Women News Execs: Glass Ceiling Still There

By: Seth Sutel, AP Business Writer (AP) Even though women have already made great strides in journalism, more must be done to advance their position in the profession and to make news outlets better reflect women's voices, top female news executives said in a panel discussion Monday.

The panel, organized by the International Women's Media Foundation, brought together women holding senior positions in several major news outlets, including CBS News, The Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Newsday of Melville, N.Y.

"Things are greatly improved" in terms of women advancing up the career ladder, said Barbara Rehm, managing editor of NPR. "There has been a sea change."

Kathleen Carroll, executive editor of the AP, reeled off a list of women who hold senior news posts at the news cooperative, including a newly named foreign editor. Two weeks ago, Carroll herself was named one of four new senior vice presidents of the AP.

However, other panelists said much work is still to be done. "There's a lot of progress to be made at the top papers," said Charlotte Hall, vice president and managing editor of Newsday.

Marcy McGinnis, senior vice president of news coverage at CBS News, said while there are many women in the ranks of CBS News, the rest of parent company Viacom Inc. -- a major media conglomerate that owns MTV, VH1 and the Paramount studios -- remains mainly male-dominated.

Geneva Overholser, a professor of public affairs reporting at the Missouri School of Journalism, said it is critical that newsroom staffs reflect the diversity of the U.S. population. "Women's voices are still underrepresented," she said.

The panel touched on several other issues facing the news business, including the challenge of attracting and retaining young readers, using partnerships with other news organizations and maintaining the public's trust.

Several executives said they worked closely with news partners. CBS' McGinnis said the network frequently uses video feeds from its affiliates and wire services, while its own staff concentrates on more in-depth stories.

"You're insane if you don't use them," McGinnis said of partnerships. "You can't go it alone."

Hilary Schneider, president of Knight Ridder Digital, said partnerships were "a way of life" at her company, the online unit of Knight Ridder, the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher. She cited CareerBuilder, a joint venture with Gannett Co. Inc. and Tribune Co.

Schneider also said her group is focused on integrating the growing body of online material that is "self-published" by individuals in outlets such as blogs, or Web logs. She said self-publishing has become far more widespread in recent years as advances in technology made it easier to do.

At the same time, others sounded a note of caution. Newsday's Hall said there is a risk of homogenizing the news if fewer and fewer sources of stories go out on a larger number of outlets.

Rehm noted that NPR is working with online publisher Slate for a show, but she said there are concerns within NPR of taking the partnership drive too far. NPR, for example, did not see the benefit of going into television.

Carroll noted that the AP is examining ways to best use its own news resources as well as how to present the news. "We don't want 20 people doing the same thing," Carroll said. At the same time, she said, "one of the things we're wrestling with at the AP is how to package the news, and that's different from reporting the news."

Paula Madison, president and general manager of KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, said she is concerned that staff in TV news bureaus need greater training.

"I worry about the quality and level of skill and preparation of the 'indoor people,' the ones who stay inside 18 hours a day," Madison said, adding that those staffers sometimes lost touch with their communities. "That is a major disconnect, and it frightens me."