Re: SO where are the women these days?

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

Regarding the quote in the article that: "most women wouldn't want to hear 
women hosting a talk show", that is a myth that certain male program 
directors and GMs have held for years, even though there is no evidence to 
support it. (They used to also say that women wouldn't listen to women 
doing news.)  While it is true that some women sound cute or giggly or 
artificial doing talk, some men sound like they got lost in the locker room 
or feel they have to sound outraged over every little thing.  It really 
varies, and I don't think gender is the only issue-- sometimes it's a 
matter of a person's style.  I have heard women doing sports talk who sound 
great (Suzyn Waldman of The Fan in NYC comes to mind) and women doing news 
and women doing all sorts of things who sound normal and competent.  But 
just like it's believed by some that a woman can't do top 40 because she 
lacks a deep voice (as if that's the only thing that counts-- did Arnie 
Ginsburg have a deep voice?), there are still people who think women don't 
belong in certain formats.  Historically, women were welcomed as gossip 
columnists (Hedda Hopper, Louella Parsons, and the folks who do 
entertainment news and gossip today) or as advice givers (Dr Laura, Toni 
Grant, etc) or celebrity interviewers (Oprah, Barbara Walters); but there 
has been resistence to women as morning drive d.j.'s, and as talk show 
hosts if the subject is hard news.   As a consultant, I have absolutely 
encountered some older and traditional listeners who prefer male voices, 
but that viewpoint seems to be declining.  For example, check out WBZ 
radio-- their male anchors and their female anchors do equally well in the 
ratings, and unless I am reading my Arbitron wrong, older adults are just 
as likely to listen to the female anchors as to the male ones.  Now, it's 
true their talk shows are done by men, but David Brudnoy has female guests 
on a wide variety of topics and I haven't noticed much negative 
reaction.  I think WRKO wants to do the 'angry white male' talk shows, and 
it's true that this is a genre where most women don't sound natural, 
whether they are liberal or conservative or moderate.