Turner Broadcasting diverse
PROFILES 35
Turner Broadcasting diverse
Attracting staff
Turner Broadcasting is home to a diverse portfolio of news and entertainment brands. In Europe, its entertainment channels Cartoon Network, TCM and Boomerang broadcast in a range of local languages throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and the European feed of CNN International is also available throughout the region. With services as varied as this, the company sees the importance of attracting and retaining high quality diverse staff as a business imperative.
Diversity is very much a part of the company’ s culture on air and it is committed to fostering a workforce with a make-up that resembles the communities it serves.
As part of Time Warner, Turner concentrates on diversity in the Workforce, Workplace and Marketplace and at the recent Black Excellence dinner in London, Time Warner’ s CEO Dick Parsons asked the audience to imagine two sports captains. One can pick his team from the whole population, the other can only pick from a particular group. As he quite rightly said, the team picked from the whole population is going to win every time. If a business case were needed for diversity in the workplace this sums it up very well.
Turner in London is working with Annmarie Dixon-Barrow who has worked for over 20 years on recruitment, diversity and the socio-economic development of ethnic minorities in the private, public and voluntary sectors. Regarded as one of the leading experts in diversity, Annmarie was recently awarded an OBE for her services to diversity in labour markets solutions.
One of the people Annmarie has introduced Turner to is MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington Diane Abbott who hosted the second annual London Schools and the Black Child Achievement Awards in October. Turner was pleased to sponsor the awards which recognise young black students who have achieved very high academic grades.
Other events that Turner has supported with Annmarie’ s help include Black History Month, the Black Women in Business Awards and Heart and Soul. Together they are arranging a day for young black job seekers to visit the company’ s west end headquarters to meet staff from News, Animation, Production, IT, Accounts and many other areas of the company.
For several years Turner London has also been running an internship programme which is specifically designed to give young ethnic minority students a taste of life in the media so if you think that could be the life for you check out their vacancies at www. Turner. com
Picture on Left: Richard D Parsons Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Diane Abbott MP and Annmarie Dixon- Barrow OBE at the inaugural Black Excellence Dinner 28th June 2007 Institute of Directors
ISSUE FIVE 2007 engage | uk