March is Women’s History Month. It is thirty-one days of recognizing and celebrating the contributions of women. As March came to a close, recognizing the accomplishments and works of women should not end. Women have paved the way for journalism by reshaping challenging traditional power structures and have contributed greatly to more inclusive news coverage.
From retelling their stories to covering those of those who live in their very community, women understand the misunderstood. The understanding of women to be more empathetic than men is simply based upon perception, yet some believe women are “empathetic managers.”
“I also think women, especially those who had to learn how to juggle family life and professional life, are empathetic managers,” Robyn Tomlin, a journalist who spoke to The Lenfest Institute, said.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett is more than an example of an empathetic woman who told the stories of the misunderstood. She’s known as a pioneer in journalism, organizing anti-lynching campaigns and wrote for Black newspapers under the pen-name, “Iola.”
“She had a vision of how to execute that kind of struggle, not on moral grounds alone, but as a social justice issue,” Joseph Jordan, the Without Sanctuary curator, said to Smithsonian magazine.
Women fighting for equality and challenging power structures is simply innate, and doing so while reporting and publishing accurate accounts of discrimination proves women are meant to be journalists.
Katharine Graham was an American newspaper publisher who led The Washington Post, her family’s newspaper. Graham made the courageous decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, the top-secret study of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. She followed through with the publication of the papers even as The New York Times was court-ordered not to.
“She was committed to giving readers full access to important information,” The National Women’s Hall of Fame wrote.
There is still an ever-present gap between men and women in the journalism industry. The gap represents differences ranging from reporting opportunity to pay. Young women are aware of this gap and created initiatives and resources for others.
Carley Hinton, a sophomore studying visual communication and the president of Womxn in Media at Ohio University spoke about the gap in the industry.
“When I took over my club, I was told by an upperclassman that this club was needed because obviously women and nonbinary students in journalism and other media organizations have issues finding jobs because of the gender gap that there is between men and women and non-binary in the media industry,” Hinton said.
Hinton described how women and nonbinary people provide a fun and fresh perspective to whatever they produce. She added while there’s challenging power structures, they can do it in a professional and relatable way.
“With this gap, there’s this need for women and nonbinary voices in all of these industries, including journalism, because there’s no reason that women shouldn’t be getting the same opportunity that men should be getting,” Hinton said. “Because, as you said, women in journalism do have a certain perspective, and it’s an important perspective to have.”
As other months succeed the month of March, the recognition of women’s contributions should not end, especially those of women in journalism who are pioneers in the industry. Women are meant to be journalists and have proven this for decades.
Daphne Graeter is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Daphne know by emailing her at dg422421@ohio.edu.
