Abigail Hansen
English 110
Scott Olsen
11th October 2023
A History of Women in Journalism
Everyone wants to make a difference in their life, hoping it will positively affect those around them. Have you ever heard the phrase, “The sky’s the limit?” Parents say this to their children to give them hope and to help them believe that they can be whatever they want when grown up. As a kid, it’s easy to think there are no limits and that anything is possible. The reality is that every parent wants this to be true for their kids, but it’s not that simple. There are millions of occupations that children could be such as a teacher, a veterinarian, or an electrician, but not all occupations are as welcoming to everyone. Women around the world in both the past and present face discrimination in occupations that they prefer. Each job has its own routine and challenges that come with it. However, it is even more challenging if women are discriminated against in riskier occupations such as police officer, firefighter, or a more unspoken high-risk job: conflict journalism.
Like other high-risk professions, conflict journalism comes with sacrifices that journalists must adapt to so that they can be successful in their profession. High-risk professions are dangerous. However, conflict journalism is not talked about as much and does not get recognized as frequently, such as policing, firefighting, or the military. Traveling the world to spread awareness about the suffering individuals in these countries can be taxing, because it is not always a rewarding profession. Women in conflict journalism, specifically, are held to a different standard and are instead observed more closely.
Conflict journalism has been a dominantly male occupation. Powerful men in the profession have manipulated women into thinking that the gender discrimination is of no concern. For example, Lynsey Addario, conflict photojournalist and writer of the book, It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War, has experienced setbacks in her profession because of her gender. Lyndsey Addario was part of a war team in Korengal, Afghanistan. There were two groups, one which was on the front lines and the other one that hides in the forest and farther away from the war. Lynsey was in Korengal with her writer, Elizabeth, who was pregnant at this time. Addario describes, “We went into the embed as a team, and I felt we needed to stick together, even if it meant I couldn’t make the dramatic images that Tim and Balazs had made” (Addario 177). Addario sacrificed the images she could have gotten because she knew her partner, being pregnant, could not contribute and might compromise their safety. She knew that the embed team was where the men wanted to put them initially, because it was safer. This experience has taught Addario – as similar experiences have taught other women in conflict journalism – that it takes persistence to improve the gender equity in conflict journalism.
Stories and experiences of women in journalism are inspiring. Women have worked hard to stop the stigma and judgment in the industry over the past century. For example, Ishbel Ross is a well-known woman in conflict journalism. Ross is known for defying stereotypes and writing her own history. In the book, Women in American Journalism, Jan Whitt writes, “[Ross] left reporting in 1933 after covering the kidnapping of Anne and Charles Lindbergh’s baby. By the time she died in 1975, she had written fifteen more books” (6). Ross decides immediately that she will not be hidden behind ‘simple’ articles. Despite working with people who assume women would not want to put themselves in danger for the story, women like Ross have taken the time and have been persistent enough to show everyone around them how much they want this standard to change.
Gender equity for women in journalism has never come automatically. It has had to be earned since women recognized they were being discriminated against. In 2005, Patricia Bradley wrote the book, Women and the Press: The Struggle for Equality, which goes through the history of women struggling to make a name for themselves in journalism. Her book contains numerous examples of women throughout the years who have worked immensely at their craft., and tells about the struggle to bring awareness to women in conflict journalism. For example, Bradley describes that the progress made toward gender equality for women in journalism doesn’t only benefit the women that participate in journalism. Bradley writes, “In their demand for job equity, women in journalism were joined by women in the feminist community, many of them attorneys working for little or no money” (Bradley 237). Each woman in the world wants to be recognized for her persistence, whether as a stay-at-home mom or as a journalist who is raising awareness about conflicts all over the world. Women in related professional communities support women in journalism because it opens the door of opportunities in other high-risk professions. Many women wants to make a name for themselves in the world, just as many men do. Women conflict journalists, however, have more trouble getting the story or picture because not every door is open to them.
In conflict reporting, getting all sides of the story means sacrifice of numerous things. To expand further, Bradley dives into how “women should hold themselves aloof from ‘becoming burnt offerings upon an altar where the sacrifice avails nothing’” (Bradley 126). Each reporter sacrifices a great deal to get the story. For example, Lynsey Addario lost multiple relationships because she sacrificed her love life for her life in conflict photojournalism. The integrity of the assignment lets the people and editors know the integrity of the reporter in themselves and how deep they go to find out the truth. So, you might ask, why would women need to be cautious? Women want to work hard to prove themselves, but they may sell themselves short in the process. They must always be conscious of how they are going to act before they act.
Now you may be wondering, what is the best strategy for women to earn the respect they deserve? In the book, Women in American Journalism, Whitt writes “Conversations about what constitutes news should be ongoing, and part of those conversations must be acknowledgement of the gendered aspects of newsgathering and making” (50). Journalism was never meant to one-sided or only meant for men. To create a solution, everyone must be willing to put in the work and change their ways. There are women out in the world that have the same goal as men in journalism; however, they must be more mindful of every action they take because everyone watches women more closely.
Women must always filter their thoughts to put on a good face for those around them. Even with these limitations, women find a way to defy the principle of women not being in involved. In 2021 the book, There’s No Crying in Newsrooms, was published by Kristin Grady Gilger and Julia Wallace. The authors go into detail about the women who made in impact and change for women in journalism. One example is Christiane Amanpour, who “has paved the way for many women, especially foreign correspondents, at CNN. She’ll tell women who are working their way up the ladder, ‘Do not let a man tell you that you cannot do that’” (Gilger, Wallace 12). Christiane Amanpour started working as an office assistant in 1983. In seven years, she had become one of the few female foreign correspondents in television on CNN. She did not climb this high by letting her male compatriots underestimate her ability to do her job well.
If anything, Christiane used the skepticism she felt from people and the doubts that were said to her to drive her to be one of few female CNN reporters in the 1990s. Amanpour was said to be “loud, demanding, and intense—exactly like her male counterparts” (Gilger, Wallace 11). Another way to look at it is that Amanpour had to “act like a man” to gain respect as a female reporter, which is unfortunate. Women must adapt to their environment by changing the way they speak and act when they are around certain people. Not doing this allows witnesses and editors to use a woman’s words and actions against her. Christiane had to strengthen her stage presence to gain respect from everyone around her, especially her male colleagues.
Not only did Amanpour have to adapt the attitude of a man to work up the ladder, but she also had to be aware when making decisions involving journalism. All eyes were on her, as is the case for every woman in conflict journalism. Amanpour describes, “I cannot tell you the number of times people have either called me a bitch, thought I was a bitch, or called me bossy or thought I was bossy or called me control freak or thought I was a control freak just because I was good at my job… And I didn’t shut up” (Gilger, Wallace 11). Amanpour got to the place she did once she realized that people (with the majority of them being male) would try to discredit her and her sources. There is more pressure that comes with being a woman interested in conflict journalism.
The pressure for women to be their best adds up when they must filter themselves so much. Why would they have to filter? Women have higher expectations to reach because a stereotypical woman is seen as somewhat weaker than men and must make up for the lack of a masculine look and stature, both physically and emotionally. Women must harden their emotions more when put in strenuous situations. Lynsey describes, “had I not been a woman with finite physical limitations and with a partner who was almost six months pregnant – I might have opted to go with First or Second Platoon and attempted to scale the vertical terrain with my gear alongside my male colleagues” (Addario 177). As outlined prior, Lynsey and the writer Elizabeth, who was pregnant, had an opportunity to be on the front lines of the war or to be with the hidden team on the sideline. Lynsey knew that her gender was a contributing factor in why it was better to be with the embedded team, not only because of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. She knew she had the disadvantage but kept pushing forward to let her gender stop what she felt was her calling. Conflict journalism was something she felt she couldn’t give up on, despite the skeptical looks that surrounded her.
Men do not have to be as cautious with the tone they use to get the story or with their manner of walking around. For example, many professional journalists in this field are male. Throughout history, it has always been more common for men to have a job like conflict photojournalism because of the risks that come with it. Lyndsey Addario expands on her experiences as a photojournalist and explores the discrimination she witnessed and experienced in her work. There is a part of the book where Adarrio and her male coworkers find themselves in trouble, but they only truly see the men. Addario describes, “They wanted the man. Matthew unlocked his door, and they led him out, hoisting their guns to his chest, leaving me alone in the backseat. Two men remained at my door, guns raised at me, but were clearly confused about how to proceed” (Addario 117). This quote describes how the two journalists were captured but they only treated the man as a hostage because they didn’t see Addario as a threat. Addario says that she lied, saying that her male companion was her husband so that she had a reason to stay with him. Addario expresses that in that moment she realized that to be noticed in this environment, she needed to with the man.
The forced kidnapping of Addario was not the only encounter she had with soldiers in different countries who blatantly disregarded women. Lyndsey Addario has traveled to many countries and seen many lifestyles. She has experienced unfortunate events such as kidnappings and being disrespected by men and soldiers who treated her as an object. She has had to struggle with being a woman while trying to capture a moment of truth. Addario describes:
Once President Bush went up in flames, my colleagues were nowhere to be found. I tried to focus on shooting, but this time there not a few hands on my butt but dozens. And this time it wasn’t a subtle feel but an aggressive, wide-handed clutch, butt to crotch, back to front. I kept shooting. A combative Western woman would elicit terrible anger from these men. I tried holding my camera with one hand and swatting men in the eye and saying “Haram” which means “forbidden, sinful, shameful” to show them I understood that their actions were unacceptable in Islam. (Addario 73-74)
These pictures being taken were for the good of the people that were groping her body. These people treat her as an object even though she is trying to better their situation. Addario later describes how her male colleagues were waiting for her discussing the shots they took with each other. They are unaware of the event she went through to get a couple shots. Going into this job, Addario knew that it would be difficult, dangerous, and in come cases fatal, but she felt a calling to do it anyway.
When it comes to gender discrimination, Addario and Amanpour are not the only women conflict journalists that have had to put themselves in uncomfortable situations multiple times to prove that they can succeed. There are thousands of women journalists that want to be respected instead of judged when they walk through the door. In the late nineteenth century, a series of articles that had subjects that related to women and was used to draw a large audience of women was created. They called this, Women’s Pages, and there were subjects such as fashion, interior decorating, cooking, and cleaning. All these topics aimed at defining all women as housewives and how to make the home and their appearance better. Women’s Pages and their background are further explained in the book, Women in American Journalism, by Jan Whitt. As time went on, many women disagreed with what the Women’s Pages content was because it limited women’s writing. Whitt describes, “It is important to realize that women were often relegated to working on women’s pages, and discrimination was so institutionalized that they often did not challenge the status quo or identify the discrimination” (40). The discrimination of gender has always been part of everyone’s mindset. It takes one person speaking up about the issue to build up awareness to fix it. Identifying gender discrimination in journalism will not improve unless it is outwardly mentioned.
How has the lack of gender equity become an automatic way of viewing things? Women are as much a part of life as men are. Whitt goes into detail about how women who were writing these Women’s Pages became more defiant and did not want to be subjected to these limited topics anymore. Whitt explains, “For many ambitious female reporters, the real story was not a women’s story, and, indeed, did not want to be associated with ‘women’s stories’ as they were defined by the press of the time” (Bradley 186). Even if it was not called the Women’s Pages, everyone knows what “classic” women’s stories are supposed to be. The generic “housewife” jobs such as cooking and cleaning, while men are in high-risk situations with no one batting an eye. When women finally realized that what they have been enduring was not supposed to be normal, they took the time to change it. Things are still changing today. There is room for more change, but it is getting better because people are aware of what is happening.
The world is changing. Yes, women are still undermined today, and yes, it will take more hard work until the discrimination has fully gone away. But it has gotten better because women have become more aware and are taking charge of their future. Women journalists can change the world just as much as male journalists. In the end, it’s about the pictures, events, and the text that tells why it is important. Despite being undermined, stereotyped as weak, and only being able to handle “housewife” jobs, women can do any job as men, including journalism. Women have so much more to give than just articles of cooking and cleaning. Every book written about the history of women in journalism shares of confident women that know what they want and go through all the sacrifices to go through with it, no matter how hard it may be.
Works Cited
Addario, Lynsey. It’s What I Do, A Photographer’s Life of Love and War. Penguin USA,
2016.
Bradley, Patricia. Women and the Press: The Struggle for Equality. Northwestern
University Press, 2005.
Gilger, Kristin Grady, Wallace, Julia. There’s No Crying in Newsrooms: What Women
Have Learned about What It Takes to Lead. Rowman & Littlefield, 2021.
Whitt, Jan. Women in American Journalism: A New History. University of Illinois
Press, 2008.