In my next life I want to come back as a diversity director. Preferably for a large corporation.

I will then be able to publicly criticize my bosses without censure, make people feel guilty about being white, male and middle class and get paid for it. And most of all I will be able to call for more black and brown faces in my company without saying anything about talent or merit.

Now, before furious diversity directors start writing in, saying I'm trivialising their role, let me say I have no issue with those who work tirelessly to ensure that people are not discriminated against in the workplace.

I'm sceptical, however, of headline-making remarks from people in a position to make a real difference that simply skim the surface of real issues.

Take for example the recent comments from Mary Fitzpatrick, diversity director at the BBC. She complained that she is sick and tired of seeing white reporters in places like Africa or reporting from war zones where there are Muslim issues. Her solution?

To have "culturally appropriate" reporters for certain stories. So for example if there was a riot in a predominantly Muslim area of Britain, the person telling us about it should ideally be a Muslim journalist who will have a "better understanding of the issues".

Maybe they will, maybe they won't. That will depend on the individual reporter.

If he is a middle-class Muslim who went to private school, Oxbridge and lives in say, Tunbridge Wells, he may have less in common with unemployed youths who have lived in an exclusively Muslim community 'oop north' all their lives and are mired in the politics of their local mosque, than a working-class white lad who worked hard to get a job at the BBC or on a national newspaper.

The point is, no job is simply about 'colour coding' and matching person to subject according to cultural appropriateness. It is about ability, specialist talents, research, willingness to learn and an understanding of human nature.

My findings from a media survey I conducted 2 years ago included the almost unanimous view of the Asian participants that they had no criticism of the number of Asian faces they saw on television. For a minority, they said, we are very well represented. There are many Asian newsreaders and reporters on screen.

The real issue was the lack of Asians with editorial power. News comes via editorial policies that are made in the corridors of power. Having the 'right' faces on screen is nice but ultimately just a cosmetic change.

Encouraging talented people from the ethnic minorities into a profession and nurturing that talent through training so they can progress without fear of discrimination and due to merit rather than colour is, I'd suggest, more important than "looking right" on screen but having nothing of substance going on behind the scenes where decisions are made.

In the light of Ms Fitzpatricks' comments I revisited the survey on this specific topic. There was no substantial change in people's views. Competence and objectivity are the key requirements most Asians seek of their news journalists.

First and foremost people wanted an informed report from a good journalist who showed some insight into the relevant culture. If he had some personal understanding of the culture and this added to his report then this was an advantage but no-one I spoke to saw it as a prerequisite.

A good journalist, said one participant, would research his/her story. "If he doesn't do that then he isn't doing his job properly and that is the crucial test as to whether he is right for the story not his personal background."

"News reports are not supposed to be personal commentaries. They are supposed to give us information about a situation in a fair and balanced way. If you give stories to reporters based on their background then you're highlighting the differences between people rather than the story itself," said another.

Journalists I interviewed agreed. "It's condescending and smacks of tokenism," said one. "Assumptions are being made for example that I as someone born and raised in Britain will automatically have a better understanding of rural life in Asian countries because my parents came from there years ago."

"I might have, but not necessarily. Jobs should be given on merit. How good you are as a journalist should always be the ultimate test."