Linda Kramer Jenning on the Current State of Women in Journalism
Cynthia Sheridan January 17, 2021
On January 16th, speaker Linda Kramer Jenning shared her views on the current state of journalism and her experience as a woman journalist. Instead of notebooks and recorders, tools of the trade are likely to include helmets and flak jackets in today’s environment where the press has become a target. In addition to the potential for physical violence, women journalists must deal with online violence and harassment. Statistics show that nearly one third of women consider leaving journalism jobs as a result.
While women were once relegated to the Society section of a newspaper, it took discrimination law suits in the 1970s to open the doors to political coverage, one of the biggest journalistic hurdles for women to clear. Today’s journalists have pioneers such as Betsy Wade of the New York Times, Peggy Simpson of the Associated Press, and Lynn Povich of Newsweek to thank for fighting to remove those barriers. Linda shared the Shirley Chisholm quote, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair”.
No matter how objective the journalist, each can see things through a different lens. That makes it critically important for diversity among the professionals who report the news.
Yet The Status of Women in US Media in 2019 reports that of the overall workforce in newsrooms, 41.7% are women and 22.6% people of color. What stories are missed if equal representation is missing? And the availability of diverse expert sources is of equal importance. With that in mind, the organization also has a SheSource tab on their website with a rolodex of women experts. Despite having the opportunity to report on notable people and events, Linda feels her most important stories were those about everyday people in extraordinary situations.
Linda also sent a list of links to different journalism resources for us to explore and learn more. Click here to download the document. If you are looking to add to your reading list, make sure to check out the recommendations below involving journalism from Linda and others at the meeting:
“The Punishment of Virtue” by Sarah Chayes
“In Extremis” by Lindsey Hilsum about Marie Colvin, a war correspondent killed covering the Middle East
“And Then All Hell Broke Loose” by Richard Engel
“The Education of an Idealist” by Samantha Power
Seattle Times Opinion piece on January 10, 2021 by Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post called “What has Fox News Wrought?”
To watch the recording of this month’s meeting, click here and access the recording using the password: G7AfbI%x