Amol Rajan: Britain’s first BME newspaper editor

Amol Rajan becomes the first person of colour to head up a national newspaper. To acutely understand  what the media generally looks like just walk into a national media newspaper, TV, or radio station and you’ll usually find more BME individuals in the kitchens, as cooks, cleaners or as security staff, than you’ll ever find as journalist, technicians or presenters.

Some of you may recall back in 2009 when we looked at more than 100 presenters on Britain’s premier Radio 4. There were no African or Caribbean and only two Asian, both part time. In a multicultural metropolis such as London, walking into many media outlets is like walking into another country, where African, Asians, Chinese and other people of colour don’t exist.

To be, therefore, Editor –the man in charge- of a national media outlet is a cause for celebration. I’ve known Amol for a number of years when he first began his career in journalism. Back then he was always keen to push both positive stories about race, and also the ones which challenged persistent inequalities. More recently he has written bold arguments for given amnesty for illegal immigrants and demanding that  big city London firms should be given living wages to its workers. Most of whom are Black and minority ethnic.

I hope this appointment forces many national outlets to be reflective and see just how un-diverse they are. For Rajan, being the first non-white editor, he will be scrutinised more than most. But he’s smart enough to handle that. He’ll also have an army of new found friends hoping to find favour at the court of the ‘Indy’. I just hope he stays true to his core beliefs, which is continuing to fight for social and racial justice, and perhaps remembers his old friends too.

Good luck Amol, and well done!

Simon Woolley