The award-winning PressPad is a fledgling social enterprise striving to make journalism more accessible in the United Kingdom. Today, the launch of sister charity, PressPad Charitable Foundation, was announced with news Harry and Meghan's Archewell Foundation is among the first donors.
The Foundation will provide support and bursaries to complement the work PressPad has been doing since 2018, through linking people in London with seasoned journalists, to helping them secure accommodation and, crucially, assisting young people from diverse backgrounds entering the profession. Their efforts are described as "mentoring, networking and accommodation" all rolled into one.
In a statement today, PressPad said they are "excited by such positive action after difficult yet important moments of reckoning for the UK media", adding, "We’re proud to say our values of action, compassion and community align with the Archewell Foundation. Thanks to everyone who spoke their truth. It takes us all." Continuing, they said they look forward to "making positive and lasting change" and improving social mobility in the UK media.
More on the challenges and barriers in entering journalism from PressPad:
'It is often said that the British media industry is pale, male and stale; but to quote City Journalism lecturer Jane Martinson “it’s probably fairer to call it pale, male and posh.” And Jane is not alone in that realisation. In 2017, Sky News’ Lewis Goddall set Twitter alight with his article “The BBC gender pay gap is bad – but its class gap is worse” highlighting that diversity is about more than what you can see. His article called out what many of us know to be true: coming from a working-class and poor economic background is a huge, unspoken disadvantage. While we would love for unpaid internships to become entirely a thing of the past everyone knows this will take time. Until this changes we want PressPad to exist for anyone and everyone that needs it.
Getting into journalism is expensive - It’s not a surprise that journalism became dominated by people from privileged backgrounds given that the financial barrier of entry has been steadily rising throughout the years. Think about it. Many journalism jobs now require you to have a university degree to even apply, and that costs money. A report in 2016 found that more than half of the country’s top journalists had gone to private school, and 80% of editors in top jobs came from private or grammars schools.'
The statistics lay bare how far we have to go in the path to an inclusive, diverse media.
Reading about PressPad, it very much brought me back to Harry's words with Oprah when he recalled a conversation about the media. "I remember the Sentebale fundraiser. One of the people at that dinner said to me, 'Please don't do this with the media, they will destroy your life.' This person is friends with a lot of the editors. They said, 'You don't understand, the U.K. is very bigoted. I stopped, and I said the U.K.'s not bigoted, the U.K. press is bigoted. But unfortunately, if the source of information is inherently corrupt or racist or biased, then that filters out to the rest of society." Harry's sentiment goes to the very core of PressPad's ethos - when journalists and news providers do not reflect the diversity and demographic, the void between the media and its reader grows.
Harry's words resonated with me as a media tsunami engulfed the Society of Editors earlier this week. Executive director Ian Murray resigned from his position with SoE, which represents 400 members of the media, after releasing the following statement in response to the Sussexes' interview. "The UK media is not bigoted and will not be swayed from its vital role holding the rich and powerful to account following the attack on the press by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex." It was met with sweeping objections - including 236 journalists of colour from outlets including, BBC, the Guardian, New York Times, and many others voicing their dismay and disagreement in an open letter. Murray's resignation was welcomed. It's a glimpse into how deep the divide in the UK media goes.
I don't think it's any coincidence the Sussexes' efforts this week, which have included marking International Women's Day with Luminary Bakery and the Hubb Community Kitchen, Meghan's letter to Robert Clack school in Dagenham and tonight's announcement, are firmly focused on the UK. Though they no longer have official roles representing the Royal family, they remain determined and passionate in support of the causes close to their hearts and continue links forged with organisations and charities making a difference. In experiencing the full might of the British press, they know change needs to happen on the ground, at entry level. Harry and Meghan cannot change their own experience, sadly, but can play their part ensuring a better future. Today's interns supported by PressPad may very well be tomorrow's editors.
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As I was about to hit publish on this post, confirmation of several additional organisations the Sussexes plan to support via Archewell came through. The couple's charitable foundation "is aligning behind and providing new support to several key organisations that are tackling a number of today’s most pressing global conversations". The first is one of the UK's leading mental health charities, Mind. It was one of eight charities included in Heads Together. Mind believe no one should have to face a mental health problem alone.
Following Meghan bravely speaking about her mental health, Mind shared a message of support. "We applaud Meghan Markle for speaking out about her experiences of suicidal thoughts. We know that opening up in this way can be really difficult, but when high profile people talk about these experiences, it helps to break down the stigma around mental health issues. We know racism is a big part of this conversation and racial trauma can have a real impact on people’s mental health. We’d like to hear in the comments how racism has affected your mental health. This will help us to provide better support for people from racialised communities."
In a statement, the charity confirmed they received a donation from Archewell:
“We know that the pandemic has taken its toll on our mental health, with more people than ever coming to Mind for support – whether that’s through our website, Infoline, or the services run by our network of local Minds across England and Wales. At the same time, this past year has been difficult financially for the whole charity sector – including Mind – as many fundraising events were cancelled or postponed and charity shops were regularly closed to comply with lockdowns and restrictions.
“We appreciate any donations - no matter how large or small, as they allow us to continue our vital work including helping to prevent suicides by providing information and support to anyone affected by poor mental health. Mental health problems can affect anybody, regardless of factors like age, gender, ethnic group or socioeconomic status. We’re grateful to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Archewell Foundation for this support, which will help us continue to make sure everyone with a mental health problem gets both support and respect.”
The Sussexes will be supporting non-profit, online racial justice organisation, Color of Change. Last year, its president, Rashad Robinson, revealed he had been speaking to the couple. "I've appreciated the thoughtful conversations I've had with the Duke and Duchess. Even more, I appreciate that they are using their platform to reach out to key corporations and share the goals of the Stop Hate for Profit campaign." During a Zoom call between Rashad and Harry last August, the Prince said, "We have to go to the root of the problem, to the source of the problem, and fix it there. It's going to take every single one of us. This is not down to the Black community. This is down to every single person that is on the planet right now."
The Sussexes have also pledged support for URL Media, a platform network of Black and Brown media organisations. URL shares content, distribution and other resources to "enhance reach, expand revenue and build long-term sustainability".
It's incredibly exciting to see Harry and Meghan's vision for Archewell taking shape. I'm looking forward to their work with these amazing organisations.