With media Islamophobia in the spotlight, here’s how we avoid propagating hate

There’s been a lot of focus on the media’s role in amplifying certain voices over others in recent years.

Last week, the devastating Christchurch attack in New Zealand reignited the conversation, with criticism directed at columnists who’ve unabashedly defended Islamophobia in print and online.

But while the Rod Liddles, Julia Hartley-Brewers and Melanie Phillips’ of the world were (rightfully, in my opinion) taken to task over what many saw as their role in stoking tensions, some chose to call attention to editors responsible for letting these articles see the light of day.

From the outside looking in, it would be easy to assume that opinion editors veer towards commissioning pieces they generally agree with.

And they may well do depending on the publication. But here at The Independent, our values tend to trump our personal feelings when we’re presented with well-argued and well-written opinion pieces, backed up by facts.

It’s why we’re able to publish pieces from so many viewpoints, often within hours of each other. As set out in our company code of conduct, we place “independence, integrity and high journalistic standards” as the basis of our output.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ll commission anyone on anything. There’s a balancing act that has a to take place when considering a piece, especially given our duty to “not set out to offend the general reader or viewer” and to “always consider how people will respond to our material”.

We’re also advised to take steps to avoid coverage that “discriminates against people on the basis of, for instance, their sexual orientation, religion or race”.

Every day at The Independent, at least one of the articles I edit contains an opinion I disagree with. And that’s regardless of whether it’s a minor aside, or the crux of an entire piece.

In some cases, it’s even challenged the way I think about certain issues. In others, it’s made me dig my heels in harder. But it has never taken away from my ability to judge the quality of the words before me. That’s the beauty of this role.

Yours,

Kuba Shand-Baptiste

Voices commissioning editor