Thursday, June 19, 2014

The Beat Goes On: Forum on Women in News Scheduled June 30 in Washington

The Poynter Institute has announced that it will co-host a national forum in Washington, DC, focusing on the issues surrounding women in journalism and media leadership.

The forum, which will be held in partnership with the National Press Club Journalism Institute, will focus on the current conversation about newsroom culture as it pertains to women, which was invigorated by the firing of New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson.

“I’m excited that Poynter and The National Press Club Journalism Institute are working to move the discussion forward about where women leaders are in journalism today and how to transform and improve their opportunities in the future,” said Tim Franklin, president of The Poynter Institute.

The forum, which will be held June 30 at the National Press Club in Washington, will include an examination of gender and newsroom culture and will encourage positive action to expand the influence of women leaders.

Participants in the forum will try to answer several questions pertaining to the leadership of women in newsrooms, discussing which organizations have been successful in advancing women to leadership positions and whether technology has been harnessed to advance women leaders.

The event will feature panelists from across journalism and media leadership. Speakers include Carolyn Ryan, Washington bureau chief for The New York Times, Susan Goldberg, editor in chief of National Geographic and former president of the American Society of News Editors, Lynette Clemetson, director of editorial initiatives at NPR, Patti Dennis, director of recruiting for Gannett Broadcasting and Anders Gyllenhaal, vice president of news for McClatchy Newspapers.
Additional speakers at the forum include Kelly McBride, Poynter’s vice president of academic programs, and Jill Geisler, senior faculty for Poynter’s leadership and management division, who will moderate.

The forum is an opportunity to advance the conversation that was ignited online and on social media about women’s leadership roles in journalism, said Barbara Cochran, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute and Curtis B. Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

“Forty years after women began entering newsrooms in substantial numbers, it’s urgent to address the challenges women face in achieving parity in the newsroom,” Cochran said.

The gains that women made in journalism leadership have stagnated, said Kelly McBride, Poynter’s vice president of academic programs.

“We have to figure out a way to reignite that progress,” McBride said. “We have an obligation to represent our audience. And content audits suggest that journalism as a profession does not fairly represent women as leaders and experts. If we can’t get it right in our newsrooms, it’s going to be hard to serve the public interest on this issue.”

To register for “Closing Journalism’s Gender Gap: A Forum on Women and Leadership," click here.