AND NOW FROM THE FM BOYS (CLUB)
This week Wendy Harmer wrote about the dearth of women on the commercial AM radio dial.
A rarity in FM radio… Chrissie Swan teaming with Jane Hall for Mix 101.1 breakfast was considered “a brave move” by the station.
A former FM radio producer replies:
“Dear Wendy,
Unfortunately there’s no way of commenting honestly on your article without being accused by some members of the Old Boys Club of ‘getting on an even higher horse than Wendy’.
Here goes…
I strongly disagree with you, Wendy. Fiercely. On two crucial points.
1) I can think of one woman in a capital city who is holding down a high-profile commercial AM shift by herself – Amanda Blair.
But, as I can only think of that one example – which unfortunately kind of strengthens your point about the rarity of women in key commercial AM radio roles – I therefore must desperately resort to strongly, fiercely disagreeing with you on this other point…
2) Commercial AM radio is not the last bastion of blokiness in the media, Wendy. Such blokey bastions abound throughout the media. Take commercial FM radio, for example. Since ancient times back in the ‘90s*, as a bastion of blokey employment practices commercial FM radio hasn’t progressed much.
Hasn’t progressed much? Truthfully? Okay. At all.
Casting aside my mock outrage, your article knocks loudly on the door of a far greater issue, one that continues to be gravely concerning. And there are no signs of progress being made in addressing the gender imbalance in the most significant on-air and off-air roles – those with the greatest impact on the audience. To use one specific example…
What is the gender ratio of Program/Content Directors in 2012 versus back in the medieval-‘90s? With two dozen commercial FM stations across the five biggest markets, by now you’d think roughly half those stations might have Content/Program Directors who are women. Staff turnover combined with the law of averages would give you, say … 12 women in those roles, give or take?
Not even close.
Quick shout out – name by name – to … every … single … one … of the capital city FM Content/Program Directors who are women, in major markets spanning 4000 kilometres right across Australia:
Hi, Irene!
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7 Responses to this article
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Heather March 1, 2012
Thanks for that. Very enlightening indeed as to why we have your Kyle, Alan Jones and many other male noncompoops ‘manopolising’ the air waves.
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Cate Pearce March 1, 2012
Must say I’m quite chuffed that Adelaide’s knuckles aren’t dragging as low as the other states.
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Joanne March 1, 2012
I’d have to say, it’s only a gender issue in that it comes down to subject matter and what people like to hear.
I did a stint in community radio and during this time, a female colleague and I discussed the subject of suicide on air. We talked compassionately, raised questions, gave information about finding help and pushed the point that one should never give up hope.
After leaving the studio, I was amazed at how many people made comment similar to this: “Jeez, it’s nice to hear two women discussing a serious subject on radio, it’s normally just all fluff, nonsense and hahaha”
Is this the way we are still perceived? With nothing of substance to say unless it’s about kids, cooking or cleaning?
I vote with my dial and listen to Triple J, I’ll be 40 this year, but new music, fresh DJ’s (quite a few of them female, with interesting things to say) and the absence of ads for AMI every twenty minutes, really appeals to me.
I guess I’m trying to say, ultimately it’s up to the listener which direction the programming takes – If surveys and ratings showed we wanted more women on the air, it would have already happened by now. -
Jane Caro March 1, 2012
A billion years ago when I started writing ads, I was told that women wouldn’t listen to female voice overs. They’d ‘done the research’ and women said women had no authority. This is the 80s, mind you, not the 60s.
I stuck my stubborn chin out and kept casting women as voice overs. Guess what, as they became more common the whole women don’t listen to women rubbish faded away.research only tells you what is, not what could be. That’s why we used to refer to it as research and destroy.
If you wait for audiences to tell you to change, you will never get change. Do the changing and the audiences not only follow, they get so used to the new norm they assume it has always been that way.
But if it’s all blokes at the top, why would they change anything? It’s a closed shop that works brilliantly for them and cuts out half the competition. -
Sarah March 1, 2012
Back in the 90s I was told that a double header female breakfast program wouldn’t work because no-one would be able to tell who was who.
Never happens with male broadcasters of course.
Because, obviously, all women sound the same.
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Scott Muller March 1, 2012
Thank you for the feedback.
JANE (Caro): I’ve been hearing fables about that same mythical research for the whole 25 years I’ve been in commercial radio – that women can’t stand hearing other women’s voice on-air. It’s total BS.
So, with only slight exaggeration to highlight how ridiculous and 1950s the idea is, it goes something like this…
If a woman were ever forced to hear another woman’s voice coming out of the ‘magic talking kitchen box’ – assumedly this could only happen if a police riot squad corralled her into a holding pen – yep, women hate the sound of other women’s voices THAT much…
– then, writhing, screaming, and spewing forth blasphemies, she would convulse one final time before the ancient force of evil, which had by now possessed her, would fling her now limp and lifeless body straight out the window like a flaming lemming in a slingshot.So, to the best of my knowledge the only person capable of actually producing that mythical research is Indiana Jones.
It’s that mythical.
And the closest I’ve ever come to someone presenting solid facts to support the aforementioned mythical research is “a long long time ago someone (with a long white beard) once told me that women don’t like women’s voices on-air…”
Sure, the voices of some specific individuals will turn women – and men – off. But that’s not a gender thing. Some people, male or female, just have really grating voices. Especially at 7am in the morning.
Your final line is a more feasible explanation for the perpetuation of the myth. But it is a myth.
SARAH: for much of my time as Program Director to Merrick & Rosso at Nova 969 in the early 2000s, I received audience feedback saying “who is this American Rosso guy you’ve got on?!? He sure don’t sound American”. Same issue for a long while working as a producer with Tony Martin and Mick Molloy in the ’90s – “who is this Martin Molloy bloke? He’s pretty funny. But why does he talk to himself? Don’t you think that’s kinda weird? It frightens my kinfolk”
Not a valid reason for not putting two people of the same gender on-air. Ideally, they’d have easily differentiable voices, but if the overall audience likes them and still gets a bit confused, not a biggie. Hamish & Andy had the same “which one’s which?” issue during their rise to fame, too. (“Which ones the one with Scottish ancestry? Or is it that he just like steak? Or ACDC? Is it Angus? Something like that, I haven’t been listening to them long…”).
So, you’re right: whoever told you a double header female breakfast show wouldn’t work because no-one would be able to tell them apart was grasping at straws. It’s a cop out.
