Media Diversity

The media intend to serve broad populations of listeners, readers, users and audiences. Diversity in media refers to the extent to which the media accurately reflects the variety of cultural, social and political perspectives on issues and opinions of those populations in editorial content. Factual representation and equal treatment of all members of society is particularly important in news and current affair programmes so as to avoid stereotypes, misunderstandings and conflicts, and fairly portray human diversity.

Diversity in media also refers to the array of programmes and genres in media, such as reporting, documentaries, talk shows, vox-pops, etc., as they open up a multitude of spaces for democratic participation on an infinity of subjects. Within the programmes, diversity in the choice of languages, music, invited guests and other can further show the diversity of humanity. Furthermore, when media outlets adopt equal opportunity policies, they bring home a diverse workforce that is not only crucial to counter discrimination and ensure balanced representation, but also to stimulate both creativity and a sense of belonging.

It is, however, difficult for one single media outlet to meet the needs of the full plethora of groups in society. That is the reason why media pluralism, i.e., the coexistence of different types of media, is also important for media diversity. The availability of different types of media ownership facilitates diversity of sources and viewpoints across a range of outlets.