Voices of Women Media Leaders

A Story With Many Voices

Voices of Women Media Leaders is based primarily on a panel held by the International Women’s Media Foundation at the Carnegie Corporation of New York on Sept. 15, 2003. The panel brought together top women executives from major news organizations to discuss their roles as media leaders, as well as the trends and challenges faced by their profession. The lineup of panelists was made up of seven U.S. news executives from the Associated Press, CBS News, Knight Ridder Digital, National Public Radio, Newsday, NBC and the Missouri School of Journalism.

The panelists interacted with an audience of women from the print, online and television media. To supplement the panel, the IWMF also sought the views of international women journalists via phone and e-mail interviews, asking them to respond to issues raised during the panel. These interviews were conducted with dozens of women working in media throughout the world, from Lamees Al-Hadidi, managing editor of Al Alam Al Youm in Cairo, to Jill Abramson, managing editor of The New York Times. The result is this report, Voices of Women Media Leaders.

The panel and this report follow years of work by the IWMF in pioneering leadership development workshops for women in the media. The IWMF sponsors the Carole Simpson Leadership Institute for women journalists, one of the few opportunities that women in the African media have to develop their leadership and career skills. In the United States, working with grants from the McCormick Tribune Foundation, the IWMF has held a series of leadership workshops for mid-career women journalists. One of the most popular features of these workshops has been the opportunity participants have had to exchange ideas with successful women at the top of the media.

“Women said that they wanted to hear more from women at the top about the issues that are critical to media leadership and management,” said IWMF co-chair Lynn Povich in introducing the September 2003 panel. “…We felt it critically important to make sure that it’s not only the men at the top whose voices get heard. Women at the top also need the opportunity to voice their opinions and play a role in shaping the future of the industry.”

Voices of Women Media Leaders was made possible by a grant from The New York Times Company Foundation, with additional support from IWMF board members Bailey Morris-Eck and Judy Woodruff and an in-kind donation from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This report was designed to bring women’s voices to the forefront of the debate on where the media should be headed.

“If we’re going to be the leaders in the business, we’ve got to know how the business is changing,” said Susan King, an IWMF board member and vice president of public affairs at Carnegie Corporation of New York, who moderated the September panel discussion. King began with a question. What, she asked the panelists, is the most important thing that you are dealing with right now? Is it technology? Is it where your business is going tomorrow? Is it convergence? Is it ethics? Is it trust? Is it a disappearing audience? Is it budget cuts, so you’ve got to do more with less? “These are big topics, but I want the one that is most riveting for you,” she said.

The panelists’ answers, which addressed the hottest issues facing them and their profession, and the question and answer session that followed, were the starting points for this report.

The audience at the panel in September 2003 consisted of some 40 women journalists of various ages and races working throughout the New York area. Some were freelancers, others worked on staff at print, online and broadcast outlets – including ABC, NBC and CBS News; The New York Times; Business Week; and Women’s eNews. All came to grapple with issues they face as journalists.

This group included seasoned veterans such as pioneering newswoman Marlene Sanders – who was the first woman network news vice president in the United States – as well as those seeking advice on how to make that next step in their journalistic careers.

Panelists and audience participants alike voiced insights on numerous topics: the disconnect between journalists and the public they serve, the lack of adequate training for journalists, the impact of emerging technologies on shaping and delivering news. They emphasized the need to attract a young audience as well as create and retain a diverse newsroom, with diversity defined to include not only different races and cultures, but also different ages and political and religious persuasions. They also debated how coverage of world events differs between the U.S. media and its foreign counterparts.

This report also integrates other research conducted by media organizations as well as online research.

Voices of Women Media Leaders casts a spotlight on the challenges that women in the media face. It poses many questions about the future of the media and brings attention to the common experiences and the differences of opinion among women in the media worldwide. It will, it is hoped, provide a means for ongoing dialogue about the media among the women who practice the profession.

The IWMF wishes to thank everyone who participated on the September 2003 panel, as well as those who responded to questions generated by the panel.