Expand The Truth: Women Journalists Explore Present, Future and Power Of Community
At the recent Journalism & Women Symposium, (L to R), Jennifer Kho, executive editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, discussing shifts in media leadership with Tracy Brown, Chief Content Officer at Chicago Public Media, and Nykia Wright, CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“I don’t believe in the luxury of neutrality when our bodies are on the line.”
Karen Attiah, Global Opinions editor for The Washington Post, told more than 120 journalists from across the U.S. at the recent Journalism & Women Symposium camp in Austin, Texas, that her crucible as a journalist in the age of disinformation is to “expand someone’s imagination of what is true and how people see the world.”
““I don’t believe in the luxury of neutrality when our bodies are on the line.” — @KarenAttiah, Global Opinions editor for @washingtonpost at the recent @womenjournos camp in Austin, Texas. #womeninjournalism ”
Winner of the 2019 Journalist of the Year Award by the National Association of Black Journalists and the George Polk Award that same year for her coverage of the murder of her colleague Jamal Khashoggi, Attiah reflected on coming home to her native Texas at a time when her home state is launching attacks on books, libraries, librarians and reproductive rights. It is also a contentious time when the journalism industry is shifting, shrinking and responding to attacks.
Read more in Take The Lead on 50 Women in Journalism
“As for our industry, it does feel as if our home is on fire,” Attiah said. “I worry about the digital violence that makes our work a living reminder of the dangers of this profession,” she said, speaking of the attacks and threats she has sustained virtually and in real life as a foreign correspondent, opinion editor and columnist. “I wanted to be a record corrector. There are systems that just do not want us in the public square,” said Attiah, addressing the audience of women and those identifying as women journalists.
““As for our industry, it does feel as if our home is on fire,” @KarenAttiah said. “I worry about the digital violence that makes our work a living reminder of the dangers of this profession.” @womenjournos #journalism #leadership”
“You have to make friends with your fear,” she said to the group including students and early career journalists to veteran journalists of more than 40 years at the 36th annual JAWS conference with the theme, “JAWS Reunited: Truth, Justice, Community.”
Read more in Take The Lead on JAWS
“I look to persuade people to expand the realm of what is true and what could be possible.” She added that she intends to “expand someone’s imagination of what is true and how people see the world.”
This is at a moment in history when women journalists are under siege.
In March 2022, the Coalition For Women In Journalism “documented 32 cases of violations against women journalists” including “murder, legal harassment, detention and other press freedom violations against women journalists around the world.”
Leadership in newsrooms globally is also skewed male, with few women in leadership in media outlets. Reuters reports in March 2022, “Only 21% of the 179 top editors across the 240 brands covered are women, despite the fact that, on average, 40% of journalists in the 12 markets are women. Last year, the top-line figure was 22% across the same markets.”
Read more in Take The Lead on issues facing women in journalism
Globally, Reuters reports, “Among the 51 new top editors appointed across the brands covered, 23% are women. In some countries (Spain, the UK, and the US), half or more of new top editors appointed in the last year are women, but in many others few or none are.”
In addition to physical dangers of the profession and underrepresentation by gender, race, ethnicity and more, journalism is facing challenges as an industry that is shrinking.
“In addition to physical dangers of the profession and #underrepresentation by gender, race, ethnicity and more, #journalism is facing challenges as an industry that is shrinking. @womenjournos”
Read more in Take The Lead on the need for more women in journalism
The Pew Research Center reports that “ journalism job statistics show employment in newsrooms across the US has dropped by 23% since 2008. Newspaper and radio journalism took the biggest hit, while employment in television journalism remained the same. At the same time, digital media journalism employment rose. Until 2014, the employment rates were dropping fast, before the situation stabilized and the decline became more manageable — but then came the pandemic.”
Letter.ly reports, “While investigating facts about journalism layoffs in 2020, Axios found that 16,000 newsroom employees lost their jobs due to pandemic-related budget cuts. Besides journalists and reporters, this number includes videographers, photographers, editors, and other essential newsroom employees. On top of that, another 14,000 US media employees not working in newsrooms — from behind-the-scenes personnel to executives — lost their jobs in 2020.”
CareerExplorer reports that the journalism job market will shrink by 10.1% by 2026, compared to 2016. Yet there will be “opportunities for freelancers, digital content creators, and editors” in smaller markets.
The JAWS conference highlighted ongoing work of top journalists in the field that is slowly expanding representation.
Read more in Take The Lead on JAWS
Lourdes “Lulu” Garcia Navarro, Opinion Audio podcast host for “First Person,” at The New York Times, shared her insights on being a “first” with the JAWS audience in a conversation with Callie Crossley, host of “Under the Radar” at WGBH Radio in Boston.
“@Lourdesgnavarro, Opinion Audio podcast host for “First Person,” at @Nytopinion, shared her insights on being a “first” with the @womenjournos #JAWS audience in a conversation with @CallieCrossley, host of “Under the Radar” at WGBH Radio in Boston. #femalejournalist”
As the first Latina host at National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday, and a former foreign correspondent for NPR covering the Iraq War, Arab Spring, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Garcia- Navarro won several awards including the Edward R. Murrow[] and Peabody Awards.
“While there were incredible trail blazers when I was starting out,” Garcia-Navarro said, “when I was sent to Iraq for NPR, it made me think about what it means to be in the space where you are the first and the only. It changed the way I saw how I did my job.”
Stating that she had PTSD from covering the Iraq War, she added, “We pretend and were taught you have to be dispassionate. We can’t deny these things come at a cost. It hurts. It is difficult if you don’t acknowledge it; it’s going to destroy you.”
Garcia-Navarro told the crowd, “The main thing you always have to be careful of is to look after yourself. There is only one of you.”
Read more in Take The Lead on JAWS 2019
As she left a successful career at NPR for a new opportunity with the New York Times, Garcia-Navarro advised that in any career shift, “Don’t walk away from something, walk toward something.”
“As she left a successful career at @NPR for a new opportunity with @nytopinion, @Lourdesgnavarro advised that in any #careershift, “Don’t walk away from something, walk toward something.” #careeradvice”
With the mission as an organization to support “one another with friendship, knowledge, tools and career advice we need at every stage of our careers,” JAWS organizers welcomed newly elected President Jennifer Kho, executive editor of the Chicago Sun-Times , who moderated a panel on newsroom leadership.
Read more in Take The Lead on JAWS 2021
Tracy Brown, Chief Content Officer at Chicago Public Media, that acquired the Chicago Sun-Times in early 2022, and Nykia Wright, CEO of Chicago Sun-Times, expanded on the role of media in the dissemination of truth.
In journalism and media today, “One of the biggest and most exciting things is not about tech or tools of the trade, but this movement from talking about audiences to thinking about community,” said Kho, former managing editor of HuffPost and Guardian US. “There is a difference when people are doing it for the purpose of telling the truth. There is a shift toward creation and how to align with a new reality and to make people care about the truth.”
Wright added that coverage of all communities needs to improve. “We are cognizant of how we’ve put people in buckets,” she said. “We have an opportunity to be much more. We can create a model for journalism.”
“Wright, CEO of @Suntimes, added that coverage of all communities needs to improve. “We are cognizant of how we’ve put people in buckets,” she said. “We have an opportunity to be much more. We can create a model for #journalism.” #diversity ”
Brown, who is now at the helm of the largest news non-profit organization in the country said, “I want us to do better, but in order to do that, we have to be better. And remember to take care of ourselves.”
