Joan Konner

A growing number of women in decision-making positions in newsrooms around the country may be changing the story of our times and our culture. A new PBS documentary examining this influence will be screened on Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, Third Floor Lecture Hall. The film was produced and co-written by award-winning journalist and former Dean of the Journalism School Joan Konner. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to 854-0099 or events@jrn.columbia.edu.

Titled "She Says/Women in News," the film features commentary by ten women in positions of power in the news business, including CNN anchor and correspondent Judy Woodruff, ABC News anchor Carole Simpson, and NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.

Since the days of the women's movement, the ranks of women in television newsrooms across the country have tripled. The percentage of female news directors is nearly 50 times greater than three decades ago, and almost 20 percent of the newspaper editors are women. "She Says/Women in News" pays tribute to those who pioneered the influx, such as Sarah McClendon, May Craig, Liz Carpenter, Nancy Dickerson and those who followed, solidifying women's roles in news-making decisions.

"These women are heroesi-smart, insightful, funny, highly professional-who have succeeded in the business while remaining real people with real lives," said Konner. "We have attempted to show how they've transformed and expanded the agenda of news while bringing an element of humanity to news and the newsroom."

In the film, Helen Thomas, dean of the White House Press Corps, observes: "There is acceptance now, but every door had to be broken down. We weren't allowed to become members of the National Press Club until 1971. That's a long way from 1920 when women got the vote. It's been a struggle."