LONDON (AP) – The British royal family handles its description in Meghan and Harry’s explosive television interview as distant, indifferent and tinged with racism. However, the couple identified an even bigger villain: the British media, which they accused of racist aggression and personal attacks.
Many in the media say it is unfair. They argue that while some tabloids sometimes go too far, journalists play a vital role, given the taxpayer-funded British royal family.
But some British journalists, especially those from minority backgrounds, hope the interview will trigger a long-delayed accounting of media misconduct and a lack of diversity.
Marcus Ryder, a professor of media diversity at the University of Birmingham City, said he was too free to talk about “moments in the pool.”
“But I would suggest that this is a time that will help shape the industry,” he said.
In the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan accused the British tabloids of “attacking and inciting so much racism” against her. Harry described a toxic relationship between the monarchy and the media, saying that the royal family was “scared” by the tabloid press.
The accusations provoked a passionate response that brought down two personalities in the British media.
Piers Morgan, talk show host a familiar television star on both sides of the Atlantic gave up on “Good Morning Britain” amid a shout-out about her comments about Meghan, especially her description of mental health struggles and suicidal thoughts.
Morgan told viewers Monday that “I don’t believe a word she says.” His comments drew more than 41,000 complaints to the UK regulator. Morgan left the set of “Good Morning Britain” on Tuesday, when another presenter challenged him and gave up the show later that day. ‘
The fury also claimed the job of Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors. The new umbrella group launched a strong press defense after Harry and Meghan’s interview, saying that “the British media is not fanatical and will not be influenced by its vital role of accountable to the rich and powerful.”
This caused a negative reaction. Top editors of The Guardian, Financial Times and HuffPost UK challenged the statement, while 160 reporters and editors signed a letter saying the Society of Editors was “in denial” about racism.
ITV News coach Charlene White, the first black woman to present the network’s main evening news program, gave up hosting the company’s annual press awards, saying the organization asked her to get involved to improve her diversity, but he did not keep his words.
“Since the Black Lives Matter movement took off in the UK last year, every institution in this country has finally had to look at its failures and its position on how it treats ethnic minorities both within and outside the UK. and outside its walls, ”White told the company in a statement. “But for some unknown reason, you feel like the UK press is exempt from this discussion.”
On Wednesday, Murray gave up, acknowledging his statement “could have been much clearer in condemning fanaticism and clearly outraged.”
The British media, although diverse in its political and social views, is not representative of the population in terms of race, sex or class. British and non-white women are underrepresented, while private school graduates hold a disproportionate share of jobs.
Journalists working to change the situation say it is not easy.
Marverine Duffy, a former news anchor who runs the journalism program at the University of Birmingham City, says “improving the number of ethnically and socially qualified journalists in newsrooms is paramount,” but it’s not enough.
“Systems need to be put in place to stir up group thinking, anti-blackness and a lack of desire to see racism and xenophobia for what it really is, instead of closing your eyes,” she said.
In addition to triggering a debate on diversity, Meghan and Harry’s interview highlighted the complex and awkward relationship of the press with the monarchy.
For decades, Britain’s royal dramas played largely in private, as a deferential media protected the monarchy’s secrets. In the 1930s, the story between King Edward VIII and the divorced American Wallis Simpson was major news in the United States, but barely mentioned in Britain until the king abdicated to marry the woman he loved.
This respect evaporated until Prince Charles married 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. The British media portrayed every turn of their marriage as increasingly unhappy. Glamorous Diana became the most famous woman in the world, followed by the paparazzi until her death in a car accident in Paris in 1997, while she was being watched by photographers.
Diana’s death determined the search for the soul for both the palace and the press. But it did not cure their troubled relationship.
Harry talked about his fear that history would repeat itself and that his wife would suffer the same fate as his mother. When he and Meghan gave up their royal duties last year and moved to North America, they quoted what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. The couple is suing several newspapers in the UK for invading privacy.
Ryder said the media challenge differentiates legitimate royalty stories that are in the public interest from intrusive gossip.
“It’s a subjective call, and this subjective call is why we need our guards, the people who make that call – the people who are the heads of the newspapers, the people who are the heads of the news bulletins – to have real diversity,” he said. said.
“Because if the only people who call are white from a certain background and are predominantly male, they will make different subjective calls than if we have more diversity.”
Others point out that despite hostility to the British press, Harry and Meghan are themselves skilled media manipulators.
Ed Owens, a historian who has studied the relationship between media and royalty, said the couple “uses new media channels – things like social media, the Oprah interview – to try to reach out and connect with an audience.” new”.
“It’s nothing new,” he said. “Kings have always been looking for new forms of media to connect with the public. Another thing that is not new is how they used, if you will, a language of suffering and hardship to evoke an emotional response from the media audience around the world. ”
“And I think for the most part, they have succeeded,” he said.
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AP writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.