Vic Motune has been a Board member of the Society of Editors since February 2020 and joined with the intention of tackling racism in the British media and ensuring that Black journalists are fairly represented and supported in the industry.

Statement:

”Although the Society of Editors Executive Director Ian Murray has resigned, my deep disappointment at his comments denying the fact that sections of the UK press are racist strongly remains.

I, (and other members of the board), was not consulted about the SOE statement before it went out and I would not have accepted or supported the statement. The comments do not represent what I know – the UK media fails to accurately reflect the lives and aspirations of all BAME persons in Britain.

The comments also fly in the face of the story of The Voice newspaper, which, over the course of our proud 39 year history, has highlighted and challenged racism in the media and other sectors of our society.

My big fear now is that the initiatives to address diversity which the board has been working on for the past year, and which I joined the Society of Editors to support, have been dealt a serious blow.

These initiatives involved plans to reach out to BAME journalists to help drive forward efforts to tackle racism in the media. Many of these same journalists rightly signed a letter refuting claims made in the statement- and we now need to urgently rebuild trust with this group.

Ian Murray has stated he is stepping down from his role so that the organisation can ‘rebuild its reputation’.

A special board meeting will be held today and despite being on ‘compassionate leave of absence’ from work,  I will be speaking to fellow board members on the way forward, especially with regards to actioning the planned initiatives, rebuilding the trust of BAME members and driving the much needed change in the industry.”