Under-Representation of Ethnic Minorities in the Media

Under-Representation of Ethnic Minorities in the Media

Representation in media terms refers to a construction in any medium that focuses on characteristics of reality such as places, people, objects and cultural identities. However, it is important to note that it is not just about how identities are represented by the creators sending out the message, but how the message is received by the public and its audience.

A recent study by ‘Clearcast’ found that only 5.3% of television adverts screened in 2010 featured actors from an ethnic minority background; out of the 34,499 adverts surveyed, only 1,845 features Asian, black or other ethnic minority actors.

So why is this? Why is it that, despite the evident growing number of ethnic minorities residing in the UK that they are still under-represented in television?

Could it be that we live in a ‘white Britain’ where by white people would not buy items advertised by ethnic minority adverts? That the general idealistic human image is that of a white background?

Ethnic minorities have always been poorly portrayed in the media, with connotations of high crime rates and poor standards of living being amongst those expected.

Could it be that institutional racism is still present? Although racism became illegal under the “Race Relations Act of 1976” and the amended “Race Relation Act of 2000”, could it be that institutional racism is still a problem today? Maybe the casting agencies for the television adverts are institutionally racist in their views, deciding to give their roles to white actors instead of ethnic minority actors.

With over 13% of the population of Britain coming from an ethnic minority background, you would have thought the advertising companies might market products specifically for them; not many products are marketed exclusively for ethnic minorities, so there is a clear niche. However, if you were to flip that argument over then you would notice that 87% of the British population are of white origin. This is a huge market and obviously one that, when compared to the 13% that ethnic minorities offer, would create a much higher amount of a market, and thus a much higher revenue.

Whether or not problems such as institutional racism and an ideological view of a ‘white Britain’ are present, sadly they will always be an impossible issue to measure.