We have a powerhouse in the studio today to talk to. The Founder of Women in Media and a former journalist and broadcaster. We have covered female representation in media quite often on the podcast in the past and pleased to report that parity is getting closer. Not quick enough in the mind of our guest and we agree with her. There needs to be greater work in the changing of culture and mind shift when it comes to women working in the media.

Victoria Laurie is the Founder of Women in Media which started in 2005 and has just over 6000 members to elevate women in the media industry across all elements from camera women to anchors of key programs. This movement has been doing amazing things over the years that supports women through programs like ‘Relaunch’ to get women back into the media industry.

The discussion is interesting and one that both Nic and Carmen believe strongly must be had more often. There are a few moments where Nic while understanding the issues also challenges a few of the realities that might be holding back parity in expert voices in the media and by lines for females. The conversation around audiences, expert positioning, talkback, listenership, and jobs within the media all get tackled without holding back.

One of the key call outs from the podcast is the respect to audience and future audiences of media. There is no denying that mainstream media has been bombarded with competition particularly from online and social media platforms that can curate the media of any audience. As discussed previously on this podcast mainstream media needs to stay mainstream and to do that needs to be as broad as possible. Parity for those working in media and being represented as experts will not be far away.

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