Women get prominent media jobs in wake of misconduct ousters
NEW YORK — As more than two dozen men have lost media jobs or projects after sexual misconduct accusations in the last several months, their departures have opened doors for a handful of women.
The wave of accusations has led to other changes as well, leading to hopes that newsroom culture is improving for women in media. Digital media company Vice says it will hire more women and pay them the same as men. And more women are speaking up about harassment and unfair pay, and pressing for better treatment.
Historically, there have been far fewer women than men in news organizations. Women have made up about 36 to 38 per cent of newspaper newsrooms for roughly the last 20 years, said Scott Reinardy, a journalism professor at the University of Kansas who has studied newsroom employment. In local TV news, it’s more balanced , according to Radio Television Digital News Association research, but men are still more likely to be news directors. And a March 2017 report by the Women’s Media Center , a non-profit group started by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem, found that male journalists got more bylines and reported on-air more often than female counterparts.
“I think you’ll see more awareness in hiring, who is in those positions of power,” Reinardy said. “Women will have more voice and more say about what goes into the programming and the news coverage.”