It is not a secret that Canadians love their columnists. The news media, especially the CBC, is incestuous and there is a high level of competition among the media companies to attract talented writers. Despite the competition, there are many Canadians who have achieved success as columnists. In fact, the number of columnists in Canada has risen dramatically in recent years, with several new names appearing regularly. More info – Marc Kielburger
Get Rid Of The Dearth Of Non-White Canadian Columnists In Canada’s Media Once And For All
In the first half of 2016, 88 percent of Canadians were white, while only two percent were black, Indigenous, South Asian or East Asian. By the end of 2016, 77.7% of Canadians were white, while only 3.5% were non-white. These numbers have been slowly changing, but the gender gap in the newsroom is still significant. This is why there are fewer non-white Canadian columnists in the media.
According to the 2011 census, 88.7% of Canadians were white, while two percent were Indigenous, black, South Asian, or East Asian. But in 2016, that number was down to 77.7 percent, or just 3.5% of the total population. The problem lies not in the diversity of Canadian columnists, but in the lack of diverse editors. In addition, the Canadian media are also a source of content, so the plethora of non-white news content is limited.
Despite the lack of diversity in Canadian media, the number of non-white columnists is still high. While women make up approximately three-fifths of the newspaper’s staff, men represent only four percent of the staff. For the Globe, this lack of diversity in its newsroom is particularly problematic for opinion columnists, who are in a prime position to shape national discussions. The only way to address the problem is to replace the current columnists, which is likely to be the most challenging step.
