“We are beckoned to see the world through a one-way mirror, as if we are threatened and innocent and the rest of humanity is threatening, or wretched, or expendable. Our memory is struggling to rescue the truth that human rights were not handed down as privileges from a parliament, or a boardroom, or an institution, but that peace is only possible with justice and with information that gives us the power to act justly.”
John Pilger

Sunday, May 18, 2014

"Pushy": As NY Times Fires 1st Woman Exec. Editor, Decades-Long Bid for Newsroom Equality Continues

Democracynow.org - May 16, 2014

We look at the firing of Jill Abramson, the first female executive editor of The New York Times in its 160-year history, who had reportedly complained about earning less pay than her male predecessors. This apparently amplified unattributed characterizations that Abramson’s management style was "brusque" and "pushy," which critics took issue with since similar behavior from men in similar roles is often accepted, and even encouraged. "Jill put many, many women in top positions and was a role model for the younger women and all women at The New York Times," says our guest Lynn Povich, who was the first female senior editor in Newsweek’s history. "We know how upset they are to see the way in which she was dismissed." Povich also discusses the status of women in the media, which she helped shape when she led a lawsuit in 1970 against Newsweek for hiring women only as researchers, and rarely promoting them to reporter or editor. Following a victory in the case, women working at Time, Reader’s Digest, The New York Times, NBC and the Associated Press also sued their employers. Povich recounts the story in her book, "The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses and Changed the Workplace." Since leaving Newsweek in 1991, she has been editor-in-chief of Working Woman magazine and managing editor/senior executive producer for MSNBC.com.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to The New York Times's dismissal of its top editor, who was the first woman to hold that position in the newspaper's 160-year history. Executive Editor Jill Abramson was replaced Wednesday in a surprise move by publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., just two-and-a-half years after her appointment. During her tenure, the Times won eight Pulitzer Prizes. She has been replaced by Managing Editor Dean Baquet, who became the first African American to take up the post. Both Abramson and the Times have signed non-disparagement agreements, and Sulzberger has insisted her firing was due to, quote, "an issue with management in the newsroom." Abramson reportedly had complained about earning less pay than her male predecessor, Bill Keller.

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