Women in News

13. April 2009 by pat desmond.

Once upon a time, less than 50 years ago, women were in the minority in newsrooms in this country.The few women who were well respected were most often single.

Women in the newsroom usually wrote features, lifestyle stories, reviews, social news, obituaries. Men were more likely to be police reporters, cover a political beat and move up the organizational ranks.

Then the world changed - women decided careers and family were not mutually exclusive - and newspapers gave women a chance. 

In 1966 the newspaper I worked for did not allow its female reporters to run off to riots. By 1972 when Boston busing made many streets in the city unfriendly, there were as many female reporters on the streets as males.

It was a few more years before women became accepted in the editorial board rooms.Still in this century most of the people at the top of news organizations are male.Did you know that women are more likely to be readers of magazines and newspapers?

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