Women In The Media
The Naked Truth

WORDS: ELEANOR FITZSIMONS

The media world, traditionally a testosterone fuelled male preserve, is increasingly being colonised by smart, capable women who are making their mark in the newspapers and magazines we read, the television programmes we watch and the radio shows we listen to. Although gender balance in a world where women make up fifty per cent of the audience seems logical many prominent women in the sector maintain that this is still a man's world.

When the recently retired Maeve Donovan was appointed Managing Director of the Irish Times back in 2002 she was a popular choice. Having risen through the ranks from telesales to take one of the most influential positions in Irish media she really seemed to have smashed the glass ceiling and did so by being unfailingly courteous and approachable to everyone she encountered on the way up.

Donovan took on the role at a time of great upheaval as newspapers grappled with the transition to electronic media. She embraced this saying, "the economic challenge for newspapers is to find ways to expand their revenue base and fully take advantage of this rapidly expanding customer base." While Donovan was at the helm, the newspaper invested aggressively in other sectors.

Read more about Women In The Media in the Autumn 2010 issue of WMB, on newsstands now!