Men, Signing Off

In Washington, Wendy Rieger, left, and Susan Kidd co-anchor the 5 p.m. news on WRC. Having two women as co-anchors is not uncommon in local markets. (By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)

When Andrew Tyndall, who publishes a newsletter that tracks network news, recently compared "CBS Evening News" broadcasts from November 1968 and November 1998, he found striking differences. In the earlier era, he says, the subjects tended to be limited to government, politics and the Vietnam War, and it was unusual for a woman to be a news source (a report about the Catholic Church's policy on contraception, for instance, quoted only men).

By the late 1990s, subjects that had all but been ignored years earlier -- abortion, child care, sexual discrimination in the workplace -- were part of the serious news agenda, he said. Women also regularly reported the news, and were often interviewed on it.

Tyndall found something even more remarkable when he looked at the brief tenure of Elizabeth Vargas as the lead anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight" (Vargas went solo during this period after newsman Bob Woodruff sustained serious injuries in Iraq three weeks after being named co-anchor). The hallmark of the Vargas era, he said, was an increased emphasis on "sex and family" issues, those presumably with a strong appeal to women. In March and April, for example, ABC devoted more time to stories about contraception, abortion, autism, prenatal development, childbirth, postpartum depression and child pornography than CBS and NBC's nightly newscasts combined, Tyndall found. Since being replaced by Charles Gibson, the number of such "family" stories has tailed off on "World News Tonight."

In a somewhat ironic coda, Vargas stepped down as co-anchor in late May, citing her pregnancy and family responsibilities.

Nevertheless, Gumbert, the consultant, worries that anchor chairs and reporting ranks might become so female-dominated that male viewers will be alienated. "I think it's going to be problematic," he says. "The average viewer wants balance, both in the kinds of stories that are reported and who appears on camera. They want to see a reflection of their community. Once that balance gets pushed too far in one direction, then the editorial decision-making will change significantly, too. It can't help not to, because what interests men and women is different."

That day, however, might not be right around the corner. Despite women's gains, men still overwhelmingly are in charge of stations' news operations. Almost 80 percent of news directors and 68 percent of assistant news directors were men, according to RTNDA's most recent figures.

But that seems destined to change, too, the more women dominate the middle-management tier from which top executives usually are hired. Women already head newsrooms in several major cities, including two Washington stations -- Green at WTTG and Vickie Burns at WRC.

After eight years on the job, Green is the city's longest-tenured news director. She arrived here after a typical journey through the ranks, working first as a reporter and then as a producer in Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and New York before becoming news director for a Baltimore station. Her move to Washington -- the eighth-largest TV market in the country -- was facilitated by Laureen Ong, WTTG's former general manager.

"It might sound a little crazy," Green says, "but a woman may be a sharper judge of [news] content than a man. When you're a female manager, you're required to have the skill sets of both a man and a woman. As a woman growing up in a male-dominated business, you have to develop traits like aggression and competitiveness. But a woman has traits that a man might not develop. So she may be a little more sensitive in certain situations."

That, however, is not an argument for going it alone, she says: "There are times when I'm very glad there are lots of men in the room. It takes a community of brains to make the right decisions."