ABSTRACT
For many years, all the major broadcasters in Britain have followed their own guidelines on references to race, colour and religion. In essence, they all say that a person’s colour, ethnic origin or religious allegiance should be mentioned only if it is absolutely relevant to the story. Most will agree that this policy is fair and sensible. It avoids stereotyping and the promotion of prejudice. But under pressure of deadlines, some irrelevant ethnic references can slip through: ‘The record lottery winner is James Smith, a black bus driver from Salford.’ Always ask yourself whether you would use the adjective ‘white’ in the same circumstances. It’s a more serious mistake if you are reporting crime. Many members of ethnic minority groups are infuriated if they hear something like ‘a grandmother has been mugged by two black youths’, because they know the journalist would not have written ‘. . . by two white youths’ and the report is therefore perpetuating a stereotype.
