A Headliners Foyle internet user is warning young people that we 'all' have a responsibility to untangle racist content on the web.
The internet and media are easily the most popular ways that young people access information, says 17-year-old Headliners member Gavin Moran.
This makes them hugely influential sources across the world. So if they portray elements of racism is the media and the internet to blame for the racism in the world?, asks Gavin.
Gavin recently attended the International Conflict Research (Incore) ‘Race and the Media’ conference held in the City Hotel in Derry where the resounding message emerging from discussions was that everyone has a responsibility to make media a multicultural-friendly industry.
The following is Gavin’s thoughts on the conference and the way forward for an industry he hopes to be part of in the future.
With Northern Ireland being dubbed the ‘race hate capital of Europe’ we need to find the sources of racism in our society and remove them soon.
The conference had a wide range of speakers and was attended by many organisations that help ethnic minorities and people affected by the media. The keynote speaker, Mr Steve Wessler, from the Centre of Prevention of Hate Violence, (pictured) told delegates that stories in America regarding ethnic minorities often prompts racist reviews online, a process which is now being introduced in local papers here.
He said that they always contained anonymous racial feedback with things being said that the person writing them wouldn’t dare say aloud. This got me to thinking of the internet. If we are being encouraged to come up with ways to make the media more "multicultural-friendly" it is concerning that it would only take two seconds online to find a racist site.
And with the internet being more influential on the younger generation now instead of newspapers and TV more has to be done to stop people viewing these sites. As we all know the internet is unstoppable and can’t be controlled so we ourselves need to change and prevent ourselves going on these sites.
Mr Adian White from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said at the conference: "Press freedom is a responsibility exercised by the journalist on behalf of the public," meaning that the journalists must be ethically correct in the terminology they use if they are to fairly represent the multicultural society they live in. It was shocking and sad to see inappropriate racist words featuring in many recent newspaper stories and headlines shown at the conference in presentations by speakers.
At the end of the conference we had round table discussions to come up with ways to combat unfair racist slurs in the media. One of the solutions was to train journalists in correct ethnical terms and what can and cannot be said. Also for bi-lingual pieces to be published to let minorities feel more comfortable reading papers in the first place.
We also recognised the importance of encouraging young people from ethnic minorities to become newspaper or on-line journalists. Highlighting the predicament journalists can find themselves in was Jilly Beattie, The Mirror. Speaking at the conference she said all too many editors know and are influenced by the fact that racial headlines sell papers. She also acknowledged that ethnic minority stories were not given the space that they deserved in newspapers.
She insisted it is not always the journalist's fault but that they are answerable to a higher authority.
Media has a great power over us and should be used for good. This conference clearly showed that we all have a part to play in ensuring that everyone’s story and voice is heard, Gavin concludes.
About this article
This article was published in The North West Telegraph and The Derry Journal.
