Diversity in the British Mass Media: Victory Against Ageism - Essay Example

 The concept of managing diversity is too subtle to be defined in a satisfactory manner. Such concept has to be contextualized in order to fully understand its meaning. In the British context, the praxis of managing diversity is clearly seen through the historical triumph of Miriam O’Reilly’s case against the BBC’s malpractice of ageism. In general, ageism is a form of discrimination towards the old people merely because they are old. In Emily Andrew and Paul Revoir’s The Woman Who Beat Age Bias at BBC, the news writers from the Mail Online significantly provide a certain angle about the age bias felt and experienced by O’Reilly. And similar to conventional news writing, Andrew and Revoir’s article reveals an interesting insight concerning the historic case against the said broadcasting organisation. Andrews and Revoir’s news article heavily uses particular words in which the meanings or implications, intentional or not, are both explicit and implicit. Of the words -- and the ideas inherent in them -- that are said or written, the most prominent is the term “ageism.” There are a number of words or lexis in the article that relate or associate to the term of ageism, such as “old” and several of its variants (i.e., “age” and “ageist”). By and large, their written text largely discusses the issue of the subject -- mainly, Miriam O’Reilly -- which primarily focuses on age discrimination that she experienced in her workplace (i.e., BBC). The notion of ageism is categorized by Butler as a “process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against old people because they are old” (as cited in Nuessel & Stewart, 2007). Of the words that are unsaid, the most apparent is the subtle idea concerning gender discrimination. Pertaining to gender bias, the news article appears to be silent on the fact that most presenters, who were dismissed from their work, were considerably women -- Juliet Morris and Michaela Strachan are two prime examples. Conversely, male presenters such as John Craven substantially retain their position at BBC, what the news reporters describe as presenters who “survive the cull” (Andrews & Revoir, 2011). What is interesting in the article are the terms used in addressing the main subject as well as the secondary subject (i.e., BBC high-ranking officials). Former Countryfile presenter O’Reilly is generally addressed by the two news writers as “Miss” -- in fact, she is called in that manner for about eleven times. The term “Miss” has several connotations, which include the meaning of being a young girl. In the process, this generates a notable paradox: the issue of ageism as against the subject’s state of being young. Moreover, there are a number of words that relate, directly or indirectly, to the term “Miss” such as “rejuvenate,” “fresh,” and “young,” which essentially appeared two, three, and five times, respectively. On the other hand, the higher officials from the BBC organisation are greatly described in the news article as either senior or boss. First, the term “senior” connotes, among other connotations, the state of being old or older. In essence, another paradox is subtly created: senior or old officials as against old employees or workers. And second, the term “boss” implies a master or superior who dominates in giving orders to his subordinate; in the text, such term is mentioned for about two times. On the other hand of the scale, the news article attempts to be objective in presenting the information relevant to the case of O’Reilly. The views between the two opposing parties are generally cited. For instance, the reaction of former BBC controller Jay Hunt -- against the accusation thrown to her as a woman who “hated women” -- is clearly, though indirectly, cited. Moreover, the article cites the argument of the BBC officials pertaining to their decision that, categorically, has “nothing to do with [O’Reilly’s] age.” However, the general thesis of the text evidently shows subjectivity in the way the writers wrote their article. For example, Andrew and Revoir substantially fail to examine the tribunal’s judgment pertaining to the missing puzzle on why Craven -- much older than O’Reilly and other dismissed presenters -- was not “axed” in the BBC organisation. True, the old man is “quite different” from other presenters in terms of status or profile; nonetheless, one cannot dismiss the fact that the main premise of O’Reilly’s party, with respect to the case, fundamentally concerns with the issue of ageism practiced by the said broadcasting organisation. Regardless of profile, Craven remains to be old. Furthermore, the two news writers significantly fail to counter the argument on the issue of gender discrimination. Besides Craven, Adam Henson was excluded amongst the axed presenters from the broadcasting organisation. One could reason out that the subjectivity of the article is due mainly to the nature of the conventional news writing -- namely, it is brief and centers on one theme. O’Reilly calls the success of her case as “historic.” That is true, of course, since the law in Britain -- which prohibits age discrimination -- was just introduced or legislated in 2006. Kirton and Greene (2010) observe that the issue of ageism is gaining widespread attention essentially because of the “introduction in 2006 of legislation outlawing age discrimination.” Perhaps this law vitally permitted O’Reilly to remarkably win in the landmark case against the BBC’s ageism. The law in Britain that substantially outlaws ageism in the workplace is fundamentally the result of the increasing awareness on the concept and praxis of the so-called managing diversity. Kandola and Fullerton (1998) define the notion of managing diversity as an acceptance that the “workforce consists of a diverse population of people.” This diversity widely includes the differences with respect to the person’s age, sex, and other demographic factors. Prasad and Mills (1997) note that the concept of managing diversity is most popular in the mass media. With the landmark victory of O’Reilly’s case, managing diversity will no longer be a concept but a practice in the British mass media considering that the BBC had already expressed its apology and intends to “discuss working with her again.” References Andrews, E., & Revoir, P. (2011, January 12). The woman who beat age bias at BBC: Countryfile star axed for being too old at 51 wins £150,000. Daily Mail. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1346089/Miriam-OReilly-wins-Countryfile-ageism-claim-discrimination-BBC.html Kandola, R., & Fullerton, J. (1998). Diversity in action: Managing the mosaic. London, UK: Charter Institute of Personnel and Development. Kirton, G., & Greene, A. (2010). The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical approach (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. Nuessel, F., & Stewart, A. V. (2007). The “Neussel-Stewart ageism rating instrument”: Literature review, format, implementation, recommendations for usage. In W. H. Miller (Ed.), Advances in communications and media research (pp. 29-52). New York, NY: Nova Science. Prasad, P., & Mills, A. J. (1997). From showcase to shadow: Understanding the dilemmas of managing workplace diversity. In P. Prasad, A. J. Mills, M. Elmes, & A. Prasad (Eds.), Managing the organizational melting pot: Dilemmas of workplace diversity (pp. 3-30). London, UK: Sage. Read More