Nia Brevard

100 East Queen Street

Hampton, VA 23668
November 15, 2016
Roxanne Foster
Operations & Development Director
Journalism & Women Symposium
2885 Sanford Ave. SW, #29226
Grandville, MI 49418-1342
Dear Ms. Foster:
Journalism has been around for the longest. It is a profession that gets the word out to the people
but also affects the peoples judgement. Being a journalist is a challenging job but being a
woman journalist is even more challenging. Women journalists have been trying to receive the
same respect in this profession as men for years, as your organization may be aware. The
evidence that various articles give, how this profession affects the world, and how well the
structure of the articles and organization are presented explain everything women journalists go
through. With everything being said, I am suggesting to your organization a major worldwide
media outbreak that brings in people from all over on this issue to make sure that in the near
future women journalists have a fair share even though the world they live in will not.
The various articles show how women journalists, from the United States to Korea, face
numerous encounters when trying to report stories. It explains the difference between hard
stories; which are stories that deal with politics, war, etc. And soft stories which deal with
welfare, child issues, education, etc. These two stories are what separate women and men
journalists in the workplace and give arise to reasons for the inequality women encounter.
Kyung-Hee Kim, from Hallym Univeristy in Korea, stated an interesting fact that in Korea, The
demand for female journalist has not increased, even though the demand for soft news, which is
generally considered as being appropriate for female journalists to write about, has increased.
Many newsrooms are still stuck on the custom that women should not be journalists even though
they still want the soft stories; they just do not want the woman reporting it. But at the end of the
day women and men journalists are both equally at risk of being danger. Most men in the
journalist profession forget that they too are human and that many people only look at the fact
that they are journalist. This evidence shows that this issue is growing and very few people know
about it.
Most people would think the inequality of women journalist does not affect the world but it does.
Female family members in a household that hope to become journalists may have to go through
this unfair treatment and that affects many men. No man wants their loved ones to go through
that. In addition, not only are women treated unfair in the newsroom but also the portrayal of
them in the newspapers shows the many obstacles they have to go through. Women journalists
sacrifice their lives for this job only to have them not considered a journalist.

Your organizations website, Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS), gives a very detailed
description of what the organization is all about stating, We characterize our mission this way:
JAWS supports the professional empowerment and personal growth of women in journalism
and works toward a more accurate portrayal of the whole society. The organization really helps
readers understand what women journalists go through and different ways they strive to
overcome such inequalities. Many articles also give an in depth narrative pointing out statistics
in the journalist profession, personal experiences, and how the women journalist have changed
overtime.
Organizations across the world are doing everything they can so in the future women journalists
can have a fair share in a profession they work hard for. A media outbreak to bring more
awareness to this issue could improve the inequality women journalists face. With the help of
the media, many people will really see firsthand how women are being treated and portrayed.
Sincerely,

Nia Brevard

Works Cited
Kyung-Hee, Kim. "Obstacles To The Success Of Female Journalists In Korea." Media, Culture
& Society 28.1 (2006): 123-141.Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Symposium, Journalism & Women. "Journalism and Women Symposium Home - JAWS." JAWS.
Web. 09 Nov. 2016.