Issue 145 — October 18, 2020
A physicist friend once told me that everything in the world is ultimately just energy particles. In my non-scientifically trained mind, I visualized tiny pieces of matter dancing around amiably and without focus.
While my friend was referring to the physical world, the principle that everything is ultimately energy applies as well to leadership and to our individual career arcs. That’s because everything we give our time and attention to takes — energy.
Read More“As an organization and an individual, you have to stick to your North Star,” Soledad O’Brien, founder and CEO of Soledad O’Brien Productions, told a virtual convening of two cohorts of Take The Lead’s 50 Women in Journalism Can Change the World.
“The story of one’s arc of one’s life is to figure out what your values are,” says O’Brien, award-winning journalist, speaker, author and philanthropist who anchors and produces the Hearst Television political magazine program, “Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien.”
Read MoreIssue 134— July 6, 2020
My cousin Elizabeth is making good use of this time of sheltering during the pandemic to dig into our family history. It was rooted in the small town of Birzai, Lithuania for hundreds of years until two world wars either killed them or dispersed them to many corners of the world. One of the most intriguing and yet exasperating parts of this exploration is getting the names right as spellings varied from language to language. Vinn became Vinh or Bein, Henne to Hannah, and even some in the same nuclear family some people spelled their last names differently.
So what is in a name anyway? Identity, Personhood. Justice. Say her name: Breonna Taylor. Say his name: George Floyd.
Read MoreThe media landscape is perhaps at its most chaotic and disrupted in history with firings of top editors, resignings, furloughs, shutdowns, accusations of racism and sexism in content, coverage and workplace culture.
Anna Wintour, the legendary Vogue editor, says the magazine’s culture is by her own admission “hurtful and intolerant,” and rarely promotes black staff. The co-founder and top editor of Refinery 29, Christene Barberich, resigned after accusations of racism. The Bon Appetit editor resigned over racist allegations. Conde Nast is accused of systemic racism.
Read MoreTake The Lead is launching its second annual 50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism program, slated to kick off on June 16th. Applications for the digital training can be submitted here.
Watch highlights of the 2019 50 Women in Journalism program here
Sponsored in part by Democracy Fund and the Ford Foundation, the program comes at a point when women in the media are making progress but still struggling for parity amid broad layoffs and massive industry changes. For example, women have made up the majority of journalism and mass communication degree programs in the United States for more than three decades.
Read MoreThe crisis COVID-19 presents to everyone across the globe is dramatic, life-changing and career-shifting. At Take The Lead, hearing some good news about women who make news can be a welcome pivot. A comprehensive report from the inaugural 50 Women Can Change The World in Journalism program reveals remarkable results.
Read MoreVirginia Woolf famously said, “For most of history, anonymous was a woman.” A new effort launched by Take The Lead’s 50 Women in Journalism Can Change The World cohort, Women Do News, is out to give credit to women journalists where credit is due, particularly in the pages of Wikipedia.
Read More“I geek out about leadership,” says Mira Lowe, president of Journalism & Women Symposium, assistant dean at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and director of the Innovation News Center there. Leading a panel on “Stepping into Leadership” at the recent JAWS Conference and Mentoring Program, Lowe, who was a recent participant in Take The Lead’s 50 Women Can Change The World in Journalism program, adds, “Leadership is a constant avocation. You are never done learning about leadership.”
Read MoreJournalists know the importance of a good quote. And all are careful about getting it right. Daniela Altimari, statehouse reporter for the Hartford Courant, made sure her own quote was accurate in defining the impact of Take The Lead’s recent 50 Women Can Change The World in Journalis
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