How this BBC anchor increased visibility of female experts
Al Tompkins, Poynter,Many diversity initiatives in newsrooms are built around hiring and retention, but there is another aspect of gender representation in media that is getting more attention as news organizations turn their attention to who gets to speak in stories and whose expertise is quoted.
Earlier this year the BBC committed to achieve parity in their expert contributors by launching their internal 50:50 Challenge. They announced they would aim to reach “a 50:50 split of expert voices across its airwaves in news, current affairs and a range of topical programs, by April 2019.”
Ros Atkins, presenter of the show Outside Source, was one of the leaders of this initiative, and in 18 months he has managed to increase the number of women experts in his show to 51%. In this story he details the progress he and his team have made and how to replicate his success by following their system.