Archive: Jun 2008

The Women’s Media Center has just announced an opening for a Media Director. Know anyone? Pass it on! This is a fantastic job for the right person. Here’s the scoop. -GWP

Description: The Women’s Media Center (WMC) is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem to make women visible and powerful in the media. The WMC is looking for a Media Director in its New York City office starting immediately. This person will build relationships with press (print, broadcast, local, national, entertainment and news), pitch women-centered storylines and spokespeople to the media, act as a resource to journalists and train women to become better media spokespeople.

Job Responsibilities
• Build and maintain relationships with media professionals including print, broadcast, local, national, entertainment and online reporters, editors and producers
• Pitch stories to media professionals, resulting in maximum coverage and visibility for women’s perspectives
• Oversee and administer media spokesperson training program in New York City
• Identify, research and document trends and developments within the media industry and recommend/implement WMC media campaigns
• Provide rapid response media support to organizations and individuals trying to raise the visibility of issues of importance to women and lead the WMC’s rapid response efforts
• Field media requests-sometimes on very tight and/or off-hour deadlines-maintaining contact databases, organizing resources, assisting reporters with stories of importance for women and assisting WMC-identified spokespeople with booking & preparation for interviews
• Plan, write, edit and send materials including press releases, alerts, e-mails and letters to media professionals
• Monitor assigned media outlets on a daily basis and track issues pertaining to the WMC.

Qualifications
• *Required: Strong written and oral communication skills (writing samples will be requested)
• *Required: At least four years of work within media or communications in some capacity
• *Required: Demonstrated success in media relations (examples of media placements – written or broadcast – will be requested)
• *Required: Demonstrated knowledge of women’s issues.
• Media rolodex a must
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to work under pressure
• Excellent relationship-building skills and extremely positive attitude required
• Must demonstrate strong organizational skills, ability to manage multiple tasks to meet deadlines
• Web knowledge and savvy a must
• Background in being interviewed by print, online and broadcast media a plus
• Demonstrated commitment to team work among staff and volunteers
• Ability to work effectively with people of diverse races, ages, ethnicities and sexual identities
• Research skills a plus
• Bachelor’s degree a must
• Excellent knowledge of word processing, database programs, internet research
(Lexis Nexis and Bacons) and spreadsheet programs

Supervision:
The Media Director is supervised by the Vice President of Programs and Administration.

Compensation:
Salary is between $68-75,000 depending on experience. Benefits include, but are not limited to: Escalating vacation beginning with three weeks; Paid sick days and holidays; and Organization-paid health benefits for employees.

Contact:
Glennda Testone
glennda@womensmediacenter.com
No phone calls please.
Note: The Women’s Media Center cannot pay for relocation at this time.

Well now THIS is interesting, a mea culpa (of sorts) from the Public Editor at the NYTimes: Pantsuits and the Presidency.

(More from me in a little while…)

In an article in yesterday’s Newsday, Lisa Witter issues a rousing plea to the media to unfetter our potential first ladies’ intellect on the campaign trail. Excerpts:

The new focus on Obama’s hair and hemlines comes right on the heels of the gender-biased way the media covered Clinton’s campaign. If we let this go on, we risk losing an important opportunity to have a national dialogue about sexism. We should be holding the media accountable for perpetuating stereotypes. If a white woman is strong, she’s considered cold – as the coverage of Cindy McCain has shown. If a black woman is strong, she’s obviously angry – so go the accusations about Michelle Obama….

While America’s women and girls lost the opportunity to see themselves reflected in the top job this round, what we can’t do is lose the opportunity to change the way women – and first ladies – are portrayed. It’s a tough line, no doubt. For the most part, we want to feel and look beautiful. We love our families and feel proud about our personal and professional accomplishments. But if we let the conversation about the first ladies focus mostly on the role and status of the conventional “Mrs.,” we’ve lost a huge opportunity to reframe gender and marriage dynamics in our country. We all need to take it upon ourselves to strike up a conversation about how we can end sexism in America. Contact the press when they get it right – and not so right. And I’m going to write Michelle Obama to let her know that when she portrays herself as strong, I feel strong, too.

Well said, Lisa. For more from Lisa, do check out the just-released book she coauthored, titled The She Spot: Why Women Are the Secret to Changing the World and How to Reach Them. Lisa is chief operating officer of Fenton Communications, and an inspiration to many. I definitely recommend her book!

For those obsessed, like me, with how the media is and will cover Michelle Obama, do check out the new blog Michelle Obama Watch. The site is designed to be “a repository of all of the criticism, praise, and general chicanery thrown at Michelle Obama between now and November.” And for any who missed Michelle Obama on The View, here’s the clip:

On Wednesday, June 25 (tomorrow), New York Women in Communications is hosting a panel discussion that looks at how media has effected this historic presidential election. The event has a great title: “2008 ELECTION: THE ULTIMATE COMMUNICATIONS CASE STUDY.” From the press release:

How has the 2008 election changed the way information is received, discussed and processed? How has the media created buzz and changed the way the younger generation feeds on it? What has the 2008 election taught us about communicating?….The panel will include: moderator Jere Hester, director, NYCity News Service and former city editor, New York Daily News; Amanda Michel, project director, Off the Bus: Huffington Post; Keli Goff, author, Partycrashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence; Liz Nord, senior producer, MTV News; and Jodi Kantor, political journalist, The New York Times.

Where: CUNY Journalism School (219 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018)
Time: 6:00 – 6:30pm: Networking and Refreshments
6:30 – 8:00pm: Panel Discussion
8:00 – 8:30pm: Networking Raffle
Fee: Members – $15
Non-members – $20
Registration: For more information and to register, visit www.nywici.org

I met the most amazing woman, and the most amazing 3-legged dog, yesterday in the park coming back from a visit to the place I’ve come to call the fertility farm (alert! I am NOT fertility blogging, just mentioning where I was coming from is all). These two have a pretty amazing story, and, as it turns out, Scheki (the dog) and Lori (the human) were profiled in April on WCBS. Schecki is short for “Schekayanu,” the Jewish blessing of gratitude for reaching a happy occasion.

Finding Schecki, a victim of a bombing most likely, in Israel was a happy occasion, explains Lori in the clip. She also says: “Scheki has taught us to have this strength and love of life and not to look at what we don’t have, but rather look at what we do have in life, and embrace it with a passion and exuberance.”

Amen (and woof) to that.

We knew this before, but a new study from Rutgers proves it yet again, and the NYTimes reports it: “Study Finds Imbalance on 3 Newspapers’ Op-Ed Pages”. In the words of Helaine Olen, “I’m shocked! Gambling at Rick’s!”

The authors of the study, Bob Sommer (who teaches public policy communications and is president of Observer Media, publisher of The New York Observer) and John R. Maycroft, a graduate student in public policy, got their data by combing through 366 opinion articles written by college teachers or researchers and published by three newspapers: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Star-Ledger, the largest-circulation newspaper in New Jersey. Their study will be published in the journal Politics and Policy. Read more about it here.

Calling all ye women: SUBMIT YOUR OPEDS! To learn how, come to Woodhull’s next nonfiction writing retreat on July 11-13, where Katie Orenstein of The Oped Project will be teaching oped writing–and I’ll be teaching nonfiction book proposals! More info here.

(And thanks, Helaine, for the early morning heads up!)

Hey, GWP readers! This is new guest blogger, Elizabeth M. Curtis here. Loyal GWP readers might remember my previous posts that provided cultural critique and gender analysis. Well, now I’m returning to GWP – as a regular like Courtney Martin and Laura Mazer – to talk about blogging and you.

Many folks want to get more active online and make web 2.0 tools work for them, their writing, their institutions or organizations, and their causes. But sometimes a lack of tech know-how gets in the way. So, I’ll be sharing the secrets of online activism and the blogosphere that I’ve learned since I started blogging way back in 2006 (ages ago in online time!). My goal is to break down the blogging basics and to demystify web 2.0 technology for the folks who can’t wait to get active online, in the blogosphere, and beyond. A “Blog U,” if you will.

My first two tutorials offered to “Blog U” students will focus on getting active online and deciding whether or not you’re blog-ready. I’m looking for future tutorial topics as well. Let me know what you’re interested in exploring in the comments section or email me your queries.

Also, I’ll be cross-posting my “Blog U” posts on my own blog. Stop by for PDFs of “Blog U” material. Next post coming in just a few days…Stay tuned.

Crossposted.

Before signing off for the weekend, I’m feeling compelled to share with you this sign I saw at Kleinfeld Bridal, where yesterday I went with my cousin Jen to hunt for a crinoline. The small print reads, “Thank you for your understanding; if we are delayed, it is because some of our brides need extra care and attention. Be assured when it is your turn, you will receive the same care and attention.”

Um, bridezilla much?

Some of those women there Freaked. Me. Out. Including the attendant who said “that’s your dress? and you’re the bride?”, pointing to the $200 blue number I bought at the bride’s maid store on 14th Street. If it weren’t for the utter coolness of Susan, the “attendant” who was assigned to me and who happened to be a Broadway costume designer moonlighting as a Kleinfeld’s outfitter, I think I would have run screaming. Instead, I stayed, and got tips from Susan and the ever-savvy Jen about what else women in the 1950s wore. And I left there loving my little blue number all the more.

This week my colleagues at the Council on Contemporary Families released a briefing paper, “Families and the Current Economic Crisis,” examing the maelstrom of financial dilemmas facing Americans today, along with the far-reaching human impact. The report is available at www.contemporaryfamilies.org. Here’s a quick rundown of the different effects of the current economic crisis by age, race, and gender:

Gender

Men and women are affected by the job market cuts differently. In the recession of 2001-2004, women lost jobs at a higher rate than men. Today the reverse is true. From November 2007 through April 2008, men lost 700,000 jobs, especially in traditional “family-wage” occupations such as manufacturing and construction. Women, by contrast, gained almost 300,000 jobs, since female-dominated fields such as health care have remained strong. No one is “winning” any gender battles here, though. The pay gap between men and women had been narrowing for several years, but this past year it began to widen again. And in families where women have become the main providers, the results are mixed. Some families report increased respect by husbands and children for women’s economic contributions. But men who have a strong identification with the “male breadwinner” role experience a decline in marital quality when their wife begins to bring in a larger share of family income.

Age

Thirty million Americans are over age 65, and with the average social security payment set at $1,079, there is not much of a margin to cover rising medical, prescription, food, and gas bills. Since more than a third of retired Americans help their children financially, according to a recent AARP poll, their financial troubles may trickle down to their children and grandchildren as well. The AARP reports that the majority of baby boomers (aged 44-62) say they are struggling to make ends meet. Sixty percent have cut back on extras and 25 percent report having trouble paying their mortgage. Young adults aged 25-35 have their own issues. Many are still paying off student loans, and 35 percent are not saving for retirement at all.

Race

As is so often the case, African Americans and Hispanics are at higher risk both for job loss and foreclosure than are whites. Studies consistently show that even where black and white families earn the same yearly income, African-Americans have much lower levels of accumulated wealth, largely because their mobility has been more recent and they did not inherit homes or assets from earlier generations. More than half of all mortgages granted to African Americans in 2006 were sub-prime. In fact, a family living in an upper-middle class African American neighborhood is twice as likely to have a sub-prime mortgage as a lower-middle class white family. Hispanics were also over-represented in the sub-prime housing market. Given the continuing residential segregation in America, foreclosures on such homes will disproportionately affect African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods.

For more information, please contact Stephanie Coontz, Professor of History and Family Studies, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA (coontzs@msn.com; 360 556-9223).