Rethinking the Newsroom and Its Biases

Racism is a system. This means that our social system is organised and structured around a white norm and gaze. Anyone who is seen to be outside this norm is then systematically discriminated against, pushed away, and marginalised. In the media, this means that most newsrooms are predominantly—if not exclusively—white. This is even more true as you move up the scale of responsibility. In Europe, BIPoC journalists are reporting in a racist environment. Many of them have been speaking out for years without any real change and awareness in newsrooms. In the last year, however, a collective approach has emerged in Europe, notably with the creation of ADIM in Belgium (Association for Diversity and Inclusion in the Media) and AJAR in France (Association of Antiracist and BIPoC Journalists), which actively tries to break the isolation of these journalists and to give voice to this media criticism. More recently, the French media Mediapart has appointed journalist Sabrina Kassa as its editorial manager for racial issues to monitor any racist bias in its content and journalistic practices and to develop its coverage of these issues. Will this inspire other newsrooms to take action?