Doorways: Sarah's column

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Sarah's column: Is the position of editor of a daily newspaper in Australia only for men?

Posted by Sarah Tabitha | Posted on 9:07 PM

THERE was recently a marvelous video on mUmBRELLA (my favourite website - the best source of information on the Australian media out there) that generally talked about women in the workplace in the media industry. They touched upon the issues of there not being enough women on boards, a lack of women in senior roles and women struggling to put themselves forward to win the senior positions.

Inspired by that, I now pose this question for you:

Is it difficult for women to get to the top position as editor of a daily newspaper?

After doing some research it appears there are not any women who are currently editors of daily newspapers in Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald Editor - Peter Fray

The West Australian Editor - Brett McCarthy

Herald Sun Editor - Phil Gardner

The Advertiser Editor - Melvin Mansell

The Age Editor - Paul Ramadge

The Courier-mail Editor - David Fagan

The Geelong Advertiser Editor - Steele Tallon

The Daily Telegraph Editor - Gary Linnell

The Australian Editor - Paul Whittaker

The Financial Review - Michael Gill

Sunshine Coast Daily Editor - Mark Furler

The Canberra Times Editor - Rod Quinn

The Hobart Mercury Editor - Garry Bailey

The Newcastle Herald Editor - Roger Brock

The Cairns Post Editor - Andrew Holman

Townsville Bulletin Editor - Peter Gleeson

The Weekly Times Editor - Ed Gannon

That is 17 male editors.

This leaves me with so many questions:

At the moment I am reading Man Bites Murdoch by Bruce Guthrie. It is a fascinating account of his career in newspapers (he was an editor of many daily newspapers) as well as his time battling with Rupert Murdoch on different issues. But it also strikes me in this book that whenever other people in high editorial positions are mentioned, the majority of them are male.

Also in the mUmBRELLA video, Deborah Thomas the General Manager of media, public affairs and brand development at ACP magazines, commented that many boards were an old boys network “bringing their mates in," - could this notion of men bringing their friends along with them be the case in newspapers?

Are women not suited to being editors of large daily newspapers? Should they just be left to their devises as editor's of glossy magazines and community papers?

Over the past few months, while the newspapers were getting excited about Julia Gillard becoming our first female Prime Minister, perhaps they should have been focusing on the fact that it appears there are no women as editors of daily newspapers (I am leaving Sunday editions of newspapers out of the topic).

I really feel that I should make it my goal to be a female editor of an Australian daily newspaper.

To be completely honest, I am not experienced enough to give my full opinion on why men seem to be so dominant as editors? Can anyone shed some light on their opinion on why it seems to be all men?

Does anyone know of any females who have been editors of daily newspapers? I can't seem to find any.

As the circulation of newspapers declines, could a womens touch be the answer...

Sarah's column: An open letter to the Community Newspapers around Australia

Posted by Sarah Tabitha | Posted on 4:22 AM

Category: Sarah's column

For this week's column, I thought I would take a bit of cheeky view on things and write about something that has been bothering me for a long time. Looking forward to your thoughts on it...

Dear Community Newspapers of Australia,

It is with much regret to tell you that there has been a word thrown around to describe you in recent times that may come as a shock. That word is BORING.

This angers me because you have so much potential as you drop into letterboxes for free all around Australia every week.

Okay so I am 22, what do I know? Basically nothing. However, my fresh eyes see things with a new view of the world and so I am going to voice my opinion.

I am sick of picking up a community newspaper feeling like it was designed for an old person with a smiling photo of senior on the front. Or some tacky old politican on some attention-seeking antic.

You are not just a voice for the people ranting about fluoride in the water in the Letters to Editor section.

And your photo quality! Now, I understand that many community newspapers have to multi-skill their journalists to take photos as well, which is fantastic, but could we please have something a little more creative than people standing there like stunned mullets with their arms crossed? People are far more interesting than that.

I feel like there is this stigma surrounding community newspapers that they feel this need to be boring, dorky and drab just because you are a 'community newspaper'. You all conform to the same unofficial rules around Australia. You all have a similar layout on the front page and nothing much changes on the inside in terms of content or advertisements.

Long, draining articles are not appealing anymore. I want to read about things that are entertaining, fun little features, odd spots, interesting photos, fascinating articles, what's going on a little outside the community too, what the local venues are doing for young people (not just the happenings at the RSL), what is cool on the internet, maybe a little bit of gossip, maybe a little bit of scandal, pets, cute things about, health feature, more romantic stories (love makes the world go round remember) and some things that are left of center. I'm over it all being about the local netball club winning the premiership - I know is an important happening but it gets to the point where it is Groundhog Day every week the local paper arrives. Spice it up a little bit, maybe get the netballer's to submit 10 of their favourite things in their life on a page or get them to submit drawings of themselves - just something different - be creative.

And I am sick to my eyeballs of politicians doing things for their own political gain and re-reading press releases by their media people that have been slightly changed into articles - it is enough to put a pack of hyperactive monkeys to sleep. Can there just be a designated page in all community newspapers for their rants and raves?

I say all this, my dear friend Community Newspaper because you are still extremely important.

Who else is going to tell me what is going on in my local community? People are always going to want to know what is going on. I won't go out of my way to find out but if I am sitting in a cafe and a local newspaper is in front of me that is available to read, I will pick it up. Local advertisers also rely heavily on you, please pay them the respect back by offered good content that people want to read so your distribution is not a lie, when half the people are flinging their community newspapers from the mailbox straight into the bin. I couldn't think of a personal friend of mine who claims to read their community newspaper and if they did, they would probably be stirred up for it and I'd feel a little embarrassed for them.

Many of you have vibrant real estate sections that a lot of people like to read or that most people just automatically skip to read. But hey! While they are there, you should give them some bonus entertainment from the content you can provide.

And what ever happened to making it cool and colourful like a magazine? Why are you so conservative? Why don't you involve more of your local community with photos and reader interaction? Hence the popularity of blogs and social media, reader interaction is something we all love!

I don't want the internet to beat you...you must live on.

I hope you have not been offended by any of these thoughts. I just had to get it out there...you need to change.

Kind regards,

Sarah Lawrence

This letter may seem a little harsh and parts of it are over the top. And I may be viewing the world from limited eyes as I have not seen every community newspaper in Australia (and I am sure some are very good but a lot are better off as fuel for fire). So I would love to know from you: What do you think makes your community newspaper good? Do you think my letter is fair or rubbish?

Rejection... from The Age - Part 1

Posted by Sarah Tabitha | Posted on 6:36 PM

Category: career , journalism , Sarah's column

Hello readers, thought I would scare you with a little photo of myself and to make a connection with the post below.

Everyone will tell you when applying for jobs: you have to be prepared for rejection.

I have had my fair share of rejection. I've not made the cut for jobs I've applied for at The Geelong Advertiser, Qantas Magazine, Marketing Magazine, The Adelaide Advertiser, The Echo (Byron Bay), The Herald Sun, Channel 7 and even Cosmopolitan - just to name a few.

Most recently, I received a rejection e-mail for a traineeship at The Age. They were looking for people with both journalism and photographic experience, which I have a lot of (along with a journalism degree and various other experience), so I was hopeful that I would make it to the interview round. I even stretched my contacts far and emailed Caroline Wilson, because my Grandma's hairdresser knows her and said it would be good to get in contact with her.

Researching some old famous journalists for this blog, I've noticed that many got their good start with a cadetship at The Age, Herald Sun or any other capital city daily newspaper. Knowing that they had received over 400 applications, I rang The Age every second day for two weeks, trying to talk to the HR person so that I could show my interest and beg for an interview. Voice mail seemed to be a common echo as I never actually spoke to the HR person I asked for.

Eventually I spoke to Colin McKinnon, who is the Editor of Training and Development at The Age. He said that, as the email confirming that my resume had been received had said, I would get a response some time in November and we were still in November so I must wait.

Last Thursday the rejection email came through:

"Thank you for your interest and application for the role of Editorial Trainee with The Age. We received many excellent applications. The process of shortlisting and giving each candidate proper consideration is a process that we attach great importance to.

Unfortunately on this occasion your application has not been successful.

We would like to thank you for your interest in Fairfax and take this opportunity to wish you every success in your future career search. Please do not hesitate to apply for any of our future positions that may be of interest to you."

Immediately I felt a rush of motivation (I have a typical left handed person's trait of being quick tempered) that I just must must must call this Colin McKinnon man and try begging for an interview again, ASAP. I really didn't know how to go about this whim and probably went about it the wrong way. When I got through to him I said what first came into my head, something along the lines of how passionate I am for the media, how I've had a lot of experience and love The Age and could I please have an interview even though the rejection email just flew in?

And he said... NO! On this occasion, HR had conducted a thorough examination of the resumes and mine did not make the cut. Try again next time. If I wanted more specific feedback on my resume, call back at the start of December.

So then I tried to tap into my creativity as my mind flew at a million miles per hour. Could I think of a statement right now that could somehow convince him that if I was given an interview, I would prove him wrong? Hmmm... nothing coming to mind. Should I offer to buy him a box of chocolates? He didn't really sound like a chocolate box kind of person. Is there some kind of fantastic lie or truth I can say about myself, like knowing some golden news story information that I could use to trade in for an interview? Hmmm... I am from Essendon but the whole Underbelly scene has been fairly quiet lately and, reality check Sarah, I don't know anything! Do I put on the waterworks and cry? Better not.

Instead, I verbally vomited, "I promise that if I was given an interview and made it to be trainee at The Age, I will be the best trainee you have ever had and work extremely, ridiculously hard and put in huge hours." It was quite possibility one of the worst things I could say as he responded rightly, "Well, yes, I am sure you would but we tend to hear that from a lot of people." He was very right and I felt stupid for saying such a ridiculous thing but I was honestly lost for words.

Does any one else have any ideas of what they think I could have said? Or what they think I should have done?

Nevertheless, what will be will be. Thought I would share that experience with you. There could have been a plenty of reasons why I didn't get an interview. Perhaps more intelligent people applied. Maybe when they went over my resume they psycho-analysed it and thought I wasn't appropriate. There could have been a spelling errors somewhere I didn't know about. Maybe I just wasn't what they were looking for. After all, a piece of paper on a resume is so much different to meeting someone in person - hence why you hear about a lot of CEOs these days tearing up resumes and hiring people based on their instincts. I believe the best thing to do now is just go back to the drawing board and reassess my resume and cover letter, which I will definitely do.

I won't let the rejection bog me down and make me feel terrible. I will get back on my bike and continue to apply for jobs in journalism. Hopefully, time and place will coincide and I will meet a kindred spirit that I will work with in the future.

Part 2 on Rejection will come soon.

Overcoming the little voices that tell you that you can't write

Posted by Sarah Tabitha | Posted on 4:32 AM

Category: Sarah's column

Sometimes the writer's mind can feel like a sleepy and slow place

This week I have been a spring racing carnival junkie - I didn't just go to one race meet, I went to four of the big ones including Cox Plate, Melbourne Cup, Oaks Day and Stakes Day. So it is little wonder, after a few champagne filled days, that I am struggling to think of ideas for what to write a column on as my brain cells restore themselves.

You know the feeling where your head feels empty and you start to feel cranky and stressed because you are frustrated with yourself that you can think of any ideas for a post? Or let alone motivate yourself to write something?

I have plenty of ideas on what to write about flying around my head but the stress is dealing with a negative mentality that says, 'No I don't think you know enough about that..' or 'That needs way more research if you are going to write on that...'

So how do you combat that sneaky little voice in your head telling you that you can't do it? Where do you find the confidence to overcome the negative inner chatter and basically... just write? Why is it that we feel fear and irritation with ourselves just to get started?

My personal solution to the problem: take a huge, deep breath and let it out. I remember once reading that after all the research and remedies for overcoming stress around the world, there was no solution more effective than taking a deep breath. You then must imagine the breath blowing away the negative thoughts. I get to the point where I just about shout at the negative voice to be quiet and turn up the mental volume on the positive thinking that you can do it - millions of people have written books, articles and posts, what is stopping you from it doing it? Thus reminding yourself that you would be better off writing something than nothing at all and once you get started, you normally can go on.

Then write... write, write, write! It is a little tacky yet true, like the Nike slogan - just do it because no one really cares about your excuses.

Don't Overlook the Local Rag...

Posted by Sarah Tabitha | Posted on 1:56 AM

Category: journalism , Sarah's column

Don't overlook community newspapers for experience - Surf Coast Times, VIC

This is an article I wrote when I finished working as a journalist for a community newspaper 6 months ago. For readers, it will give you a good insight into the types of experiences you can have at a community newspaper. They are golden training grounds that allow you the opportunity to have a plethora of new experiences. I know that today many young people look upon them as stuffy and stodgy pieces of rubbish that would be better use as bonfire fuel. But if you look at famous Australian journalists today, you will find that a large majority of them started in community newspapers including Ita Buttrose, Naomi Robson and Jessica Parry.

"I feel like I am in mourning. I have recently left my job as a journalist at a regional community newspaper after two years and I will miss it. But it has been a very interesting experience.

I was offered the job half-way through my degree after doing work experience at the paper. I have been working there two days a week ever since. That’s why I would suggest to any student the value of work experience, and not overlooking sometimes boring community newspapers for the more ‘glamorous’ or ‘cool’ media such as fashion magazines.

Broome's local newspaper, WA

It has been an amazing experience that not only gave me experience as a working journalist but as a photographer, receptionist, database gatekeeper, website updater, broad range journalist – I have written on everything from sport, music and hard news, to feeling like a pseudo counsellor at times for interviewees. I also started as an untrained photographer so having the confidence to give things a go is important for young aspiring journalists.

I now understand almost every facet of a newspaper from what the graphic designers do to what the publisher does, the importance of advertising revenue for a free newspaper, respect for the owners of the paper, and how the printers can make costly mistakes.

In an average week , I would take up to nine photos and write up to nine articles of all sizes. You don’t have to be as fast a writer as you would in a daily newspaper, but you do have to be organised. I may have spent a day and a half getting all the interviews and photos done to then spend an afternoon writing articles and putting it all together.

Byron Bay Echo, NSW

Right from the start it was very much a sink or swim environment. Yes, I had other staff members to help me but like may newspapers, we were underresourced so there was not a lot of time to sit down for a chat. I just had to think hard, have an eye for detail, be thorough in my work and network with people in the region. Apart from university, there was never any further training either.

However, there were many good things about working there. I had a lot of creative freedom with the photos, and I developed a good working relationship with my editor that would allow me to put forward the stories my contacts suggested. I also got to interview many celebrities such as Arj Barker, Bertie Blackman, Little Birdy, Darryl Braitwaite, James Reyne and Ray Martin, as well as meeting and interviewing many politicians.

Hawkesbury Gazette, NSW

Also, a lot of the content I produced was advertising driven. This was often a problem because when a client decided to advertise with us, the sales staff would promise them a free editorial. However, many clients didn’t understand that the editorial was separate from their advertising and often demanded to see the editorial before it was published, to ensure it was what they wanted it say.

Noosa News, QLD

This really sharpened my integrity and respect for the profession – it is important for journalists not to feel bullied or pushed into writing for their advertisers. Instead, you have to keep respect for your audience in the back of your mind. Although, it was difficult when some clients spoke in ‘advertising’ speak during their interviews, it was up to me and a good challenge to try make what they were saying extremely interesting.

Writing about so many advertisers though, has given me a thorough knowledge of many different kinds of jobs. I also lived in the town where a lot of them were based, so I now know who is good to go to for services, who is nice and it has been interesting hearing from people on all the different issues they are having in a community. I also enjoyed writing about new businesses, and helping them attract more customers with the articles I wrote.

Overall, it was a life-changing experience that I will never regret. For students who want a broad range of experience in the media, community newspaper."

The Feeling of Writing

Posted by Sarah Tabitha | Posted on 7:23 PM

Category: Sarah's column , writing

rotari_love_letter.jpg image by diane_kepler

Pietro Rotari, Young Girl Writing a Love Letter, 1755

There is nothing like sitting down to immerse yourself in that euphoric zone of writing. There is so much enjoyment in seeing words that come into your mind flow effortlessly onto the page. The incredible feeling when you look back and think, how on earth was it that I came to write that? Followed by a rush of pride and achievement.

This brings to me a realisation I had recently that, when writing, it is feeling that guides us. How do we feel about this sentence or that sentence? What will the writer think of this? How will the person we are writing about feel? Will the reader be evoked to feel inspired, happy, angry, excited, annoyed or elated? It can take one line in an article that can ruin a person's career or make them feel horrible. Yet, on the other hand, it can make them feel the happiest, most proud that they have ever felt in their life.

Feelings, feelings, feelings - they are the essence of writing.

I had this revelation at work the other day. I am currently in the television show sales industry and, luckily, someone was interested in buying some shows in a country far, far away. Making this deal happen was like a problem solving activity. We had to figure out prices, how much we could offer the programs for, how long they can screen the shows for and if the shows were available to be brought in that country due to licencing laws. If that sounds boring and complex to you - you are right, it was.

While doing this, the thought crossed my mind that if I was working in a newspaper at that moment, I wouldn't have been feeling the onset of a headache from a problem solving activity. I would have been deciding on words that I 'felt' were appropriate in an article or choosing a photo to go with an article that I 'felt' looked right. Basically, I would have been thinking with my heart.

To be honest with you, the country potentially buying was actually The Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa - believe it or not! It is the world's poorest country. Since then, I've had many discussions with my boss on the deal and I keep mentioning to her with a sad 'feeling' in my gut that they are literally the world's poorest country. Yet she is quick to remind me not to think about that and just focus on the deal to get the money out of them.

But I can't help but strongly feel this sad longing to go back to using my feelings in my every day life instead of the mundaneness of figures, formulas and money-hungry facts...

Start

Posted by Sarah Tabitha | Posted on 7:28 AM

Category: journalism , Sarah's column

Photo: Sarah Lawrence

I don't currently work as a journalist. It is a long story but I will give you an extended version of a short one. Ever since I was young, possibly about eight years old, I have been obsessed with the idea of being a television reporter or journalist. The ambition came to me when I realised that I wanted to live a life where I had many different experiences, to connect with people and see lots of different things on a daily basis. That appealed to me much more than sitting at a desk all day or working on a farm.

While at school, I was on various different school publications and, finally, by the end of year 12, I was accepted into a journalism course at university. Halfway through my course I did work experience at an independent community newspaper in Torquay, Victoria called The Surf Coast Times. I will be forever grateful to the inspiring, wonderful, amazing editor there at the time, a South African kindred spirit named Donna van Staden.

Donna gave me the opportunity to work at the newspaper two days a week while I studied at university. It was an incredible, life-changing and eye-opening experience that I will expand upon more in this blog. I was there for around two years before I was offered what appeared to be a very good opportunity to work in television show sales. Unfortunately, my new job does not incite any excitement or passion in me at all. You know you are in the wrong place when you spend more time looking up news.com.au websites, reading blogs and looking up other opportunities in the journalism industry than actually working!

I hope that this blog will inspire and excite other people's passion for journalism and writing. The interviews that Laura and I will be conducting are what I am looking forward to the most. From my experience, journalists and writers are incredibly down-to-earth, interesting people who have had many amazing experiences. I believe that our interviews will incite enthusiasm in aspiring journalists and writers, encouraging them to do something proactive towards their chosen path. Similarly, our weekly events and opportunities section will, hopefully, direct you to find places where you can launch your career.

Please don't hesitate to contact Laura or me, as we hope that this blog will be a favourite amongst people with similar ambitions to ours; one which you will love to read, get a lot of enjoyment from and be able to visit as a place where aspiring writers and journalists can congregate to talk and support each other.