By ANONYMOUS
This is an anonymous post.
Why?
Because I’m a woman working in the media and what I have to say is perfect fodder for an online lashing.
But why the cloak and dagger of a no-name post?
Well, I have a belief that women in the Australian media landscape have a voice that’s only barely audible.
Women like me are often referred to as the ones ‘destroying the joint’. Our commentary becomes lost when we dare step outside the popular dogma of women being seen and not heard.
It gets personal. It gets nasty and this happens very quickly when a woman is identified with an opinion that challenges the populous.
So, no names.
Let’s destroy some stuff right now.
On paper, I’m a freelancer which basically means I work across a number of formats and genre all in the name of being a storyteller and reporter of both the fictional and non fictional kind.
In reality, I’m a freelancer because it seems like the good jobs, the permanent jobs, seem to go to the blokes who are younger, more hip and ironically, less experienced.
I’ve wracked my brains on this one. I’ve talked about it ad-nauseam with my female friends who between us, have a collection of incredible work behind us that we can be proud of. So why is it, that the majority of the population in the media, is predominantly male? The only thing I can see that they have, that I don’t, is a penis.
You may think I’m kidding but alas I’m not, so let me give you a few examples.
We’ll start with radio.
3AW: I walked into the lobby of this station a few years ago and stood looking at their ‘wall of pride’ – a wall of photos of all their presenters. There was probably 30 photos.
All of them were men except for a few. When I say a few, I mean no more than two.
2GB: this is the home of Australia’s favourite misogynist, Mr Alan Jones. Scrawl through their presenter lineup and you will see a distinctly male flavour. Sure, women like Tracey Spicer and Pru McSween make the odd appearance but this is only to fill in. We’re good at this.
We plug gaps and we keep things afloat.
ABC 774: an almost completely male lineup graces the halls of this station. A friend of mine, a woman, recently appeared on 774 and her photo was taken as proof that a female was on air. Yes, it was done in jest but its a definite reality of contemporary media culture.
Top Comments
I could not agree more and have written to our ABC about their lack of female voices on local radio. Too many uninformed men enjoying the sound of their own voices at the expense of well informed women like Sally Warhaff
One thing, it's get, not het, lol.