Newsletter

Women in Journalism: Introducing our new series to celebrate Women's History Month

Representation in journalism matters. In order for newsrooms and journalists to ensure all people have equal access to information, they need to reflect the communities they are serving. 

Many of those leading long-overdue changes in newsrooms are women. They are redistributing power to create more equitable work environments, they are redefining the beats they cover, and they are building new outlets that are redefining journalism. These women are determined to solve problems and make change. 

In honor of Women’s History Month, and International Women’s Day today, we are highlighting the experiences and sharing lessons from nine of these successful women in the journalism field. 

Over the course of Women’s History Month, we will publish Q&As with this incredible cohort that focuses on the challenges, accomplishments, and take-aways from different points of their careers. We will publish a new section every Monday throughout March here in Solution Set.

I started this project as a way to shine a light on the successes and struggles of women working in news, lift up their stories and achievements, and share their words of wisdom to guide young women in the space toward finding their own success. The community of women in journalism is so strong and supportive and I want to be able to share this optimism and encouragement with everyone.

My colleague Kyra Miller and I spoke with a diverse group of women across the industry. They are all at different points in their careers and have unique jobs and backgrounds. But regardless of their position, these women are all committed to lifting other women up and creating a better future for journalism.   

“We’re all trying to basically rebuild an entire business model, and I think women have been at the forefront of that,” said Rebekah Monson, WhereBy.Us co-founder and COO.

We will also be publishing transcripts of our full conversations with these inspirational women throughout the month. Here are some of the women we are interviewing for this project:

• Akoto Ofori-Atta, Co-founder and Executive Editor, Capital B
• Chabeli Carrazana, Economy Reporter, The 19th*
• Cierra Hinton, Executive Director-Publisher, Scalawag Magazine
• Danese Kenon, Director of Video & Photography, The Philadelphia Inquirer
• Errin Haines, Editor at Large, The 19th* and Lenfest Institute Board of Managers member
• S. Mitra Kalita, CEO and Co-Founder, URL Media Publisher, Epicenter NYC
• Kristen Hare, Editor, Locally at Poynter
• Rebekah Monson, Co-founder and COO at WhereBy.Us
• Robyn Tomlin, President & Editor, News & Observer/Herald-Sun and Southeast Regional Editor, McClatchy
• Snigdha Sur, Founder & CEO at The Juggernaut 

We look forward to sharing insights from these remarkable women with you all throughout this month. I hope this project will act as an opportunity for many women in journalism, no matter what point in their career, to find inspiration and support to continue their important work. 

Kyra will be in your inbox next Monday with our first installment of the project.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to email me with any questions or feedback. Please feel free to reach out with your own experiences, which we may share with our broader community as well.