It was a superb privilege to talk with the brilliant journalist, author, change maker and diversity advocate Antoinette Lattouf on this podcast. Antoinette is such an eloquent, inspiring and funny human being! Here, she spoke very candidly with me about her working class upbringing in a Lebanese household in Western Sydney and how as a child she never saw people on television who weren’t white Australians - definitely not reading or presenting the news.
It was witnessing this complete lack of indigenous and non-white media representation that drove Antoinette as a young woman into the vast forays of the unbalanced Australian media landscape - with the hope of eventually trying to change things.
And change things she did!
Being the outspoken and incredibly intelligent human that Antoinette is, helped her gain a real footing in the once so bland and generic Australian television world. A world so desperately lacking in not only cultural, but also racial, diversity. To further her ambition to broaden the cultural representation of Australian media, Antoinette founded Media Diversity Australia, a national, not-for-profit organisation that works to promote diversity.
Their mission statement is simple:
“We want our news and current affairs media to look and sound like culturally and linguistically diverse Australia.”
As a direct result of Antoinette’s and her colleague’s efforts at MDA, the media landscape in Australia now definitely looks a lot more representative of the country as a whole. The details of which we address in our talk at some length.
In television, Antoinette has worked at Network Ten, ABC, SBS and triple j. She is also a regular guest commentator for a range of online and broadcast publications and in 2021, was nominated and won both the prestigious Women's Agenda Leadership Award and the B&T Women in Media Champion of Change award. Truly deserved.
We also talk about her just having finished writing a fantastic book called How to lose friends and influence white people which comes out in May 2022, but which you can preorder. If my talk with Antoinette is anything to go by, then this is going to be a fantastic read. About the book:
A guide through the balancing act of activist, advocate and ally, always remembering that just because others are learning you don't need to be the teacher, from media expert, the dynamic and sharp co-founder of Media Diversity Australia, Antoinette Lattouf.
A powerful and personal guide to the balancing act of being an advocate and ally, irrespective of the audience you're trying to influence. Whether it's challenging a racist relative at a family function or examining the institutional barriers people of colour face in the workplace, award-winning journalist and dynamic leader Antoinette Lattouf helps you navigate this often harsh terrain.
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Thank you very much.
Mauri Ora.
“It takes generosity to discover the whole through others. If you realize you are only a violin, you can open yourself up to the world by playing your role in the concert.”
The legend himself, Jacques Yves Cousteau.
The Word KUPU #14 - Antoinette Lattouf