Boys Will Hire Boys: The Media Is Male and Getting Maler

GOOD:

My first job in journalism was at a local newspaper staffed mostly by men. When many of them left for gigs elsewhere, I was told that hiring decisions would be based on finding the "best person for the job." In a matter of months, we had staffed all of our management positions with three white men named Mike. So I tipped the gender balance even further--I quit.

Read the whole story: GOOD

Comments

[Questioning Conventions]

03:34 AM on 02/20/2012

"GOOD:

My first job in journalism was at a local newspaper staffed mostly by men. When many of them left for gigs elsewhere, I was told that hiring decisions would be based on finding the "best person for the job." In a matter of months, we had staffed all of our management positions with three white men named Mike. So I tipped the gender balance even further--I quit."

Perhaps the reason a man got hired over you is because you turned in articles that are only a paragraph long.

[dennis1943]

11:29 AM on 02/20/2012

I guess you missed the link........

[theborg]

01:33 PM on 02/19/2012

Correction please. That should read 'white male' and getting whiter all the time.

[anneeger]

11:49 AM on 02/19/2012

Hey, Chelsea Clinton got hired. No education in journalism. No experience at all. No need for money. Just a famous name for ratings.

[reviewingthesituation]

04:42 PM on 02/19/2012

At least she HAD a top-notch education. I'm still trying to figure out how Sarah Palin got a degree in "communications" without learning anything.

[moionfire]

07:46 PM on 02/19/2012

Good point @ reviewingthesituation. You don't need to study journalism to be a good journalist. As long as you are a good writer and maybe took classes related to public policy and political science, you can be a good journalist and reporter.

[spkninglsh]

04:47 PM on 02/18/2012

No wonder it's so bad.

[Yikes11]

07:53 PM on 02/17/2012

Affirmative action no longer exist.

[Christian Howell]

10:50 PM on 02/16/2012

I don't trust any man who separates himself from women. And if my homosexual friends would excuse me..That's kind of gay...So basically, because no man really tries - getting married is not trying - I don't trust or respect any MALES ON THIS PLANET...

[springsm]

10:35 PM on 02/16/2012

Heck, I thought this was going to be a discussion on Issa and women's contraception rights...what a debacle that.

[ESerafina42]

09:22 PM on 02/16/2012

Wait for them (media is plural) to be even "maler," once all the women are barefoot, pregnant and chained to their stoves (Republican wet dream).

[raker]

06:17 PM on 02/16/2012

I look at electronic media and see and hear a lot of women—women in Stepford Wives make-up and gigantic Miss America hair. They're everywhere.

[ESerafina42]

09:23 PM on 02/16/2012

Check out Rachel Maddow.

[raker]

10:09 PM on 02/16/2012

Rachel Maddow doesn't have to put on a glamour-girl costume; she gets to be her own beautiful self.

[g-moi]

05:52 PM on 02/16/2012

Duh I certainly have noticed this.

[ebanks84]

04:40 PM on 02/16/2012

I think it all has to do with tone of voice as far as I'm concerned. I would prefer to listen to a man's voice more so than a female's voice because some women's voices are so annoying that they agitate your last nerve most of the time. If women could talk more on balance instead of whining and raising their voices all the time, I think they would become more acceptable to listen to.

Plus those jobs are such good paying jobs, men want to keep them for themselves. They hate that women are threatening those jobs they felt they had in the bag for eons.

[Capt Kirk]

06:41 PM on 02/18/2012

Interesting point. There was a recent study about this by the University of Indiana - it found that the majority of both men AND women perceived mature male news anchors to be 'significantly more credible' than their female counterparts. Perhaps part of that is vocal qualities. Of course this does not address print journalism disparities at all. In any case, Huffpo is certainly doing their part to even up the score.

[ebanks84]

09:13 PM on 02/18/2012

You're right about HP though. Nothing but females up here. It's okay cause I don't have to listen to those that I don't wanna hear.

[theborg]

01:36 PM on 02/19/2012

Well, if they would stop firing the gray haired mature looking women, wrinkles included, you would find out there are more than a few females of Walter Cronkite ability and status.

[americaine]

04:29 PM on 02/16/2012

I stopped purchasing the NYTimes for this reason. When their op-ed guy Ross Douthat starting harping away on his anti-abortion stance, I took a close look at the paper, tracking frequency of articles by female journalists. Vote with your money, women. Let your news sources know why you're going. There is choice. And for God's sake, turn off the TV. TV news isn't journalism.

[gomezrules]

04:01 PM on 02/16/2012

Well, given that women have been around for some time now within the media, at all positions, might this be a case where, when all is said and done, the men just make better candidates? Yes, there are exceptions, as there invariably are, but over all, might that be the case, based on careful evaluation? I realize that won't even be considered by the usual zealots, that, like all things in life according to them, it's a plot or conspiracy of some kind, but as for normal people, doesn't that rate as a possibility?

[psmarc93]

07:52 PM on 02/16/2012

It's possible, but not probable. I've worked in print journalism for 25 years, and trust me, apart from a few leaks in the glass ceiling, very few women were given the chance to become editors of news or sports. In fact, I haven't seen a woman near the city desk in 10 years. When the new women journalists come in, they are still sent to Features to write about cooking, cleaning, gardening, social columns, and -- if they really suck up -- the entertainment section. I remember in 1990, when I transferred to a San Francisco daily, I thanked my new editor (male) for making my copy better. He actually said, in front of his assistant (female) "[As the editor] I'm just the bra. The tits are yours!"
Awwwwwwwwwwwwkward.

[MyrtleJune]

02:22 PM on 02/16/2012

It's not just the media. It is EVERYWHERE! And, add to that the young will hire the young. Seriously. Being shutout of the job market when I have so much more to contribute is a tough one.

[olddognewtrick]

01:51 PM on 02/16/2012

Stop the company subsidized testosterone shots!