This document summarizes research on ethnic minority representation in media-related university subjects and careers in the UK. Some key points: - Students of mixed ethnicity had the highest representation (3%) in media-related university subjects, followed by Indian (1.7%) and Black African (1.4%) students. Representation was lowest for Black Other and Bangladeshi students. - Overall ethnic minority representation in media subjects was 11%, lower than the 16% representation across all university subjects. - Universities with the highest proportions of ethnic minority media students included University College Birmingham (50.9%) and University of East London (45.8%). - Among Russell Group universities, the London School of Economics

1. Research
Ethnic Minorities in Media
Workplace

2. 1 Research Sources and Assumptions
1.1 Source
The data used in this factsheet is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
student record database. The data covers the academic year of 2007 – 2008.
Definitions of the various subject areas used in this factsheet can be found at:
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/view/102/136/1/4
1.2 Assumptions
The data used refers to UK domiciled students only; it does not include overseas students
who are studying in the UK.
Students falling under the ‘Unknown’ category have not been added to the White group
or any of the ethnic minority groups. Instead, these have either been disregarded or
represented as ‘Unknown’ in the analysis.
Media related subjects include the following subjects:
o Mass communications and documentation
o Languages
o Creative arts and design
1.3 Definitions
The ethnic minority category groupings are based on Census 2001 categories.
Please note in particular that:
White includes:
White
Irish Traveller
Mixed includes:
Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
Mixed – White and Black African
Mixed – White and Asian
Mixed – other
Other includes:
Other ethnic background
Not Known includes:
Not Known
Information refused
Ethnic Minorities
in Media
02 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Media

3. 03 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Media
2 Ethnic Minorities in Media
2.1 Representation of Ethnic Minority Students
in Media related subjects
Our research shows that amongst the various ethnic minority groups studying media related
subjects at UK universities during 2007–08, students of mixed ethnicity had by far the highest
representation (3.0 percent), followed by Indian students (1.7 percent), Black African students
(1.4 percent) and Black Caribbean students (1.3 percent). On the other hand, students from ‘Black
Other’ backgrounds and students of Bangladeshi origins had the least representation among
ethnic minority groups – (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Representation of Ethnic Minority Students Studying Media Related Subjects (2007-08)
Source: HESA Student Record (2007-08)
The total ethnic minority representation of students studying media related
subjects in 2007-08 was 11.0%compared to 84.7%of the White
student population studying media related subjects during 2007-08.
Ethnic Minorities
in Media
Black Caribbean
Black African
Black Other
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Chinese
Other Asian
Mixed
Other
1.3%
0.3%
1.4%
1.7%
0.7%
0.4%
0.7%
0.7%
0.9%
3%

4. 04 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Media
FAST FACTS
Black and minority ethnic (BAME) workers are under-represented
in London’s audio visual (AV) industries. Ten per cent of the AV
workforce in London is from a black or minority ethnic group, even
though a quarter of London’s workforce is made up of BAME workers.
The figures are even lower in some parts of the industry e.g. in film
production, the black and minority ethnic figure is only six per cent.
Source: Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University ‘Institutional barriers to recruitment and employment in the audio visuals
industries’ January 2007
Ethnic Minorities in Media
We found that all ethnic minority groups, except the mixed ethnicity group, had a lower
representation among students studying media related subjects, than among students
studying all subjects.
Figure 2: Representation of Ethnic Minority Groups among Students Studying Media
Related subjects vis-à-vis All subjects (2007-08)
Source: HESA Student Record (2007-08)
Ethnic Minorities
in Media
Other
Mixed Ethnicity
Other Asian Background
Chinese
Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi
Asian or Asian British - Pakistani
Asian or Asian British - Indian
Other Black Background
Black or Black British - African
Black or Black British - Caribbean
Media
All Subjects
1.3%
1.4%
1.4%
3.2%
0.3%
0.3%
1.7%
3.3%
0.7%
1.9%
0.4%
0.6%
0.7%
0.9%
0.7%
1.2%
3.0%
2.1%
0.9%
0.9%
68.6% 79.0%
27.4% 16.0%
Other
Mixed Ethnicity
Other Asian Background
Chinese
Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi
Asian or Asian British - Pakistani
Asian or Asian British - Indian
Other Black Background
Black or Black British - African
Black or Black British - Caribbean
Media
All Subjects
1.3%
1.4%
1.4%
3.2%
0.3%
0.3%
1.7%
3.3%
0.7%
1.9%
0.4%
0.6%
0.7%
0.9%
0.7%
1.2%
3.0%
2.1%
0.9%
0.9%
68.6% 79.0%
27.4% 16.0%
White Representation:
Media – 84.7%
All Subjects – 79.0%
Total Ethnic Minority
Representation:
Media – 11.0%
All Subjects – 16.0%

5. Source:HESAStudentRecord
1
Themostpopularareasofstudyforthiscohortwere‘subjectsalliedtomedicine’(14%)followedbyBusiness&AdministrativeStudies(11%)andEducation(10%).TheleastpopularsubjectwasVeterinaryScience(0.2%).
EthnicMinoritiesinMedia
2.2UKUniversitieswiththeHighestProportionofEthnicMinorityStudentsstudyingMediarelatedsubjects
In2007/2008therewere1.9millionUKdomiciledstudentsatUKuniversitiesofwhich15percent(290,912.30)werestudyingmediarelatedsubjects1
.
Table1showsthetop25universitiesrankedbytheproportionofstudentsfromethnicminoritygroupsstudyingmediarelatedsubjects(2007-08).University
CollegeBirminghamhadthehighestproportion(50.9percent)ofethnicminoritystudentsamongstudentsstudyingmediarelatedsubjects,followed
byUniversityofEastLondon(45.8percent)andBrunelUniversity(44.3percent).These25universitiesconstituted43.3percentofthetotalpopulation
ofethnicminoritystudentsstudyingmediarelatedsubjectsatUKuniversities.
Table1:UniversitiesRankedbyProportionofEthnicMinorityStudentsstudyingMediarelatedsubjects(2007–08)
All
Ethnic
Minorities
Black
Caribbean
Black
African
Black Other
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Chinese
Asian Other
Mixed
Other
% of total
BAME Media
Students
Whites
Top25Universities

6. Source:HESAStudentRecord
2.3RussellGroupUniversitieswiththeHighestProportionofEthnicMinorityStudentsstudyingMedia
Table2showsthepercentageofstudentsstudyingmediarelatedsubjectsfromeachethnicminoritygroupatRussellGroupuniversities.LondonSchoolof
EconomicsandPoliticalScience(LSE)hadthehighestproportion(26.9percent)ofethnicminoritystudents,followedbyKing’sCollegeLondon(19.8percent)
andUniversityCollegeLondon(15.6percent).RussellGroupuniversitiesconstitute11.9percentofthetotalethnicminoritystudentsstudyingmediarelated
subjectsatUKuniversities.
Table2:RussellGroupUniversitiesRankedbyProportionofStudentsfromEthnicMinoritiesstudyingMediaRelatedSubjects(2007–08)
All
Ethnic
Minorities
Black
Caribbean
Black
African
Black Other
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Chinese
Asian Other
Mixed
Other
% of total
BAME Media
Students
Whites
RussellUniversities
EthnicMinoritiesinMedia

7. 07 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Media
What’s class got to do with it?
Ethnic Minorities
in Media
Of the top 100 journalists in 2006, 54% were independently educated
an increase from 49% in 1986.
Source: The Sutton Trust -The Educational Backgrounds of Leading Journalists, June 2006
A separate survey of leading journalists and editors suggests that the latest new recruits
to the national news media are even more likely to come from privileged backgrounds
than those from previous generations. Reasons for this range from: low pay and
insecurity at junior levels; the high costs of living in London; the increasing costs of
postgraduate courses; a bias towards those with family or personal connections within
the industry amid a largely informal but highly competitive recruitment process;
and finally, the stronger skills and attributes exhibited at an earlier age by those
from private schools.
Source: The Sutton Trust -The Educational Backgrounds of Leading Journalists, June 2006
Some Household Names and their Educational Background
News Presenters/Correspondents:
Name Organisation School School Type University
Jeremy Paxman BBC Newsnight Malvern College IND Cambridge
John Simpson BBC St. Pauls IND Cambridge
Jon Snow Channel 4 News St Edwards Chichester
High for Boys IND Liverpool
David Dimbleby BBC Question Time Glengorse, Battle;
Charterhouse IND Oxford
Fiona Bruce BBC Hatcham Girls,
New Cross SEL Oxford
Newspaper Editors:
Ian Hislop Private Eye Ardingly College IND Oxford
Matthew d’Ancona Spectator St. Dunstan’s College IND Oxford
Lionel Barber Financial Times Dulwich College IND Oxford
Roger Alton Observer Clifton College IND Oxford
Alan Rusbridger Guardian Cranleigh IND Cambridge
Source: The Sutton Trust -The Educational Backgrounds of Leading Journalists, June 2006
Private schools make up only 7 per cent of the country’s secondary school
population. Yet they produce well over half of the country’s top news
journalists.
Source: The SuttonTrust -The Educational Backgrounds of Leading Journalists, June 2006

8. 08 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Media
Key Media Facts
Ethnic Minorities
in Media
Ethnic minority participation
How good are the TV companies at Diversity?
A survey2
carried out in 2004 found that:
ITV 7% across ITV as a whole and 14% of staff in London were
from ethnic minority groups.
Channel 4 11.4% of all staff and 6% of senior staff were from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Five News 10% of staff on Five News were from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Sky 8.2% of Sky’s workforce was from an ethnic minority background and 9%
of Sky’s management team were from ethnic minority backgrounds.
In addition, 13% of Sky’s programming team were from an ethnic
minority background.
ITN Two members of the senior management team were from an
ethnic minority background.
BBC 13% of new recruits were from an ethnic minority background.
Source: http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/television/740
TV Milestones
1975, Empire Road became the first black soap programme
1978, LWT set up the London Minorities Unit
1982, Channel 4 launched with minority brief
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/how_entertainment_changed.stm
According to a Weber Shandwick study, 77% of Asians, 78% of black people
and 51% of Chinese people in the UK say marketing by mainstream brands
has little or no relevance to them.
2
The figures and information below were provided by the broadcasters themselves.

9. 09 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Media
FAST FACTS
Representation also varies between occupational groups. Processing
laboratory staff have the highest representation of ethnic minorities
(19.0%), with cinema cleaners (17.4%) and other roles within cinema
exhibition also high. Studio operations (16.4%) and transmission
(12.5%) have also both seen a positive increase since 2004.
Source: Skillset - The Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries – Employment Census 2006
Ethnic Minorities in Media
Figure 3: Representation of Ethnic Minorities in the Industry in each occupational group
Source: Skillset - The Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries – Employment Census 2006
Ethnic Minorities
in Media
Producing
Production
Journalism & Sport
Radio Broadcasting
Television Broadcasting
Programme Distribution
Transmission
Broadcast Engineering
Studio Operations
Interactive or Games Production
Interactive or Games Operations
Interactive or Games Business
Draw/Stop Frame Animation
2D/3D Computer Generated Animation
Art & Design
Camera
Costume/Wardrobe
Library/Archives
Lighting
Make Up& Hairdressing
Post Production
Sound
Special Physical Effects
Runner
Cinema Projectionists
Cinema Box Office/Kiosk/Attendants
Cinema Cleaners
Cinema Management/Head Office/Team Leaders
Film Distribution
Procesing Laboratories
All Other Occupational Groups
TOTAL
Media
All Subjects
4.9%
3.0%
3.7%
2.3%
9.0%
3.9%
4.1%
12.3%
0.0%
7.0%
3.1%
10.0%
19.0%
7.4%
17.4%
11.6%
4.7%
8.2%
0.3%
5.3%
8.9%
5.1%
16.4%
6.0%
12.5%
3.2%
9.5%
9.2%
11.1%
2.2%
6.4%
5.4%
68.6% 79.0%
27.4% 16.0%

10. 10 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Media
FAST FACTS
On the positive side, levels of employment of ethnic minorities are
above average in cable & satellite, processing laboratories and cinema
exhibition. However, at the other end of the scale, ethnic minorities
make up 5% or less of the workforce in animation, computer games,
offline multimedia, studio & equipment hire special physical effects
and film distribution.
Source: Skillset - The Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries – Employment Census 2006
Ethnic Minorities in Media
Figure 4: Representation of Ethnic Minorities in the Industry in each sector
Source: Skillset - The Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries – Employment Census 2006
Ethnic Minorities
in Media
Terrestrial TV
Cable & Satellite Television
Independent Production
(Television)
Broadcast Radio
Animation
Post Production
Special Physical Effects
Studio & Equipment Hire
Other Services for Film & TV
Web & Internet
Computer Games
Offline Multimedia
Commercials Production
Corporate Production
Cinema Exhibition
Film Distribution
Processing Laboratories
TOTAL
Employees
Freelancers
All
7.4%
7.3%
7.4%
18.7%
33.4%
20.4%
5.1%
6.4%
5.8%
7.3%
5.6%
6.9%
2.1%
3.4%
2.6%
7.6%
6.8%
7.3%
0.7%
2.9%
1.6%
0.8%
4.2%
1.8%
5.1%
6.5%
5.6%
6.7%
7.1%
6.8%
4.3%
0.0%
3.9%
5.5%
2.7%
4.9%
9.7%
6.0%
7.2%
3.4%
9.0%
5.9%
11.6%
0.0%
11.6%
2.9%
9.3%
3.8%
19.0%
0.0%
19.0%
7.6%
7.0%
7.4%

11. Focus on Creative and Cultural Skills
11 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Media
Ethnic Minorities
in Media
In the UK advertising employs around 26,500
people and contributes £1.4 billion to the UK
economy each year.
About 70% of the industry’s workforce are based in London
94% of the advertising workforce is white
Design contributes £6.3 billion to the UK
economy and 180,000 people currently work
in the design industry.
33% are self employed and 20% are freelancers
95% of the design workforce is white
Music contributes £6 billion of GVA to the UK
economy and UK artists account for more than
half of all albums sold in the UK, and one in 12
albums sold in the US.
96% of the music workforce is white
Literature contributes £2.3 billion to the UK
economy and 68,900 people currently work
in the literature industry.
32% of the workforce is freelance, and 62% self-employed
94% of the workforce is white
Source: Creative & Cultural Skills www..ccskills.org.uk

12. 00 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Race to the top
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