Like a rubber band snapping back to its original shape, the upcoming presidential debates remind us of the stagnant condition of network news: all three moderators will be white men of a certain (older) age: Bob Schieffer of CBS, Tom Brokaw of NBC, and Jim Lehrer of PBS.
One doesn’t argue with the credentials of these three anchors, of course. Only with the bankruptcy of the networks’ imagination in hiring, grooming — and using — of women and people of color in the highest ranks. Gwen Ifill of PBS will host the vice-presidential debate. But clearly she is capable of asking presidential candidates probing questions. The relegation of her to this secondary role is insulting and an example of how much work we still have to do. The prospect that the most important vetting of our presidential candidates will be an all male, constant exhibition of ego is, quite frankly, depressing.
Michel Martin of NPR sums it up best in her audio commentary. The host of her own daily take on the world, “Tell Me More,” Martin tackles the subject brilliantly here. Let us know your thoughts about this issue by posting on our blog, Majority Post, and join the WMC’s campaign to add women to the debates.
The Women's Media Center was founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem to make women more visible and powerful in the media. The WMC places female voices into the media, offers media training, and publishes original reports and commentaries as well as links to women columnists and bloggers, news organizations, and journalism sources on its Web site, www.womensmediacenter.com.
