Lisa Wilkinson: media treat women differently to men

Lisa Wilkinson last night delivered the annual Andrew Olle Lecture, the first female to do so since Jana Wendt in 1997.

The Today show host made some excellent points about the demise of print journalism, the rush towards social media, her own entry into media, and especially the treatment of women in the media (often by other women).

Here are some selected excerpts:

I absolutely love co-hosting the Today Show and I do feel truly privileged right now to be part of such a great team – yes, even over the last month when we have somehow entered that disconcerting place that I know many of you in the room have visited where you somehow go from reporting the news to being it.

Breakfast TV is an endlessly diverse journalistic experience: but it does come at a cost. Yes, the alarm does go off at time starting with the number 3, and the hours do wreak havoc with normal family life. As I mentioned, my three children are here tonight and for seven years now I haven’t been there in the morning before they head off to school . . . and even Pete would admit signing excursion notes and finding missing socks is not his forte.

And I have been known to put on a load of washing in the dark at 3:30 as I head out the door to work. I know I should leave it to my husband . . . but do you have any idea how hard it is to get red bandanna dye out of a load of whites?!

Speaking of dirty laundry, as a woman in the media, it has long saddened me that while we delight in covering public issues of overt sexism – possibly the hottest topic in media over the last twelve months – the media itself can be every bit as guilty of treating women entirely differently to men.

And in terms of our audience, the cliché is so often true – it is women who can turn out to be a woman’s harshest critic.

Take this email that arrived in the Today Show Inbox, from a viewer called Angela, in March of this year . . .

Who the heck is Lisa’s stylist?
Whoever it is has Lisa in some shocking clothes.
Today’s outfit is particularly jarring and awful.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Get Some Style.
Now, while I know I am far from being above criticism, good sense should tell me to leave that sort of semi-anonymous stuff alone. But some mornings . . .

Dear Angela,
Thanks for all of your “Get Some Style” feedback.
Please feel free to send me a list of all the outfits you don’t like out of the 200 or so that I come up with each year, and I’ll see what I can do.
Just so I can prepare, are we just talking about the outfits I wear for the Today Show, or the ones I come up with to wear for red carpet and charity events as well?
You’ll need to be very specific because that is a lot of outfits to remember.
Please include suggested colours, sleeve lengths, skirt shapes, your preference for prints, fabric weights, jackets vs blouses, etc . . .
Of course Angela, given that I am a journalist – and not a supermodel – it is important that anything I wear allows me to feel comfortable for three and a half hours on set or perhaps outside when we’re on location.
Oh, and I’m a married mother of three, so nothing too revealing.
And nothing I wear can ever clash with what Georgie is wearing. And I have a larger bust, so nothing tight, thanks. Oh, and I’m not very tall – did I mention I’m not a model? – so please take that into consideration as well.
And finally, I must never clash with Karl’s ties. Or suits. Or the couch.
And I must be seasonally appropriate.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Lisa.

I think I did her head in because I never heard from Angela again.

When I saw just a few month ago that Australia’s most trusted publication, the Women’s Weekly ran a cover story, “Why Women Hate Women,” I despaired, because I recognised the syndrome. I don’t believe Australian women do hate women, but I despair when I see the same media that decries sexism and misogyny, itself engaging in it with such uncaring ease.

* I despair that every time a female journalist is profiled in the press, her age is usually mentioned by the second paragraph, as if it is a measure of her sexual currency and just how long it will be, before it expires. And yet, does anyone here know or care how old Kerry O’Brien, Kochie, Tony Jones, Hugh Riminton, Ray Martin, Peter Overton or Laurie Oakes are? They are all brilliant at what they do, and the rule of thumb is that the more experienced they are, the better they are at their jobs. So why, so often, doesn’t that same measure apply to women?

* I despair when so many gossip magazines use ridicule of women as their stock in trade. How many times do we see female celebrities used as the mass bully targets, almost always based on their appearance.

* I despair whenever I hear the words “Post Baby Body” accompanied by images of yet another celebrity who in four amazing weeks has managed to immediately wipe away any physical trace of evidence that she had ever been pregnant in the first place. And we’re meant to aspire to that?

* I despair when I see another “Celebrities With Anorexia” gossip cover complete with before and after paparazzi shots, calculated to show each one of them at their sad, tortured worst. It’s pure voyeurism and ridicule masquerading as concern.

* I despair when I see the young female radio DJ disappear from sight and unable to work, after being caught up in a prank call to a London Hospital, that saw a troubled nurse take her own life. Meanwhile her male co-host gets promoted and is given a major industry award by his employer as “Top Jock’ of the year. Oh well, as they say, “shit happens.”
* I despair, when our Federal Cabinet of 2013, has just one woman to 19 men – and we women are told, even by other women, we must shoulder the burden of blame for this lack of female parliamentary presence due to our lack of “merit” . . . if only we were more talented, we’re told, we might get half a chance of a look in.

* I despair that so many young girls are growing up, held hostage via social media to the views others have of them, long before they even know who they are themselves.

* I despair of the Instagram culture, where young girls learn to take off as much clothing as possible in order to generate the greatest number of “likes” from an audience too often made up of strangers. This is now the screwed-up arbiter of a girl’s self esteem?

*I despair when a retired male journalist called Jeff Barker complains that he can no longer watch the TV news because young female journalists who are simply – and competently – getting on with their job . . . are apparently TOO attractive for him to concentrate. Wake up, Jeff!

*And, as a former magazine editor, allow me to speak on something I feel most passionately of all: I TRULY despair, every time Fashion Week rolls around and another parade of tragically skinny young women make their way down the catwalk. Every year! The designers blame the agents, the agents insist the girls are healthy, while the fashion editors hand the models yet another size 6 garment to wear in photos shoots because, and I’m quoting fashion editors here: it’s the only size the designer samples come in! Meanwhile, former Vogue editor Kirstie Clements admits that she’s seen models eat tissues to suppress their appetites so they can stay skinny enough to fit the clothes they’re required to wear.

The wonderful thing is – and I want to end on a positive note, there are actually are a lot of bright shining stars for us all to steer by.

I encourage you to look, as I regularly do, to the women I most admire in this wonderful profession in which we find ourselves: from Leigh Sales who had the unenviable task of stepping into Kerry O’Brien’s shoes and now totally owns 7.30; to the easy charm of Liz Hayes and her ability to draw out unexpected admissions from her interview subjects; Sarah Ferguson, whose every TV expose is cause to lean in so as to not miss a word; Georgie Gardner’s obvious compassion in every news bulletin she delivers; Emma Alberici and Jenny Brockie’s sheer professionalism and depth of experience; Sam Armytage and Mel Doyle’s extreme grace under professional pressure; Annabel Crabb’s quirky individuality matched only by her sharp-as-a-tack political acumen; Tracy Grimshaw, my predecessor at Today, who picks up another bloody Walkley nomination every time she sits down for one of her signature interviews; the wonderfully incisive writings of Julia Baird and Wendy Squires; Kate McClymont’s forensic research and take-no-prisoners bravery; Deborah Thomas’s seamless capacity to work across so many media platforms; Fran Kelly’s warmth and piercing intellect as a broadcaster; Mia Freedman’s trail-blazing bravery and insipirational innovation in the online world; Morag Ramsay’s capacity as a producer to make the complex comprehensible; Jennifer Byrne’s infectious enthusiasm for every subject she turns her hand to; and the gentle grace and warm wisdom the wonderful Caroline Jones brings on a Monday night, as this tribal elder and enduring pioneer of female journalists in this country introduces another episode of Australian Story.

All of these women are at the top of their game. And we can all celebrate that despite the current glossy environs of so much of the media, their paths have been sure and steady: learning, growing, honing their craft, withstanding the temptation to compromise, and SURVIVING, despite all the extraordinary pressures placed upon them.

These are women for whom public approval comes from their desire to be authentic and get on with the job. Their very lack of desire to be liked – hasn’t that word changed its meaning? – in all its guises (including the old fashioned way,) is the very thing that drives their enduring and much deserved respect.

I am honoured to work in the same profession as them.

I would encourage you to read it in full here or view this 11am Wednesday on ABC1.