Women in newsrooms

Press, 14 March 1987, Page 20

Women in newsrooms

Mr Jim Tully, head of the University of Canterbury’s postgraduate journalism course, wants to set the record straight on his views on women in newsrooms. Recent correspondence in "The Press” indicates some confusion over comments he made in an article on February 26. Mr Tully says: “Referring to a feature article by Ken Coates, correspondent Jan Patterson (March 5) claims I was quoted as saying too many women in newsrooms are creating a media imbalance. “That is certainly what the heading said, but my only reported observation on this was that an imbalance of women to men is not the ideal. Because there seems to be some confusion regarding my views on this

important subject, I should state clearly where I stand. “The key comment was that newsrooms should reflect the community. By that I mean a good balance of men and women at all levels within the editorial structure, staff who represent ethnic groups of significant numbers (in the New Zealand context, Polynesians) and a number of “grey hairs” to balance the preponderance of young reporters found in many newspapers. “If a newspaper is to adequately report events and issues relevant to its readers it must have people attuned to the various needs and interests of the community at large. “I would be just as concerned if the University of Canterbury

postgraduate journalism course had 17 men and three women. However, there does not seem to be much danger of that unless the calibre of male applicants improves markedly. “One of the most welcome developments in the last five years or so is the increasing number of women in senior editorial positions on daily newspapers though men continue to dominate senior editorial ranks. This will change as growing numbers of young women reach that level of experience and seniority which makes people contenders for promotion. Unlike Jan Patterson, I do not believe the answer to years of imbalance in favour of men is to swing the pendulum to the other side. I favour a good balance.”