Show Producer’s Blog

By ⋅ January 3, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Happy New Year! I’m the show producer for The World — which basically means coordinating the team of wonderful journalists who put out our radio program every day.

For a while now I’ve been meaning to start a “show producer’s blog” — a place to jot down thoughts about the news, the program, the production day, the issues that come up in the course of doing what we do, and best of all, I hope, a place to engage with all of you about the stories we do. So here goes:

I hadn’t planned to write about this today but here’s one issue we clearly haven’t tackled hard enough yet: it’s 1 pm and I’ve just realized with all the day’s interviews either recorded or scheduled and the reporter pieces all in and “mixed,” there are barely any female voices in the program…which goes to show that just having a woman in the show producer role isn’t enough to change The World.

Actually it’s a bit unfair to focus on today’s program because there are many days we do have a wonderful mix of voices. Still, I know the trend is there.

It’s been studied and illustrated before across various news media. It’s just all the more sobering to have it illustrated so starkly on one’s own watch. I certainly have thoughts about how to include more women on our air…but I’d love to know yours.

Let me know in the comments below.

Discussion

4 comments for “Show Producer’s Blog”

  • http://twitter.com/publicradionerd Jami Rogers

    Thanks for this, Jeb. It’s a very interesting and honest observation. Two thoughts occur: 1) That it may take a conscious effort at balance that will not always be possible anyway & 2) the analysis aspect of public radio news programs is also hampered by the available pool of pundits from other broadcast and print media outlets and the specialized experts that get pulled from academia, in which female points of view are also frequently under-represented. Is it also fair to say that the role models aren’t there in the big three nightly news programs as well, although it has been tried? I could probably go on…

  • http://twitter.com/publicradionerd Jami Rogers

    Thanks for this, Jeb. It’s a very interesting and honest observation. Two thoughts occur: 1) That it may take a conscious effort at balance that will not always be possible anyway & 2) the analysis aspect of public radio news programs is also hampered by the available pool of pundits from other broadcast and print media outlets and the specialized experts that get pulled from academia, in which female points of view are also frequently under-represented. Is it also fair to say that the role models aren’t there in the big three nightly news programs as well, although it has been tried? I could probably go on…

  • Anonymous

    Hi Jami,

    Thanks for weighing in. I think you’re spot on. I think there has to be some “conscious effort” and yet the realities of program-making on deadline include so many pressured variables any rigid attempt at balance (of any sort) would likely backfire. And yet if we don’t pay attention to it the default definitely tends toward a preponderance of male voices.

  • Anonymous