Women in the Media
What event began the emergence of women as true players in the media? Was it Sherry Lansing's appointment to President of 20th Century Fox in 1980, becoming the first woman to head a studio? Was it Cathleen Black in 1979 becoming the first woman publisher of a weekly consumer magazine, New York? Or did the real power for women in the media come later with Geraldine Laybourne reinventing children's television on Nickelodeon or Judy McGrath sending MTV into 265.8 million households all over the world? Do women in the media, in fact, really have any power today?This paper will examine the power of women in the media through four different women, Sherry Lansing, chair and CEO of Paramount Pictures, Cathleen Black, President of Hearst Magazines, Geraldine Laybourne, Chairman and CEO of Oxygen Media, and Judy McGrath, President of MTV. Sherry Lansing received a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University in 1966. After graduation, Lansing taught English and math at Los Angeles public high schools. She quit teaching to become a model for Max Factor and Alberto-Culiver and also held minor roles in a couple of movies. She is often quoted for calling herself "a terrible actress." Still interested in film, Lansing took a
Black, like the other women discussed, brings a certain female perspective to all of her endeavors. She has the ability to be open-minded and look at all possible problems and solutions. One of Black's huge successes has been promoting her titles worldwide. She owes a great deal of this success, in my opinion, to her female perspective. While marketing Cosmopolitan to countries like Russia and the Philippines, Black realized that specific changes had to be made to accommodate the women of these particular countries. She recognized that women across the ocean did not necessarily want to read the same things as American women. As a result, she created original editorial material for each region. Even though they were across the ocean, Black still related to her customers. few classes at UCLA and the University of Southern California soon becoming an executive story editor for MGM. Only two years later became vice president at Columbia taking charge of such films as The China Syndrome and Kramer vs. Kramer (gmu.edu). Ironically, the exact same question was asked of Judy McGrath, President of MTV. All of her success and accomplishments could have been discussed. Instead, the interviewer asks how life would be different if she were a man. Her response to this irrelevant question bears repeating, however, because she responds, "I probably would have gotten a job at Rolling Stone and would be pissed off I wasn't at MTV. Because I was a woman, I got into an industry that was considered B+, but I got to get in early and take over (womenswire.com)."
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2180
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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