There has been a drop in the number of privately-educated leaders in UK media but the industry remains “highly unrepresentative” of the public overall, a new report has found.
Newspaper columnists have a “particularly stark” class disparity compared to the UK population, with “little sign of progress” among those interpreting the news for audiences.
The 2025 Elitist Britain report from social mobility charity found that the gap is “particularly prominent” among a selection of 100 news media leaders, plus samples of columnists, political commentators, BBC executives and podcasters.
These groups are all “disproportionately more privately educated than the general population” with nearly half having attended a Russell Group university (a group of 24 prestigious institutions) and at least 20% who went to Oxford or Cambridge universities (together known as Oxbridge).
Among the whole UK population, 7% went to private schools while less than 1% went to Oxbridge.
Among 100 media leaders in the Sutton Trust’s “News Media 100” group, including editors, digital editors and lead broadcast presenters, 33% went to private school.
This is down from 43% in 2019 and 54% in 2014 when it was one of the highest figures across all industries in the Elitist Britain report (which include politics, business/wealth, public servants, creative industries and sport).
Although 91% attended university (down from 92% in 2019), there has been a “notable fall” in the number who came from a Russell Group institution, down from 71% to 59% in the past six years.
Oxbridge attendees also fell, from 45% in 2014 to 36% in 2019 and now 23%.
The 2025 report also looked at a more general sample of 132 journalists, which it did not do previously, meaning there are no percentage change figures for this category. This group included journalists whose work appeared in the top-five most-read national newspapers on a sample day in March.
This group had a lower rate of independent schooling than the news leaders, on 30%, but their level of university attendance was one of the highest seen in the Elitist Britain report at 96%.
In addition, 71% of these newspaper journalists went to a Russell Group university and 17% went to Oxbridge.
Newspaper columnists and political commentators ‘come from narrow range of backgrounds’
The highest privately-educated group among the media cohorts was that of 129 newspaper columnists across the Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Sun, The Telegraph and The Times, on 50%. This has increased from 43% in 2014 and 44% in 2019.
Columnists’ university attendance has also seen little change: 87% (down from 89% in 2019) with, 67% at Russell Group (down from 72%) and 43% at Oxbridge (down from 44%) – the latter of which was one of the highest levels in the whole report.
The report said: “Columnists provide opinions and commentary, arguably giving them a great deal of influence over what perspectives are shared and archived. But the data here indicates that those from a wider range of backgrounds are not necessarily getting these opportunities. Comparing to data the Sutton Trust has from as early as the 80s, this has been the case for decades.”
Meanwhile, political commentators, 96 hosts and talking heads from the UK’s top political podcasts plus BBC and ITV political shows across a sample week in February 2025, had the second-highest figure among the media cohorts of private education, on 47%.
“It is notable that rates of private school attendance are higher among those who provide commentary – columnists, political commentators and podcasters – than those who report news,” the Sutton Trust said.
“This means that those tasked with interpreting the news often come from a very narrow range of backgrounds, and there is little sign of progress.”
It added: “This status quo is likely driven by many factors. For instance, long-term roles are becoming increasingly difficult to secure in journalism. Permanent contracts have fallen from 74% in 2015 to 65% in 2023. Within the same period, freelancers made up 17% of journalists and have increased to 28%.
“The rising instability in income could mean that those without a financial safety net may choose to do something more secure.”
The report also highlighted the impact of job losses in local media outlets from newspapers to radio. “Whilst some progress has been made in widening access to news media, fewer opportunities in these outlets have limited pathways for aspiring working-class journalists into the media industry.”
Podcasters ‘just as elite’ by school attendance
For the first time, the 2025 report included a look at podcasters and influencers/content creators to give a sense of class diversity within new media.
Almost half (45%) of the main presenters on UK-based podcasts featured on the February 2025 Podwatch chart attended private school.
The Sutton Trust said: “The type of content these media professionals produce may be different and arguably wider ranging than others in this chapter, but it appears that, when considering school attendance, they are just as elite.”
The report also noted: “Popular podcasts are increasingly dominated by large media organisations, which is likely reflected in the backgrounds of the presenters.”
However, podcasters (145 in the sample) did have a lower level of university attendance than the traditional media groups, on 67%. Almost half (47%) attended a Russell Group institution and 20% went to Oxbridge.
Content creators more representative of UK population
The report noted the educational backgrounds of 53 content creators were more representative of the UK population compared to the rest of the media, suggesting this was because of the accessibility of this medium to those from a more diverse range of upbringings.
It looked at UK-born/based influencers who appeared in Yougov’s top influencers list in Q1 2025 as well as nominees for ITV’s BCreator creator of the year between 2021 and 2024.
A much lower percentage of these influencers and content creators (18%) went to private school, while 51% went to university (16% Russell Group and 4% Oxbridge, much closer to the UK average).
“This list arguably covers far more genres than the other media professions discussed in this report, which may explain why their educational backgrounds are more similar to UK population averages than professions like a newspaper columnist,” the report said.
“Nevertheless, this group are still more than twice as likely to have attended private school.”
Explaining why social diversity within the media matters, the Sutton Trust said: ““One potential consequence of the disparities in background is that the media may inadvertently focus on reflecting the perspectives of those working within it.
“This can lead to criticisms that the media neglect the interests of most people, and at times, misrepresent social class.”
BBC executives are included in the report but are not just from BBC News, instead including includes music, sport, finance and other divisions.
Read the full Elitist Britain 2025 report.
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