Mumbai: Asians in Media (AiM) will launch a new discussion forum next week in London to promote greater interaction between Asian media professionals in the UK.
AiM, celebrating their 1st anniversary this week, is the only magazine in the UK to cover the Asian professionals in particular and the media industry in general.
As part of the initiative, a regular series of events will be held at London Westminster's prestigious Cinnamon Club. The aim of these programmes, the first of their kind in the UK, is to help Asian media professionals to work closer and raise issues that affect them.
Asians in Media Editor-in-chief Sunny Hundal, says: "I think its time that Indians, along with the rest of those from the sub-continent, took charge of what is being written and made about them in British media. We want to provide an opportunity for Asians here in all levels of the media to meet and discuss the important issues, as well as how we can take ourselves forward as a community. By having these debates we can raise our voices collectively."
"There are also a lot of other issues such as immigration, outsourcing, and portrayal of the sub-continent, which regularly come up in discussions. Plus we would like to encourage the mainstream to invest in Asian media and target Asian consumers more actively. This will be a platform for them to meet, develop ideas and form business partnerships," said Hundal.
The announcement coincides with a new report by the British government agency COI, to be released on Monday, encouraging mainstream British media companies to work closer with specialist Asian press in order to target younger and older members of the community.
"Our aim, through the online magazine, has always been to inform readers about the Asian media so that mainstream media can target the Asian community better. These events come at a time when the mainstream media find our radio, TV and publishing companies coming off age and getting economically attractive. That speaks for the recent investments made by heavyweights such as Sky and Express newspapers," Sunny Hundal adds.
Moving forward, the Asians in Media endeavours to initiate more focused and wide-ranging dialogues on key current issues within the industry by organising bigger industry events.
