Women as News Anchors
Women in all careers are striving to gain equality in the work force
today, and female television news anchors are definitely part of the fight. The
road to television news anchoring is a rocky one, where only a few women survive
and many fail. Where progress was once thought to have been made, there aren't
many females getting ahead in the world of television news. Today, there is a
very slow, if any, gain in the numbers of women who succeed.
There are many questions surrounding the subject of women in television
news, and I will attempt to answer relevant ones in this paper. How have the
women that actually make it to the top and succeed as anchorwomen, done it?
What does it take to make it? Why do those few endure it/enjoy it? Why has it
been and still is difficult for women? What are the expectations of women in
the field, as opposed to the expectations of men?
I am interested in this topic because I once aspired to become a
television broadcaster. I still have inspiration in me, but not quite as much
due to the negative and discouraging aspects I have heard about in classes and
in the media. I am not sure that I could be happy in a career such as this, and
I know there are great difficulties in "making it" in this profession. I have
read about the incredible ambition of successful females in television news, and
it seems like it takes a special kind of passion to want to keep up in the
business.
I kept my questions in mind when gathering research material. While
focusing on the key questions, I was able to find information that led me to
form answers to them. Christine Craft's biography told of her individual
experience of being fired on the basis of her looks and her age. I realized
from reading her story that she had a "nose for news", a passion for telling it
to the world, and a unique spark that made her a good journalist, yet those
qualities weren't enough in her case. She took that passion and spark, filed a
sexual discrimination case and won.
Hard News: Women in Broadcast Journalism had a few chapters that were
relevant to today, and I could draw on some information for my paper. However,
much of the information was historical and not helpful to answering my questions.
Battling for News concentrated mainly on print journalism. There was
material about the fi...
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...ays of anchormen, "Old anchors never fade away. And they can't be
killed by mortal means" (Katz 1995, p. 164).
Sadly, forward movements aren't apparent today by women in television
news. Forty years ago, a female gaining the anchor position on the evening news
was a leap forward. Today "it feels more like a step backward, an attempt to
stuff accomplished, contemporary women into an ill-fitting straightjacket" (Katz
1995, p. 164).
It is apparent that women news anchors face many more struggles than men
in the field. It takes a unique individual to fight through those struggles and
strive for what they want most: to relay news throughout the world. Equality
with men is far from being reached, but a few females have stood their ground
and hopefully made a difference for others that follow. If people open their
eyes and realize there are plenty of women who are just as, if not more,
competent than men at holding an anchor position, women could gain respect
within the field. For now, the few women who find success and are willing to
endure the hardships that come along will likely survive in the business, at
least until age hinders their physical appearance.
society at large. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women comprise 29.4 percent of people working in
How would you summarize your results and analysis? What questions remain unanswered? What questions were raised by your results and analysis?
In order to further discuss her main points and views, a summary of her story
give her good exposure. This led to jobs in the film industry. Though she made
Answer the following questions with information you learned in the document , your book, and through Internet research:
need to gain specific knowledge as the focused on a few key points rather than
opportunities to succeed in work and politics. Her beliefs motivated her to reveal the horrendous
She was in regular contact with various people and was a very visible CEO, establishing political, business and even entertainment connections around the world through her business travels.
In our media, women are objectified, hypersexualized, or shamed, which both reflects and conditionalized the prevailing hegemony and standards of our society. It exists to be seen by men, or subordinate women, continuing the existence of a mindset which many believe, or would like to believe, has dissipated through out the years to no longer be socially relevant, but on the contrary, has become the basis of media and the perception of our society today. Various archetypes of the portrayals of females include patriarchal subordination, the deadly “female fatal”, and stereotypical ethnic representations. These portrayals have dealt a great deal of damage to both men and women in society, where today, we are faced with how to address and transcend
women in powerful positions on television. If girls are not able to see themselves in such
became more opinionated and she opened the eyes to other writers in this time period to express their true feelings. Without this push and brav...
She started with nothing, being the poorest of poor and grew to be a media giant. She overcame poverty, neglect, sexual abuse and racism. Through it all she never gave up and this is why she will inspire others to do the same.
Sessions, D. D. Looks discrimination: If looks could kill…. Equal Opportunity Career Journal, Nov-Dec 1995, 1-6.
...nd her previous employment in journalism made that more of a possibility. One day she decided that she had nothing left to lose and gave it a shot. Her story has touched so many lives and gives people a different perspective on how to cope with things.