In Canadian society Aboriginals are commonly misrepresented in the media. In order to create more accurate portrayals of Aboriginal people, one of the first steps is to diversify Canadian media personnel.
According to a study done in 2000, by Florian Sauvageau and David Pritchard at Laval University, 97.3 percent of Canadian journalists across all media were Caucasian (Media Awareness Network) Furthermore, of the minorities that occupied journalist positions, Aboriginals had the lowest number, with only 1.3 percent of news personnel classifying themselves as ‘Aboriginal’ .
This introduces a major hurdle to correcting the racial injustices of the Canadian media. An increase in the diversity of media personnel would help to eradicate common misrepresentations of minorities through the inclusion of a minority perspective or opinion.
In many instances, media images that feature a member of a minority group are often presented to the public using stereotypical frames, which depict the minority individual as a deviant member of society. For example, as outlined in the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996), the images shown of Aboriginal people during land disputes often presents the group as very hostile and on the verge of committing acts of violence; even when the protesters are peaceful and planning to seek a non-violent resolution to their land claim (vol 3: 623).
This is not to say that the presence of an Aboriginal journalist would remove all bias images of Aboriginal people; however, filtering the information through non-Aboriginal editors removes any chance of incorporating the minority perspective.
In efforts to diversify media personnel, the Canadian government began creating legislation as early as the 1960s, which encouraged and supported changing the demographic profile of Canadian news professionals. For example, the Multiculturalism Act of 1988 outlined major changes for media outlets, which called for employment equity programs and the structural assimilation of Aboriginals and visible minorities into federal agencies and crown corporations, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and its affiliates.
Legislative acts, such as, The Multiculturalism Act, have helped to provide recognition of the lack of diversity within the Canadian media landscape but have had minimal success in actually changing the demographic profile of Canadian media personnel.
Many of today’s most popular media outlets are owned and operated privately, which means that they have no formal obligation to adhere to the standards outlined by the Canadian government. Moreover, in the absence of proper monitoring and enforcement, most of the goals outlined in the Multiculturalism Act have unfortunately not been met.
In order to help eliminate racial bias, it is crucial that there be adequate minority representation among those who produce media content. The presence of minorities within any stage of the production of media content increases the likelihood of more ethical representations.
Although diversifying media personnel cannot be used as a panacea to the problem of racial bias in the media, it is a key component to correcting the current injustices of the Canadian media.
 |
