstream commercial TV and on the BBC, black and brown people in this country will never feel they are represented fairly on television."

This is a valid statement that can be applied to today's youngsters. Many times our young PR students overlook agency and corporate PR because they don't see anyone there that looks like them. They may be unaware that many companies are seeking diverse talent if they'd only apply!

There is a dire need for PR professional of ethnic origin. The only solution to remedy the problem is to continue educating and introducing others to the field through mentoring relationships, internships and professional organizations.

Jonathan Mildenhall, former managing director of ad agency TBWA/London, and one of the few senior black faces in the mainstream advertising industry, is an advocate for opening up his & the PR industry: "What we're trying to do as an industry is to have a much more credible use of black and Asian characters in advertising and public relations where we break down some of the stereotypes."

THE REASONS FOR MISREPESENTATION OF ETHICS IN THE PR INDUSTRY

2007-12-30T10:58:00.001-08:00

There are several reasons, I believe, that account for the underrepresentation of blacks and asians in PR. In no particular order of impact:

1) A lack of awareness of the PR industry as a career and its importance in the corporate arena.

2) The failure of the industry, as a whole, to actively promote itself to blacks and asians touting the opportunities for success (i.e. money) resulting in too few taking the classes or seeking the experience to pursue PR careers

3) The fact there are proportionately fewer minority businesses that would employ a PR firm and many of them feel in necessary to use a white company to receive "the best" service.

4) PR is not as "visible" as, say, TV news reporting. As more blacks and asians appeared on tv, it became more of an option for others to say "That's what I want to be when I grow up." The cultural/racial schism is perpetuated by the lack of visibility of "people like me" in the industry.

5)The unfortunate history of PR firms who have hired minorities and gave them menial duties or... little or no "learning curve" before firing them and saying that the "minority experiment" didn't work

6) But, it seems like there must be a problem in HR and account teams at major and boutique agencies. I do believe young and seasoned multicultural PR practitioners approach and interview at these agencies but for some reason or another they are looked over. Thus, causing them to question their career path in PR.

ARE JOURNALISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NEGATIVE CLOUD HANGING OVER ETHNIC YOUTHS?

2007-12-30T10:57:00.002-08:00

On the 7th of December 2007, the Mayor of London hit back at Andrew Gilligan's article in the Evening Standard published on the 12th March 2007. The article 'Racism at the Met never gets the sack'. The article mixes together a number of points about the promotion of black police officers to claim spuriously that the Commissioner says the right things on race issues but that his actions don't match is words.

The Mayor of London tried his best to rebut these charges and to speak in defence of black organisations in London against sustained attack in the Evening Standard led by Andrew Gilligan.

In his statement Ken Livingstone said:

“London is a tolerant liberal city, and one of the greatest multi-ethnic cities in the world. It has not seen a press campaign of attacks on black people of the scale that were carried in the Evening Standard last week for over 20 years.

“The Evening Standard alleged, among other things, that the London Development Agency may have been intimidated by threats of gang violence by black people into giving out grants to organisations in which black people were the majority.

I must confess after reading this article, I was slightly uncomfortable because it is not just a Metroploitan Police issue it applies to but all sectors of the corporate world including Public realations sadly. What I failed to digest is the fact that the Met is recruiting substantially more police officers from black or minority ethnic backgrounds than ever before - this is purely based on a range of programmes designed to support the progression of under represented groups within the Service. The Met Police authority quite properly promotes senior officers on ability, not quotas of any kind, and shares the aspiration that officers in all ranks should better reflect London's diverse communities.

The PR and subsequently media industry needs to take a leaf out of Sir Ian Blair's book.

The MPS has come a long way in recent years in how it deals with race issues and their progress will continue to be hindered by ill-informed and inaccurate commentary of this kind

Lord Herman Ouseley said,

“Politicians and the media have an important responsibility not to whip up prejudice and hatred or to play the race card. We have seen a real abdication of that responsibility in recent days, with the attacks on black community organisations and a failure to condemn offensive language which belongs in the 19th, not the 21st century.

Can we afford to play the race card if we desperate for equality and how does this reflect on the British press if they are voluntarily willing to carry stories of these nature.

On the same day, I attend a unique ‘roundtable' discussion between young people, practitioners, policy makers and leading thinkers to explore practical solutions to tackling the criminalisation of young black people.

The roundtable, organised by King's College London School of Law and supported by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Stone Ashdown Trust, with the aim to conjure effective solutions to tackling the problem of the over representation of young black people in the criminal justice system and how they should be implemented.

I just found it incredibly ironic that as one group is working to build a sustainable community the most influential, the press is trying to destroy the foundations.

THE RISE OF MINORITIES FIGHTING FOR PRESS COVERAGE

2007-12-30T10:57:00.001-08:00

The emerging ethnic music industry in the UK is encouraging and a significant number of this trend are independently-owned record labels and self-promoting artists.

The rise of ethnic social networking sites, independent pirate television and radio channels like Channel U, BlackChat, Choice FM are testimony to this.

This can be described as the ethnic community taking matters into their hands. This is a result of an industry of rejection. The objects of these mediums like Black Chat (the social networking site) is to create a following which the industry will have to take eventual notice of as they constitute as key parts of future target demographics.

Someone needs to speak for this generation in board rooms across the world. We need it fast.

IS THE BRITISH PRESS ONLY INTERESTED IN PUBLISHING NEGATIVE 'ETHNIC' NEWS?

2007-12-30T10:55:00.000-08:00

When we think of when black coverage takes centre stage it is usually associated with black on black crime or violence in general. I’m very aware that hard news make newsworthiness but it is slightly demoralising that good black news like a ‘community hall’ opening or under-17 black talent spotting will never make news.

Two stories have helped shaped ethnic news in 50 years were two brutal murders.

1) Stephen Lawrence

Twelve years after the Scarman report, the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, in 1993, and the subsequent investigation, or lack of one, again blew open the schism between non-whites and the police.

Lawrence's parents gained influential support from the media as they persisted in hounding the police for answers. Eventually a public inquiry was ordered, chaired by Sir William Macpherson. Macpherson blamed police racism and incompetence for scuppering any chance of justice. Crucially, he also identified the police as "institutionally racist", thereby challenging Scarman's "bad apple" theory.

2) Damilola Taylor

The tragic death of Damilola Taylor was of extreme importance as it has raised issues with regards to the tensions between Africans and Carribeans which is a very real and extremely worrying issue.

ALESHA DIXON WINS STRICTLY COME DANCING

2007-12-29T06:08:00.003-08:00

Alesha Dixon is a highly regarded femal entertainer in ethnic communities across the UK. A former member of the R&B girl group, Mis-teeq. Alesha had been struggling since the split of her group to establish a bonafide music career. Since the release of her debut album 'Fired Up' in early 2007, singles Lipstick and Knock Down made little dent on the UK's official chart.

She made a breakthrough later in the year by starring on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing show of which she became the 2007 champion.

I was one of the many who voted and as you can imagine I was thrilled for her triumph and I was looking forward to some positive press coverage the next day.

This was clearly not going to happen, as I walked to my local newsagent the morning after, nothing could have prepared me for the bogus headlines of the Alesha on all premier newspapers. They all carried what I considered as unflattering headlines about an alleged affair with the show's runner up, Matt and her bitter seperation from her husband.

Infuriated, I started to think, if this had been Kelly Brook (another contestant) it would be words of praise despite her past as a page three model.

What I'd like to understand is why dont respected newspapers such as DAILY MAIL, THE INDEPENDENT, etc lead by example. They must realise the knock-on effect of articles like these do not just affect Alesha Dixon - it affects the many girls of ethnic origin who look up to her.

So disappointing!

DO CELEBRITIES DOWNPLAY THEIR 'ETHNICITY' TO RECEIVE FAVOURABLE PRESS COVERAGE?

2007-12-26T16:26:00.007-08:00

This debate stems deeper than the PR industry but in media industry as a whole. Although we have made huge strides, there still remains a shortage of people working behind the scenes at publishing houses, and television networks. The media spends to much time on the lives and trials of black entertainers and personalities whilst forgetting that these are by no means the true representation of the black populations.

Comedians Lenny Henry, Sanjeer Bhaskar, Meera Syal and sport personalities like John Barnes and Iain Wright are all familiar faces in the UK press with hundreds of press clippings, endorsement deals and television appearances underneath their belts. However, are these individuals truly respected within their community?

This leads me to ask the question, what does an ethnic celebrity have to do to gain media assistance? In order to be successful under the limelight, do black public figures tune down their ‘ethinicity’ to get some coverage in today’s press. Are the celebrated black figures truly respected in the black communities? Do they truly see these people as their role models or “puppets” of the media?

What is the price for international black success?

I'm really keen to hear from all of you.

WHEN DID ETHNIC MINORITIES MAKE THE FIRST BREAKTHROUGH IN THE MEDIA?

2007-12-25T13:25:00.001-08:00

For many decades, it was a struggle for the young ethnic population to find anyone they could identify with in the papers or on television. This all changed in 1973 when Trevor McDonald became Britain's first black newsreader, paving the way for many others including Moira Stewart, Zeinab Badawi and Krishnan Guru-Murthy. They're only journalists perched in front of a camera, but British television audiences have always invested their trust in their newsreaders.

In 1987 with the election of four non-white MPs: Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng, Bernie Grant and Keith Vaz another milsetone was achieved. All were elected on a Labour ticket and promised to further the cause of better race relations. But their paths have varied widely since.

Boateng and Vaz, both lawyers, made it to government roles: the former is now financial secretary to the Treasury, the latter stepped down as Europe minister soon after becoming implicated in the Hinduja passport scandal, although he was cleared by an official inquiry.

Over the years, McDonald has become a revered broadcaster and was even named as one of the top 1,000 icons of Britishness by members of the public in a 1999 poll.

BADGE OF HONOUR: BLACK BOYS

2007-12-24T09:32:00.001-08:00

As a huge music fan and a dedicated member of the UK Urban scene, every once in a while, an artist comes along and hits the nail on the head with its poignant message. I commend the PR team behind the artist Bashy. They have worked hard to get a relatively unknown artist into all premier publications with a positive message to ethnic communities that are torn apart by violence and societal oppression.

It is often frustrating when newspapers like THE TELEGRAPH make the following statement: "Young black men are apparently being increasingly lured into trouble by rap stars, celebrities and sportsmen who glamorise the wrong sort of lifestyle."
This could not be further from the truth, the message behind Bashy's song 'BLACK BOYS' is one of empowerment and strife. We need more of these key messages to motivate youths across the UK.

Sadly, what The Telegraph failed to take into account is the fact that musicians make youngsters aspire for greater things. The idea that music influences youngsters negatively is a defective argument and it fails to understand that music can be an empowering tool to motivate people to work harder and make something of themselves. Just because a teenager sees a rapper driving a BMW does not mean he will kill for it.

A message often lost in music is the notion of work hard and you shall reap the results. I'm so tired of defending this point.

WHAT DOES A MINORITY HAVE TO DO TO RECEIVE GOOD MEDIA COVERAGE?

2007-12-24T09:31:00.006-08:00

Since the commencement of my postgraduate, I have started to read more and more newspapers as a result of my desire to write "golden" press releases. I spend the majority of my 'reading' time trying to spot articles which are a result of a press release, a features release or an advertorial.

The more I read British newspapers, the more I get this nagging feeling - Are black footballers the only people that receive good PR? Are 'ethnic' sporting athletes the only ones that receive good PR?

Like my last posting had demonstrated 'OVERVIEW: FACTS AND FIGURES' there are a large number of ethnic groups in this country. However, it seems that if we are not subject of a murder investigation or ASBO behaviour we dont make the news.

What rubs me up the wrong way is how come we are not celebrating the Teacher in South London who is working hard to ensure her pupils do not end up in the gangs or criminal activity? How come we are not celebrating the ordinary father who has raised upwardly standing citizens of society?

How come the only good press an 'ethnic' receives is a result of there athletic profession i.e. a footballer or a boxer?. Is being a footballer more credible than been a doctor. I THINK NOT!

Will I only be accepted as a full Briton if I contribute to the sporting achievements of this country?

Rather disturbing thoughts don't you think?

OVERVIEW - FACTS AND FIGURES

2007-12-24T09:31:00.005-08:00

Since before slavery, black people have been living in Britain. But only in the last 50 years have blacks and Asians settled in these shores within any great number. Today they make up more than 5% of the British population. Currently, the UK population stands at about 59 million, according to the latest statistics published by the Office for National Statistics. Of these, 49 million (83.6%) live in England, 5 million (8.6%) in Scotland, 3 million (3.9%) live in Wales and 1.6 million (2.9%) live in Northern Ireland.

Figures for ethnic groups in the UK, published as part of Census 2001, shows a rapidly shifting demographic population of ethnic minority groups (around 5m of the total population of the UK)

The ethnic population is relatively young, it tends to cluster around urban metropolitan areas and is the fastest growing segment of the resident UK population.
The proportion of minority ethnic groups in England rose from 6% to 9% - partly as a result of the addition of mixed ethnic groups to the 2001 Census form. By the year 2010 over 30% of the population in metropolitan centres will be from ethnic communities.

Black African and Bangladeshi communities are the fastest growing of these populations. You would expect a higher proportion of black Africans are born outside the UK and an even higher proportion of Chinese whereas the majority of the white population has been born in the UK.

In the US, it was projected that non-whites would comprise 28% of the U.S. population by the year 2000. That number is expected to rise to 39% by 2030 and to 48% by 2050 (Andorfer, 1996)

As participants in policy development for organizations, public relations professionals have an obligation to keep their companies aware of emerging trends and the impact of those trends on the way in which business is conducted.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/GuideV9.pdf

THE MISRPRESENTATION OF ETHNICS MIGHT BE PART OF THE REASON WHY SOME AGENCIES HAVE FAILED TO TARGET CERTAIN AUDIENCES. WHY IS ETHIC RELEVANT?

2007-12-24T09:31:00.001-08:00

At present, ethnic minorities play an extremely small role in the PR industry, which has a very white outset, and in order to sell itself successfully to the wider public, its make-up should epitomise the UK’s multicultural character. As a public-oriented industry, PR needs to understand the wider community, and in order to do this it needs to recruit more ethnic minorities.

It is important to correct that there is no outright discrimination in the industry. Rather, there is a lack of understanding and awareness about specific roles that ethnics could play in the PR industry.

A recent study of Blacks and Asians PR practitioners in the UK reveals significant dissatisfaction with the PR profession’s commitment to diversity, perceived pervasive discrimination, and widespread concern that multicultural practitioners are relegated to a slow professional track.

What is meant by 'ethnic'?

There's a lot of misunderstanding regarding what is meant by the term 'ethnic'. Perceptions of what's and what's not ethnic change over time. For instance, in the UK, the best selling snack food is the humble samosa which is probably as much a part of mainstream British cuisine as another British favourite - curry and rice! In fact, Marks and Spencer's sell more chicken tikka masala prepared meals (a British invention) then any other choice of convenience meal.

What does this mean for marketing and PR professionals?

Successful brand owners will now start (unless they haven't already done so) to segment target consumer groups more carefully by taking account of the increasing ethnic population of their audience.

For example, one ethnic group that has excelled is the Asian community in the UK. Of all ethnic groups they enjoy the greatest commercial and financial success with a combined disposable income of a whopping £10 billion. As a brand owner, if you're not interested in converting even 1% of this lucrative market, you will be losing out to your competitors who see the value of marketing to this group. For example, Mercedes sells a high percentage of its top range luxury cars to Asians. And yet there are limited images of Asians in the mainstream media - particularly on TV and TV commercials. Research by Media Reach Consulting shows that Asians, Arabs and Chinese are less than impressed with TV, on both language and cultural issues.

Mainstream media stands accused of portraying black people as sportspeople or musicians and Asians as shop keepers. The fact is that many audiences are turned off by stereotyping by broadcasters and brands. The key is market segmentation which can be a complex process.

Movies like 'East is East' and ‘Bend it like Beckham' are good example of messages working on a number of levels – marketing the movies to a diverse audience although positioning them as a British comedy in the same mould as Bridget Jones, a very different type of film. This works brilliantly and the movies become box office successes. Another example of the integration of ethnic humour into the mainstream is the hit BBC 2 show ‘Goodness Gracious Me'.

Increasingly, organisations and brand owners need to communicate with diverse audiences, which pose more challenges for communication professionals. Ethnic marketing and media is as important as mainstream marketing and media, and in some ways can be more important. It's got nothing to do with tokenism but everything to do with customer segmentation and understanding your audience.

It's a point that's not very well understood by many public relations and marketing professionals. Yet ethnic marketing is growing in importance for many mainstream brand owners.