Report from Women in Media Conference 2017

Thursday 23-03-2017 - 17:03

The Women in Media Conference is a great annual event run in partnership with NUS and Amnesty International, and Durham SU was excited to have two delegates attend this year. Zuzanna Gwadera, one of these delegates, reports back on her experience. 

The Women in Media Conference 2017 is by far one of the most inspiring events I’ve ever attended.

It’s been an intense weekend that included meeting some of the most brilliant female professionals and engaging in meaningful discussions about the role of women in the media.

We have covered a wide range of topics, from free speech, through LGBTQI+ issues to the business side of things.

We’ve discussed the current issues with ‘fake news’ and how destabilising the public opinion about journalists’ credibility is dangerous for democracy.

That’s not the only problem of the industry and the profession; nowadays their futures are not secure at all. In the world of information available everywhere and tailored to everyone’s preferences, it’s hard to get the whole picture. And, on the other hand, it’s easy to forget that in the past we all used to contribute to quality news by paying for them, which is not usually the case anymore.

These days, news outlets need to make decisions they have never had to make before. Also, a persistent theme of the weekend was a woman’s experience in the industry.

We’ve heard from women who just made it into the media as well as from those with decades of experience.

They all have something in common: they are ambitious, brave, eloquent and committed to their values.

Even with all these qualities, women still constitute a minority in the industry (not to mention the underrepresentation of women of colour and LGBTQI+ people).

We’ve talked this through; it seems that women generally need to fight harder to be taken seriously and treated as equals.

I still smile remembering what Lucy Adams, a political reporter, said about her beginnings - she was called a ‘smiling assassin’, because even though she looked innocent, she could tackle the most belligerent politicians with her questions.

She also made an important point about how there’s still too much focus on what female journalists and politicians wear and how physically attractive they are, and not enough on what they’ve got to say.

This needs to change and it will once more women have their voices heard.

That’s why events like this one are so important; a new generation of women in media needs to be educated and inspired to be ready to overcome the challenges they face in the industry, as well as those faced by the industry itself.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Women in Media Conference in 2017 and I’d like to thank the organisers as well as the speakers for all the hard work put into the event.

I hope to be back in Manchester next year!

Zuzanna Gwadera is a second year PPE student who enjoys traveling and all things media. ​

 

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