I lost myself in the moment and found myself for a lifetime

The facts speak for themselves. Women are woefully underrepresented in newsrooms globally. 

• 39% are journalists.

• Only 26% are in journalism leadership.

• Women of color represent about 8% of U.S. print newsroom staff, ​6% of local radio staff, & about 13% of local TV news staff.

• Women are constantly discredited. 

• Women and girls are the subject of fewer than 20% of news stories.​​

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It's personal: "You have too much power," the general manager told me. "I want to give the hosting job to a younger woman." Then, he fired me from the public affairs program that I founded and hosted for several years. After a series of younger women sat at the mic, the permanent role was given to a white, middle-aged male for the next 12 years, until the program ended in 2020.

 

It's political: A publisher recently said he would run my Op-Ed about the politics of abortion if I deleted a few particular lines – the central thread of the piece. "It's too personal," he said. 

Action: Here, in my 7th decade, I decided to launch My Op-Eds because the personal is political. I'll be posting about politics, the arts, education, friendship, love – issues that grab my attention. As Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said, "It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent."