Hey guys!
For this article, I wanted to tell my story of going into broadcast journalism as a woman and what that's been like for me. Sure, I just started journalism school and I've barely dipped my feet into the journalism world yet, but you'd be surprised with how many negative and/or weird comments I get on going into journalism.
Historically, journalism has been a male-dominated profession. Women have been involved in the profession for over a century now, with trailblazers like Nellie Bly and how she exposed the horrible conditions of insane asylums and Ida Tarbell's hard-hitting piece against The Standard Oil Company. Yet, for some reason, their hard work and craft are less known.
Yes, while there are many more women in the field now, journalism is still thought of as being a "man's world."
No matter how much time passes by, I will never forget the conversation that I had with the father of an ex-boyfriend of mine when he asked me what I wanted to study in college. This was my first time meeting him, by the way. I explained that I wanted to go into broadcast journalism, and he told me that I should "find a back-up option" as it probably wouldn't work out for me since it's a "male dominated profession."
Naturally, after that conversation I called my own father, crying for a good 30 minutes or so because I was so hurt by what my ex-boyfriend's father had said. My dad, being the great kind of person he is, told me that I shouldn't even think twice about comments like that, and how proud he was of me that I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life and how I wanted to get there. The slight inflation of my ego helped out a bit.
I worked hard and studied my ass off and was accepted to one of the top journalism schools in the United States. I couldn't be more excited or grateful for the opportunity. However, the negative and/or weird comments about my choice of study haven't stopped coming in yet.
It reminds me of a certain 1982 rock song. Don't get me wrong, I love Don Henley as an artist, I think his musical skill and craft is amazing. But the lyric from his song, Dirty Laundry, "I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear" drives me insane.
You see, it's happened a few too many times where I've mentioned to people that I want to go into broadcast journalism and they respond with, "You look like you could be on TV!" While it might seem like a nice compliment, I've grown to despise it. For how hard I've worked and with how much effort I have put in to getting into this school, the last thing I want to hear is that I'm "pretty" enough or "have the look" for television. It's completely and utterly demeaning.
Another thing that happens often when I tell people that I'm going into journalism is the look of dismay and shock that can come across their face. "Seriously?" their faces ask. "You want to go into that?"
Yes, seriously. And it really shouldn't be that hard to believe, especially in today's society.
Sure, journalism involves having a certain level of type-A personality and competitiveness, and the road to success might be a long, uphill battle. It's tough work! And, understandably, it's not for everyone. Just because the profession is time-demanding and more difficult at times doesn't mean that I'm scared off by it. If anything, it motivates me to work even harder while I'm in college so I can have a better chance at becoming successful.
On a lighter note, James Browne said it best in his 1966 soul classic, "This is a man's world, but it would be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl," and that's exactly the kind of impact that I want to have on the world of journalism.
